What Do You Think People Are...

[GroobyKrissy]

I was having this discussion today with some co-workers...

[Ben]

A virus -- ha ha!
Well, the Canadian film director David Cronenberg likened us to a virus. And what's the purpose or function of a virus. Well, to destroy the host.
So, it makes some semblance of sense that we're a virus and thus destroying the host. Think: pollution, anthropogenic global warming, ocean acidification, deforestation, population explosion, nuclear weapons etc., etc., etc.
People, as a virus, are doing a pretty good job at destroying the host i.e. planet Earth.

[GroobyKrissy]

A virus -- ha ha!
Well, the Canadian film director David Cronenberg likened us to a virus. And what's the purpose or function of a virus. Well, to destroy the host.
So, it makes some semblance of sense that we're a virus and thus destroying the host. Think: pollution, anthropogenic global warming, ocean acidification, deforestation, population explosion, nuclear weapons etc., etc., etc.
People, as a virus, are doing a pretty good job at destroying the host i.e. planet Earth.

Isn't the purpose of a virus to exist?

The destruction of the host is a by-product, no?

[Schimmel]

A virus -- ha ha!
Well, the Canadian film director David Cronenberg likened us to a virus. And what's the purpose or function of a virus. Well, to destroy the host.
So, it makes some semblance of sense that we're a virus and thus destroying the host. Think: pollution, anthropogenic global warming, ocean acidification, deforestation, population explosion, nuclear weapons etc., etc., etc.
People, as a virus, are doing a pretty good job at destroying the host i.e. planet Earth.

Joe Rogan's Theory on Life and People - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyc12-neTjM)

[onmyknees]

Generally Lazy, but that in and of itself doesn't make them bad people...just fucking lazy. I would say 55% probably would do the right thing even when no one was watching, but if you lose your purse...that means you have a 45% chance of not getting it back. Not good odss ! I'm always amazed when some poor taxi driver finds 10,000 bucks in the back of his cab, tracks down the person who left it ...and they give him 10 bucks and a hug. Somebody did the right thing...and somebody didn't.

[Willie Escalade]

"Totally Fucked Up...Everyone Has Skeletons."

I can't stand these folks who put on this front of being pure and wanting to cause no harm, when it's usually the exact opposite. I used to work at a soul food restaurant; the "church" folk was the WORST.

I'm far from being a perfect person...and I'm not gonna front like I am perfect.

[GroobyKrissy]

...and they give him 10 bucks and a hug. Somebody did the right thing...and somebody didn't.

I love this point which was raised multiple times during the discussion I had, which leans towards a completely oblivious approach to morals, ethics, and an inherent sense of good vs evil.

[GroobyKrissy]

"Totally Fucked Up...Everyone Has Skeletons."

I can't stand these folks who put on this front of being pure and wanting to cause no harm, when it's usually the exact opposite. I used to work at a soul food restaurant; the "church" folk was the WORST.

I'm far from being a perfect person...and I'm not gonna front like I am perfect.

Awww... that's kind of a 'glass half empty' approach to life!

I've met people like that for sure, but then again, I've met people that, as far as I could know, did live up to their religious beliefs.

I don't think being 'perfect' or 'imperfect' really has to do with a fundamental belief that there is 'good' and there is 'evil'. Sounds like you're more talking about hypocrisy which I think everyone is guilty of at some point or another.

[Jericho]

People are...People.
Every one of us, good/bad, honest/dishonest, heroic/craven, all things...depending on the circumstances. :shrug

[GroobyKrissy]

People are...People.
Every one of us, good/bad, honest/dishonest, heroic/craven, all things...depending on the circumstances. :shrug

LoL... one guy tried this answer and got booed by the others in the discussion. That is already a given... What I'm really asking is whether you believe that people have an inherent ability to perceive and act on an inherent set of morals and ethics.

But, your vote would then be 'oblivious' with no discernible leaning towards either/or...?

[Prospero]

I think people are basically good - but many go astray for myriad reasons.

[GroobyKrissy]

I think people are basically good - but many go stray for myriad reasons.

Though seldom given, I love simple answers :)

[danthepoetman]

How would you define an animal: good or bad? That’s what we are, animals. We put what little conscience we have in creating what we call “moral”. Most often it’s a poor excuse to justify either our social position (our place in the group) or to conceit our own deviant behaviour -what Nietzsche called “moraline”. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep on working on making a better world; but so far, we’re loosing that battle with such evidence we might just not survive.

[GroobyKrissy]

How would you define an animal: good or bad? That’s what we are, animals. We put what little conscience we have in creating what we call “moral”. Most often it’s a poor excuse to justify either our social position (our place in the group) or to conceit our own deviant behaviour -what Nietzsche called “moraline”. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep on working on making a better world; but so far, we’re loosing that battle with such evidence we might just not survive.

I think most animal lovers (not talking kooks) out there would overwhelming say that animals are 'good' by nature. That is, they do not have the capacity to be 'evil' in the human sense of the word since they lack the 'higher' reasoning skills that humans have. I always find it interesting that in video games, it is never the deer, elk, or moose that attack you... it is always the wolves, bats, and lizards. I think a moose is far more likely to actually run at you than a lone wolf...?

Anyway, I'm tired which means my mind is straying off on tangents. I'll pick it up in the AM :)

[Quiet Reflections]

I think most animal lovers (not talking kooks) out there would overwhelming say that animals are 'good' by nature. That is, they do not have the capacity to be 'evil' in the human sense of the word since they lack the 'higher' reasoning skills that humans have. I always find it interesting that in video games, it is never the deer, elk, or moose that attack you... it is always the wolves, bats, and lizards. I think a moose is far more likely to actually run at you than a lone wolf...?

Anyway, I'm tired which means my mind is straying off on tangents. I'll pick it up in the AM :)
As an animal lover I would say animal are incapable of being good or evil. The behaviors animals exhibit in the wild are purely instinctual they not only don't have the capacity to be evil but they don't have the capacity to be good either. They hunt,kill,forage,fight for survival, are family orientated, etc,etc but good or evil they are not. Those terms are human and reserved only for us. Any animal given the chance would cut a human down for it's own survival(if it were capable), that is not good or evil it is nature.

[danthepoetman]

Don’t overestimate our reasoning skills, Krissy. Most of the time it’s just a way to justify our pulsions or our actions after the fact. Animals are at best good or bad in relation to our criterions, which have nothing to do with survival, which is the basis of our actions (us and the animals). Human societies are just more complex than animal societies, and so is the fight for survival. We illusion ourselves to an incredible extent thinking that we’re much better. Everything we are is just a couple of step better but that’s it. We’re only more than animals quantitatively, not at all qualitatively.
You’re right about our selectiveness towards animals: we never for instance, think to be nice or lovely an intestinal worm, if you see what I mean… :)

[danthepoetman]

As an animal lover I would say animal are incapable of being good or evil. The behaviors animals exhibit in the wild are purely instinctual they not only don't have the capacity to be evil but they don't have the capacity to be good either. They hunt,kill,forage,fight for survival, are family orientated, etc,etc but good or evil they are not. Those terms are human and reserved only for us. Any animal given the chance would cut a human down for it's own survival(if it were capable), that is not good or evil it is nature.

Yeap. Exactly. Very well said.
And that's what we are too in a more complex way. That's all. Ethology showed that.

[Sulka_bewitched_me]

Well I deal with the public & from what I observe most people nowadays are ill-mannered & boorish. They're self absorbed therefore my vote goes to completely & utterly oblivious. :2cent

[Willie Escalade]

Well I deal with the public & from what I observe most people nowadays are ill-mannered & boorish. They're self absorbed therefore my vote goes to completely & utterly oblivious. :2cent
Same here. I drove public transportation in LA for seven years, plus worked at a restaurant for another four. "The customer is always right" is utter bullshit, especially when safety (and common sense) is involved.

[Dino Velvet]

Inherently Good With Some Bad Apples Thrown In...
Inherently Bad With Some Good Eggs Thrown In...

Somewhere in-between here. Also varies according to what city you live in.

[Ben]

Isn't the purpose of a virus to exist?

The destruction of the host is a by-product, no?


The aftereffect/aftermath of the pathogen is the extermination of the body, as it were. Whether it's the human/animal body or the planetary body.
Cronenberg describes himself as a card-carrying existentialist. So, his concern is: what's the purpose of humankind. Which leads you to all sorts of questions. Like what is the purpose of the virus? I mean, it's possible that we're some sort of malady. Carrying out a very specific function. Much like any other disease. Anyway, again, we're a pretty good virus -- ha ha!

[Ben]

Joe Rogan's Theory on Life and People - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyc12-neTjM)

Thanks. Interesting. Joe Rogan is an interesting guy.
I can sorta expound on what Rogan talks about -- :) Of course... all of this is hypothetical.
So, it should be underscored: we destroy the host with the undeniable aid and assistance of corporations. As Noam Chomsky has pointed out: corporations have an institutional imperative to destroy the planet.
Well, think: mining companies, oil companies. Think companies producing plastic. (There's a blob of plastic in the Pacific ocean the size of Texas.)
Corporations must, under legal or VIRAL obligation, destroy the natural environment or the planet.
The CEO asserts his or her role in carrying out the poison program or virus, as it were. (There's a science fiction movie in all of this -- :))
Corporations, at their core, are a poison program....
And corporations, of course, are nothing but a human creation. Again, we're the virus and it's very conducive to what Joe Rogan talks about. I mean, if you want to be a very effective virus, well, you better create institutions (corporations) that can facilitate that destruction, that viral strain, as it were.
I mean, we're the only species (out of 30 million other species) that cause great harm, great destruction. I mean, as far as I know polar bears don't cause pollution -- ha ha! Well, tigers don't bear responsibility for ocean acidification. Birds aren't responsible for deforestation. Sharks, who've been around for 400 million years, aren't responsible for acid rain, for ozone depletion. Cheetahs aren't responsible for smog.
And, again, corporations are key to carrying out this destruction.