Misanthropy

[Revy]

Sometimes it's hard to see 'modern' human 'civilization' as anything but primitive and barbaric.

Of course, by posting this thread I'm not saying I agree with misanthropy, just I can understand where it's coming from.

Hippy types will go on about " love makes the world go round". objectivists would say "it's human nature to be greedy, stop oppressing my individualism!"

the rest of us are caught in the middle.

What human beings can do to each other can provoke real disgust. When something horrible is done we call it "inhuman". Are we inherently an aggressive and violent species? Can we ever have a world without evil?

Can everything that happens be reduced to capitalism, or is this itself a simplistic view?
Is revolution part of our social evolution? Meaning, we need socialism to civilize ourselves, to stop the hatred, wars, violence, oppression, etc.

A lot of people have lost faith in God. What about those that lose faith in humanity? Or rather, do we need Humanism, to evolve? Should misanthropy be condemned, or is it a natural tendency in response to human evil?

Lots of questions, but I'm just wondering where this discussion could go.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Sometimes it's hard to see 'modern' human 'civilization' as anything but primitive and barbaric.

That's a myth, propagated mainly by the widespread availability of news media and mass communication. Consider that there are nearly seven billion people on this planet, and those two factors combine to make the world look like a mean place.

It used to be considered acceptable to torture and mutilate people for what are now considered to be petty crimes. Instead of watching slaves forced to murder each other for entertainment in the Coliseum, people now get their violent entertainment from video games, films, and other media.

Of course, in absolute terms more people have died in wars in the 20th century than previously. But again, the 20th century was more populous than any other. Had the same rate of people died in 20th century wars as in previous centuries, then the death toll would have been an order of magnitude higher. Massacres of civilians were a routine occurance - had Hitler been born in a previous era, he would have been unremarkable. Yet because the ethical zeitgeist had moved on so much in the 20th century, and has moved further to this day, he's considered a monstrous leader of a brutal regime.

Also, famines and such happened with greater frequency, and the effects other natural disasters hit so much worse.

The world as it is today is far from perfect, but it also way better than it was before.


Of course, by posting this thread I'm not saying I agree with misanthropy, just I can understand where it's coming from.Personally I think it's a disgusting viewpoint. By painting the human species as not worth trying to improve, one becomes part of the problem.


Hippy types will go on about " love makes the world go round". objectivists would say "it's human nature to be greedy, stop oppressing my individualism!"

the rest of us are caught in the middle.I think they're both wrong, and it would be misleading to say that I'm "in the middle". People are a product of their environment - harsh and brutal environments produce harsh and brutal people. Change the environment and the people will change.


What human beings can do to each other can provoke real disgust. When something horrible is done we call it "inhuman". Are we inherently an aggressive and violent species? Can we ever have a world without evil?I do not accept "evil" as a term because it is subjective and therefore meaningless.


Can everything that happens be reduced to capitalism, or is this itself a simplistic view?I don't agree that all the world's ills are caused by capitalism, although that does not mean we should not try to solve them.


Is revolution part of our social evolution? Meaning, we need socialism to civilize ourselves, to stop the hatred, wars, violence, oppression, etc.Perhaps. I would tentatively say that revolution is part of the larger movement within the zeitgeist that I mentioned earlier. But I would be wary of saying that "socialism" (which seems to mean different things to different people) is the cure-all.


A lot of people have lost faith in God. What about those that lose faith in humanity? Or rather, do we need Humanism, to evolve?We don't need faith, we need action. Everything else will follow from that.


Should misanthropy be condemned, or is it a natural tendency in response to human evil?Not all people who witness or are subject to human evil become misanthropes in their philosophical outlook. Although psychological reactions such as stress and phobias are common, they are the result of evolutionary and cultural factors rather than constituting a rational response. I think it is in our interests to discourage misanthropy as a general rule. It's a negative mental attitude that encourages lassitude and apathy at best and outright hostility to human progress at worst - if humans are a bunch of incorrigible fuck-ups, what's the point in doing anything to improve the situation of the human species?