Why Do We Matter?

[disillusioned]

I think that if we want to ask why we matter, or if we matter, then we first need to answer the question "matter to whom?"

 

Does human life matter to God? I don't believe in God, so I would say no. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Some people's lives matter to me, but there are billions of people in the world that I don't particularly care that much about. Generally, I'd like for them to be doing well, but I know that lots of them aren't and I don't really do that much to change this. I think that anyone here who is being honest will probably say the same. So that leaves us with lives that matter pretty much only to ourselves and to other people who are close to us. We may feel some empathy for the others, buy we generally don't lose any sleep over them. This is just how things are.

 

Morality is, in my view, a human construct. Life has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning. That is the only answer that makes any sense at all to my mind.

[rjn]

I think that if we want to ask why we matter, or if we matter, then we first need to answer the question "matter to whom?"

 

Does human life matter to God? I don't believe in God, so I would say no. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Some people's lives matter to me, but there are billions of people in the world that I don't particularly care that much about. Generally, I'd like for them to be doing well, but I know that lots of them aren't and I don't really do that much to change this. I think that anyone here who is being honest will probably say the same. So that leaves us with lives that matter pretty much only to ourselves and to other people who are close to us. We may feel some empathy for the others, buy we generally don't lose any sleep over them. This is just how things are.

 

Morality is, in my view, a human construct. Life has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning. That is the only answer that makes any sense at all to my mind.

 

I think this is due to the fact that humans evolved in small, tightly knit groups with at most a few dozen individuals. Speaking from an evolutionary point of view, we simply can't afford caring too much about strangers. It would consume time, strength, resources and would, last but not least, take an emotional toll as well.

[Burny]

Life begets life. This is the only reason we "matter". Everything else is there to support this basic driver of biological evolution. We care about those closest to us because we share genes with them or they help us protect our genes. We don't like child molesters because they threaten our progeny. We don't espouse murder or abuse for the same reason.

 

That's my very simplistic view of things.

[disillusioned]

 

I think that if we want to ask why we matter, or if we matter, then we first need to answer the question "matter to whom?"

 

Does human life matter to God? I don't believe in God, so I would say no. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Some people's lives matter to me, but there are billions of people in the world that I don't particularly care that much about. Generally, I'd like for them to be doing well, but I know that lots of them aren't and I don't really do that much to change this. I think that anyone here who is being honest will probably say the same. So that leaves us with lives that matter pretty much only to ourselves and to other people who are close to us. We may feel some empathy for the others, buy we generally don't lose any sleep over them. This is just how things are.

 

Morality is, in my view, a human construct. Life has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning. That is the only answer that makes any sense at all to my mind.

 

I think this is due to the fact that humans evolved in small, tightly knit groups with at most a few dozen individuals. Speaking from an evolutionary point of view, we simply can't afford caring too much about strangers. It would consume time, strength, resources and would, last but not least, take an emotional toll as well.

 

 

I agree with this entirely. Things really do become much less mysterious when one has an understanding that we are evolved beings who are not special. We are the products of our environment, and our morality is a reflection of the type of behavior which allowed our ancestors to survive long enough to reproduce. That's all there is to it.

[sdelsolray]

 

 

I think that if we want to ask why we matter, or if we matter, then we first need to answer the question "matter to whom?"

 

Does human life matter to God? I don't believe in God, so I would say no. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Some people's lives matter to me, but there are billions of people in the world that I don't particularly care that much about. Generally, I'd like for them to be doing well, but I know that lots of them aren't and I don't really do that much to change this. I think that anyone here who is being honest will probably say the same. So that leaves us with lives that matter pretty much only to ourselves and to other people who are close to us. We may feel some empathy for the others, buy we generally don't lose any sleep over them. This is just how things are.

 

Morality is, in my view, a human construct. Life has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning. That is the only answer that makes any sense at all to my mind.

 

I think this is due to the fact that humans evolved in small, tightly knit groups with at most a few dozen individuals. Speaking from an evolutionary point of view, we simply can't afford caring too much about strangers. It would consume time, strength, resources and would, last but not least, take an emotional toll as well.

 

 

I agree with this entirely. Things really do become much less mysterious when one has an understanding that we are evolved beings who are not special. We are the products of our environment, and our morality is a reflection of the type of behavior which allowed our ancestors to survive long enough to reproduce. That's all there is to it.

 

 

 

There a bit more to it.  We are sentient.  We have skills which allow us to adjust our environment.  We have emotions and intellect which allows us to adjust our morality.  And you are quite right about the "less mysterious" observation.

[disillusioned]

 

 

 

I think that if we want to ask why we matter, or if we matter, then we first need to answer the question "matter to whom?"

 

Does human life matter to God? I don't believe in God, so I would say no. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Some people's lives matter to me, but there are billions of people in the world that I don't particularly care that much about. Generally, I'd like for them to be doing well, but I know that lots of them aren't and I don't really do that much to change this. I think that anyone here who is being honest will probably say the same. So that leaves us with lives that matter pretty much only to ourselves and to other people who are close to us. We may feel some empathy for the others, buy we generally don't lose any sleep over them. This is just how things are.

 

Morality is, in my view, a human construct. Life has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning. That is the only answer that makes any sense at all to my mind.

I think this is due to the fact that humans evolved in small, tightly knit groups with at most a few dozen individuals. Speaking from an evolutionary point of view, we simply can't afford caring too much about strangers. It would consume time, strength, resources and would, last but not least, take an emotional toll as well.

I agree with this entirely. Things really do become much less mysterious when one has an understanding that we are evolved beings who are not special. We are the products of our environment, and our morality is a reflection of the type of behavior which allowed our ancestors to survive long enough to reproduce. That's all there is to it.

 

There a bit more to it. We are sentient. We have skills which allow us to adjust our environment. We have emotions and intellect which allows us to adjust our morality. And you are quite right about the "less mysterious" observation.

Yes, and this is a truly wondrous thing. We've evolved in such a way that we can change our environment, and thus affect evolution itself. Amazing, when you think about it.