Future Ethics - The Inter-Connectedness of All-Things
There is no 'this' and 'that' ..
The "organization" of energy in the form of cell-based matter, that we call our "selves" .. is just a temporary 'thing'. The fact is we will change form, be broken down, be transmuted by one process or another, until there is nothing that can be pointed to by any "thing" with memory of where we once had been. This is not only true for each one of us, but everything that lives, everything that you have seen or ever will see, in your very short existence.
From the very brief, linear life that we lead "we" seem a very important thing .. but .. consider us in a greater temporal context .. the existence of a tree, a mountain, this planet, the sun .. the universe itself!? This world we live on, from another vantage .. say for example, a God's seat observing us from a place where linear time has no meaning ... where all that has come before and all that will come after is seen - "God" after all must be able to hold this in it's "mind" at all times or else it can not be all that it is said to be.
From this perspective our world will be but a "Blip!"
Things to Realize .. 1) in the greater scheme of things, there is nothing that separates any thing from anything else. Think of it like a "game world" loaded into the memory of a computer .. it's all part of the same 'thing', all connected .. a soup of energy .. where things take solid form for a time and then not, that become the source of energy for a time, and then not .. that suck up energy, and then not .. 2) This "march of history" that we feel we are contributing to (whether intellectually or biologically via procreation), which gives us concern for the well-being of others beyond-our-own-lifespan, depends on one very important thing .. our survival.
So .. how does Ethics factor in to this?
Well there are two schools of thought when facing the above over-simplified realizations, and both are valid .. the first is that, none of that matters because we have one life, that we must take only be concerned about ourselves, those we love and those who love us, as this increases everyone's chances of maximizing our short existence. The other point of view is that the first dooms us and if we all change our mindset we can not only face reality with wide-open, systems/science-based rationality, but do away with the conflicts and destructive tendencies and ... you know, basically go with the flow .. the 'actual flow'.
Our ethics to-date were basically .. don't f*** with "me" and "I" will not f*** with "you" .. that's great, but it doesn't really get "us" anywhere. If people began to see "you" and "I" as part of the same thing, moving in the same direction, with the same overall goals .. not our selfish little petty wants and desires .. but to raise up our eyes instead to see where "we" need to eventually go, in order that the "thing" we are today has any chance of having some meaning in the future.
Bottom-line ..
If human-kind is going to leave any trace that we ever were, this shift in thinking is necessary, however it depends on everyone making that change, and there is not a lot of time left on the clock. So, the selfish hedonist who cares not at all for life after the end of his brief time, is not wrong in doing so ... either there is hope, or there is none ... the question really is, do you see some .. are you moving toward seeing a world where things that separate us are unnatural and unnecessary or do you see too many people going in exact opposite, and ultimately hopeless direction?
Nothing that humankind 'does', other than propagating, will have any meaning in the future .. for good or ill. Empire builders wish control .. out of fear, or the desire to punish and persecute, sometimes to protect ..but no matter the motivation, what they do will not last very long, because it is based on division .. defense .. attack, us them .. Someone involved in engineering or the sciences, hoping to move humanity off of a doomed planet, well ... this is a much more meaningful way to spend one's existence .. writing and raising awareness here on STEEMIT, is part of that process ... umm, pr0n and cupcakes recipes aside.
Choices ...
Doomed individuals, Building Castles Made of Sand or one very big, Wide-Awake family with a small chance to keep moving forward ... party until the wheels come off, or start building some mf'n rocketships .. :)
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Western thinking is now beginning to recognize the interconnectedness of all things. Quantum entanglement is one example of this kind of thinking. It doesn't make sense to harm others because you are ultimately hurting yourself.
Of course, that begs the questiion: What if you are an animal and need to kill prey for food?
Sentience is the starting point for these questions of course, creature-on-creature violence is just a natural eco-system process .. but ya, it's cool that science is proving out what some folks have long detected and stumbled toward.
I studied quantum entanglement, but I am not sure we are in the same point when you say "it connects everything". Could you expand this concept , or mention some specific part of the issue? Thanks.
That is a great question because talking about quantum entanglement and the connectedness of all things bridges from hard physics to Eastern philosophy.
To be exact, with regard to quantum entanglement, I did not state:
rather, that it was an example of a connectedness of everything type of thinking.
To be brief, I assume you accept that particles which experience quantum entanglement are connected in some way, even if only a "spooky action at a distance" as Einstein put it. We agree that, at least, a subset of all particles are connected via quantum entanglement.
You might then say there are particles that are not entangled what about them? I would respond with: What about gravity and electromagnetic forces? Although infinitesimal at a distance, they are nevertheless forces that interact between all particles in the universe, demonstrating connectedness; albeit a very weak one.
Ah, ok. So you mean this kind of "quantum physics". Don't mind my question then, I am more into hard science. Where entanglement has a completely different meaning. Don't mind.