16 Sep '11 01:48>
Originally posted by TeinosukeYour emotions are nothing more than an ebb and flow of chemicals.
Why do I care? Because I'm conscious and feel emotions. Why don't asteroids care? Because they're not and don't.
I don't find that the fact that I believe the universe and the human race to be the accidental product of chance forces in any way prevents me from caring about my own happiness and fulfillment during the rest of my life, or the happiness and ...[text shortened]... have relationships with people that will matter to them and that will outlive them in turn.
Mankind seemingly has some innate inclination to believe in gods, to think they're more valuable than animals, to show favoritism toward those that look most similar to themselves, but the thinking man strives to overcome these illogical inclinations.
Since we know we're nothing more than chemicals that proceed through a combination of random physical events constrained within laws of nature, shouldn't we also strive to overcome our inclination to prefer life to death, or the prosperity of our close friends and relatives over their death. What is logical about a bunch of atoms caring about the configuration they find themselves in? If we truly want to progress, we should strive for complete indifference as to whether man survives or becomes extinct.
What does it even mean for someone to "matter to you"? That's just an emerging chemical arrangement caused by some sort of fond familiarity, but can we assign any value to something like is just a special blend of chemicals?