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oneirophreniaI'm just about to finish Sherri S. Tepper's surprisingly fun, endearing, and enlightening novel The Fresco and it's got me to thinking a lot about my species and its many problems. The novel itself is an interesting little twist on the standard ol' First Contact scenario, in which Earth is approached by members of a galactic Confederation whose species (the Pistach) are expert in solving other species problems so that they may better practice the doctrine of "Neighborliness" (or, put simply, ethical behavior) towards others in order to be accepted into the Confed. It's not a very realistic tale, but realism is not what Tepper does: she writes allegories...sci-fi eqivalents of Dickensian didactic fiction in which the Problems of the World are simplified drastically for the sake of drama and clarity and are dealt with in the same playful, yet earnest, fashion. Since the novel was written before 9-11, many of the problems the Pistach athyci (or ethical managers) have to deal with are, for example, problems with the Taliban, the Mid-East in general, and even conservative bullshit here at home in the US. Tepper's slant is VERY feminist, which normally just makes me roll my eyes and say "Get over it," but Tepper manages to deal with "women's issues" in the US and elsewhere in a reasonable manner that only occasionally touches on the bleeding-heartedly academic. Many of her points concerning the ways that our own civilization/species' assumptions have led us astray from common sense over the centuries are absolutely cutting, especially those concerning traditions (particularly moral traditions founded in appeals to "human nature") and human religions. From my reading of these points, bolstered by my own understanding of the issues in greater detail thanks to other outside reading and research, I've come to think that the following things need to be done to improve humanity and make us a successful species with more than a Chinaman's chance of surviving the next thousand years:
1. We need to get our perspectives straight, first and foremost. The good of the human species comes first, followed by the good of individuals. They are both important, however, and no monolithic "Government of Humanity" can be established which will focus entirely on one and not the other. One cannot have too much order, nor too much chaos. Better to split the difference.
2. Cultural imperalism is a good thing. Cultures that do not respect basic human rights must be eliminated. By force, if necessary (but certainly not preferably). That includes the United States. In many ways, we are currently the *least* civil country on earth.
3. All current religions must be revised to encourage basic human rights and simple ethical behavior towards others, especially those who don't agree with you. Religions that will not accept revision must be eliminated. Again, by force, if necessary.
4. All current social systems must be revised to encourage both group and individual responsibility. Altruism is a major evolutionary advantage, and should be encouraged in any way possible. Rehabilitation for unsocial individuals (and by that, I mean people who actively damage society by comitting crimes, stirring up trouble, etc.) is always to be attempted first, but if these people cannot be rehabilitated then they must be eliminated.
5. Diversity is to be encouraged as much as possible, but a core set of ethical values must always exist at the center of any culture, subculture, or what-have-you. Humanity doesn't need a monolithic, homogenous civilization or species--our greatest achievement is our diversity and thereby our ability to adapt at all times to changing conditions. In order to maintain this adaptation, diversity of arts, political systems, traditions, and so forth must always be encouraged...but it's not too much to demand that everything be based from a simple common ground. Once again, those refusing to be part of the system need to go.
6. The future is going to be a time of almost unimaginable bounty thanks to nanotech applications, information technology, biotech, etc. The ONLY way this technology can truly benefit humanity, however, is if it is applied altruistically and equally to all who wish to partake of the ethical responsibilities of using it. Those who would use it for individual gain are, of course, encouraged to do so--the freedom to further one's-self as much as possible is a fundamental human right, after all--but only if doing so does not disadvantage or disenfranchise anyone else. Once again, failure to comply will result in elimination.
7. Speaking of biotech....The concept of "human nature" needs to be scrapped RIGHT NOW. There are certain modes of behavior and mindsets partially defined or controlled by genetics, true. Some of these behaviors, such as sociability, altruism, and so forth, are obviously beneficial and should be nurtured as much as possible. Some, such as territoriality and mating frenzy, need to be engineered out of the species ASAP. However, a much, much greater portion of human behavior and activity is controlled by social factors and social imprinting...so before we start tinkering with the genes too much, let's fix the problems that exist in our societies.
Yeah...all of this is really general, but I've just begun percolating a number of these topics in my mind in anticipation of fleshing them out further in a novel or something in the future. As it stands, the next century may prove to be a time of major bloodshed because, let's face it, completely reorganizing human civilization can only be accomplished by force. Not entirely by force, but before you can rebuild something properly, first you have to demolish the old order. If I can in some way write a book or a set of stories that, though fictional, make people think like Sherri Tepper's books do, and I have a hand in the reshaping of human history, then great--I'll be able to dump my brain into a space probe and blast out of this system for good knowing I've at least helped out for the good somehow.
1. We need to get our perspectives straight, first and foremost. The good of the human species comes first, followed by the good of individuals. They are both important, however, and no monolithic "Government of Humanity" can be established which will focus entirely on one and not the other. One cannot have too much order, nor too much chaos. Better to split the difference.
2. Cultural imperalism is a good thing. Cultures that do not respect basic human rights must be eliminated. By force, if necessary (but certainly not preferably). That includes the United States. In many ways, we are currently the *least* civil country on earth.
3. All current religions must be revised to encourage basic human rights and simple ethical behavior towards others, especially those who don't agree with you. Religions that will not accept revision must be eliminated. Again, by force, if necessary.
4. All current social systems must be revised to encourage both group and individual responsibility. Altruism is a major evolutionary advantage, and should be encouraged in any way possible. Rehabilitation for unsocial individuals (and by that, I mean people who actively damage society by comitting crimes, stirring up trouble, etc.) is always to be attempted first, but if these people cannot be rehabilitated then they must be eliminated.
5. Diversity is to be encouraged as much as possible, but a core set of ethical values must always exist at the center of any culture, subculture, or what-have-you. Humanity doesn't need a monolithic, homogenous civilization or species--our greatest achievement is our diversity and thereby our ability to adapt at all times to changing conditions. In order to maintain this adaptation, diversity of arts, political systems, traditions, and so forth must always be encouraged...but it's not too much to demand that everything be based from a simple common ground. Once again, those refusing to be part of the system need to go.
6. The future is going to be a time of almost unimaginable bounty thanks to nanotech applications, information technology, biotech, etc. The ONLY way this technology can truly benefit humanity, however, is if it is applied altruistically and equally to all who wish to partake of the ethical responsibilities of using it. Those who would use it for individual gain are, of course, encouraged to do so--the freedom to further one's-self as much as possible is a fundamental human right, after all--but only if doing so does not disadvantage or disenfranchise anyone else. Once again, failure to comply will result in elimination.
7. Speaking of biotech....The concept of "human nature" needs to be scrapped RIGHT NOW. There are certain modes of behavior and mindsets partially defined or controlled by genetics, true. Some of these behaviors, such as sociability, altruism, and so forth, are obviously beneficial and should be nurtured as much as possible. Some, such as territoriality and mating frenzy, need to be engineered out of the species ASAP. However, a much, much greater portion of human behavior and activity is controlled by social factors and social imprinting...so before we start tinkering with the genes too much, let's fix the problems that exist in our societies.
Yeah...all of this is really general, but I've just begun percolating a number of these topics in my mind in anticipation of fleshing them out further in a novel or something in the future. As it stands, the next century may prove to be a time of major bloodshed because, let's face it, completely reorganizing human civilization can only be accomplished by force. Not entirely by force, but before you can rebuild something properly, first you have to demolish the old order. If I can in some way write a book or a set of stories that, though fictional, make people think like Sherri Tepper's books do, and I have a hand in the reshaping of human history, then great--I'll be able to dump my brain into a space probe and blast out of this system for good knowing I've at least helped out for the good somehow.
