Re:China’s Pig Pandemic
by carapace on Wednesday April 24, 2019 @07:38PM
(#19743608)
I have a kind of conjecture:
In Nature wisdom and necessity converge, while in an artificial setting, they often diverge.
Under evolution (in the prehistoric epoch just before the evolution of Homo Sapiens) the "wise" course of action was always the same as the necessary. Non-sentient living beings choose the optimal course of action to the limit of their abilities (due to evolution.)
It was only once we evolved our higher-order thinking and communication abilities that it became possible to generate contexts (cities and farms) wherein the right thing to do diverges from the necessary thing to do. We have fooled our own "bio-computers".
I think we need a kind of civilization "reset". I don't mean a violent upheaval, rather we should develop lifestyles that are ecologically harmonious without giving up technology.
One possibility is a system of food production called "Permaculture" which I like to describe as "applied ecology". Speaking to your point:
> So if the ethical thing to do is ever not the most convenient, humanity is doomed.
The ethical (in the sense of ecologically sound) is fun and convenient. It's fun to live in harmony with Nature. I think we can cure civilization of its discontents.
In Nature wisdom and necessity converge, while in an artificial setting, they often diverge.
Under evolution (in the prehistoric epoch just before the evolution of Homo Sapiens) the "wise" course of action was always the same as the necessary. Non-sentient living beings choose the optimal course of action to the limit of their abilities (due to evolution.)
It was only once we evolved our higher-order thinking and communication abilities that it became possible to generate contexts (cities and farms) wherein the right thing to do diverges from the necessary thing to do. We have fooled our own "bio-computers".
I think we need a kind of civilization "reset". I don't mean a violent upheaval, rather we should develop lifestyles that are ecologically harmonious without giving up technology.
One possibility is a system of food production called "Permaculture" which I like to describe as "applied ecology". Speaking to your point:
> So if the ethical thing to do is ever not the most convenient, humanity is doomed.
The ethical (in the sense of ecologically sound) is fun and convenient. It's fun to live in harmony with Nature. I think we can cure civilization of its discontents.