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by ok_dad 500 days ago
I agree with you and will die to defend that position, but what existential reasons do we have to behave well? In reality, it seems like humans are just a bunch of animals, and the only important thing is survival.

My wife, just today, told me that she was very upset that I refused to interview and take jobs for things like building weapons, the panopticon, or advertising (two of those are the same thing), which I refuse to do because of my personal morals and ethics. How do I explain to her that I just can't do that, and give her a good reason why we should lose our home and live in one room with her mother because of my brain refusing to work in such industries? I really want to know, so I can explain to her and my son why such things matter, because for some reason they are concrete and foundational in my brain, there is no changing that.
2 comments
callc 500 days ago
> what existential reasons do we have to behave well?

Fundamentally we’re built for small group survival, so playing nice and sharing resources increases your odds for survival. That’s why we care about others, in an evolutionary perspective.

> In reality, it seems like humans are just a bunch of animals, and the only important thing is survival.

At the end of the day, yes we’re animals. But we also have built hugely complex societies and think about philosophy etc.

Throwing away all morality and just doing whatever you can get away with is like being an animal. It strips out humanity.

And personally I’d urge you to find some places you’d want to interview for that align with your morals. If your wife, or anyone, asks you to compromise your morals then try bringing home the consequences to something they care about.

For example, won’t build weapons? Ask “Would you be ok if I worked for X, and my work resulted in the deaths of children?”

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fL0per 500 days ago
> “Would you be ok if I worked for X, and my work resulted in the deaths of children?”

At this point, one can very well expect that working for X (as in 'X, the website formerly known as Twitter') will MOST SURELY result in the deaths of children.

Sorry, couldn't resist the comedic opportunity.

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consteval 500 days ago
> what existential reasons do we have to behave well?

Overall humans play pretty nice, all things considered. If you get sick someone will help you, if you lose your job you can fall back on assistance. Hell, even the fact you HAVE a job is a privilege granted to you.

Other animals don't do that. They eat their young, because they feel like it. Without the will and kindness of other humans, a fact that we take so for granted we fail to recognize it as "society", most of us wouldn't live 10 days. That's not an exaggeration either - check out infant mortality statistics throughout human history.

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