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Rights are just very strong norms that improve cooperation, not some mystical 'god-given' or universe-inherent truth, imho. I think this because: 1. We regularly have exceptions to rights if they conflict with cooperation. The death penalty, asset seizure, unprotected hate speech, etc. 2. Most basic human rights evolve in a convergent manner, i.e. that throughout time and across cultures very similar norms have been introduced independently. They will always ultimately arise in any sizeable society because they work, just like eyes will always evolve biologically. 3. If property rights, right to live, etc. are not present or enforced, all people will focus on simply surviving and some will exploit the liberties they can take, both of which lead to far worse outcomes for the collective. Similarly, I would argue that consciousness is also very functional. Through meditation, music, sleeping, anasthesia, optical illusions, and psychedelics and dissociatives we gain knowledge on how our own consciousness works, on how it behaves differently under different circumstances. It is a brain trying to run a (highly spatiotemporal) model/simulation of what is happening in realtime, with a large language component encoding things in words, and an attention component focusing efforts on things with the most value, all to refine the model and select actions beneficial to the organism. I'd add here that the language component is probably the only thing in which our consciousness differs significantly from that of animals. So if you want to experience what it feels like to be an animal, use meditation/breathing techniques and/or music to fully disable your inner narrator for a while. |