Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Alias]

I might consider being a benign sort of god.
With manifestations of my power in plain sight, they'd abandon all previous gods and wouldn't invent any more.
I could make a single commandment: Do so as to facilitate happiness and diminish suffering for all living things, to the best of your ability.
I'd go "Ahem!" in a big thunderous voice whenever they start hurting one another or the environment.
Once they'd got into the habit of living positively, I could go home.

[h_k_s]

I liked the bugs thread more.

I liked rhat thread too and we had good dialogue. But the thread was years old. Also some people got miffed from it. :P

Most people don't perceive their own psychopathic tendencies which are triggered by insects in general.

They think all insects are bad and that they should all be killed.

But insects are valuable creatures which support the entire food chain.

Anyone's personal philosophy should include respect for insects.

So it was a great thread !!

[Papus79]

Sounds rough, being a cultural idiot overseeing the fate of millions or more, and I'm not sure I'd want it.

First thing I'd worry about is whether I had a position that gave me that power and who else might want to do what in order to take it. It would clearly put that race in a very compromised position and it doesn't seem like a position that you'd want to have exist for particularly long anywhere.

As I know myself now - if I did have it and decided to do anything with it I'd probably try and see if they had any projects that needed to be completed, of the variety that needs some degree of central planning like sewage systems or major infrastructure, I might try to help establish a stable marketplace of ideas or work to make the one they have more cohesive, past that once I'd taken care of any specific large scale issues that couldn't be resolved on a local level I'd probably want to dissolve the office and simply leave some sort of parliament or congress in my place (if they didn't already have it). I think a person can be a benevolent dictator for a bit but if the office can outlive them there's next to no guarantee that the person after them would be anything of the sort.

[Mark1955]

Benign neglect or 'leave them to get on with it by themselves'.

[UniversalAlien]

The Philosophy Of Star Trek: Is The Prime Directive Ethical?

Within the Star Trek universe, the Prime Directive is a crucial regulation that is binding on Starfleet personnel. How well does it work as an ethical rule?

The Prime Directive (officially Starfleet Order 1) is a prohibition on interference with the other cultures and civilizations representatives of Starfleet encounter in their exploration of the universe. In particular, the Prime Directive is aimed at preventing interference with the internal development of civilizations that are less technologically advanced. The executive summary of the order given in the 1968 episode “Bread and Circuses” is:

no identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations.

Even though Starfleet officers take an oath to uphold the Prime Directive even if it means sacrificing their own lives or the lives of their crews, as practiced, across several episodes of the various Star Trek series, it was not inviolable. Captain James T. Kirk seemed to violate it with some regularity, and sticklers for Starfleet regulations could go into detail about circumstances in which strict adherence to the Prime Directive is not required.

That said, how does the Prime Directive fare as a general approach to the ethics of sharing a universe?

Quore source:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetstemw ... d1ef4d2177




"SCIENCEFICTIONALISM the Way of the FUTURE"
http://universalspacealienpeoplesassoci ... uture.html

[Thrylix]

The prime directive is boring.

At the risk of sounding hubristic, interfering would be way more fun than watching a tiny civilization develop naturally. Why let them have self-determination, if through sheer force, I could force them to engineer their society in my own image? I'd flatten any structure that didn't at least in some small way idolize me.

[UniversalAlien]

The prime directive is boring.

At the risk of sounding hubristic, interfering would be way more fun than watching a tiny civilization develop naturally. Why let them have self-determination, if through sheer force, I could force them to engineer their society in my own image? I'd flatten any structure that didn't at least in some small way idolize me.

WOW !!! - 'Thrylix the Great', King of the World?

When will they ever learn - When will they ever learn

“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
― Denis Diderot

[Burning ghost]

The prime directive is boring.

At the risk of sounding hubristic, interfering would be way more fun than watching a tiny civilization develop naturally. Why let them have self-determination, if through sheer force, I could force them to engineer their society in my own image? I'd flatten any structure that didn't at least in some small way idolize me.

You could also get them to march up and down your shaft until you ejaculate I wonder if they’d then adopt your spermatozoa as sacred pets?

[Thrylix]

Hmm, I think I'd enjoy that quite a bit, hehe. Gives me other ideas...

The other method of discipline I had in mind was to force the dissenters to rake up my foot crud that accumulates between my toes. At that scale they may want gas-masks or haz-mat suits for that task, but I don't think I'd allow any protective gear while on toejam duty. The toil and suffering is a necessary part of the punishment.

[LuckyR]

What drives the desire for interaction with inferiors? Clearly the ability to win consistently. Which if one already routinely wins amongst one's peers looks hollow and lame. However, if one doesn't typically have that experience could be the best game in town.

[UniversalAlien]

How would you act if given absolute power over an alien civilization?

No species will give you power over them - But because most species, such as Humans, have weak minds,
the takeover is fairly simple.

With Humans we first created gods for them to believe in and worship - And while no evidence for these
gods ever existed - Man has such a weak mind so that he began to fantasize the reality of super beings
that never existed - And the rest is history - We had and still have complete control.

Wars that have developed ever since are conducted as sport and we take bets on who will win.

This may sound cruel to Humans but if your species is so stupid so as to believe itself worthy of its
righteous insanity - then it is hard for us to shed tears for such an inferior race.

Of course, and as a matter of complete control, which we maintain, most often you are never aware that you
are under the control of aliens.

Take the United States for example - We have your country divided into two political parties that must
keep fighting with each other and have the people there always at odds with each other.

Meantime we keep breeding Humans as slaves and warriors - so that in the event we come across hostile
cultures in other parts of the galaxy they will be able to be used for combat and also to operate our
machines when building structures is required.

And now Human you know - You are needed after all - But as far as your species 'having power over
an alien civilization' - Forget it! - You yourselves are, and have been, under the control of an
alien civilization and your species is so inferior that they can't even realize it

So Humans just keep fighting each other - And take comfort in the fact that the warriors and war
machines you are creating might one day be used by the overlords that rule you

[Thrylix]

I still can't follow what you're saying all the time. Are you role-playing as some kind of extraterrestrial or do you actually believe yourself to be one..?

[Sy Borg]

Hmm, I think I'd enjoy that quite a bit, hehe. Gives me other ideas...

The other method of discipline I had in mind was to force the dissenters to rake up my foot crud that accumulates between my toes. At that scale they may want gas-masks or haz-mat suits for that task, but I don't think I'd allow any protective gear while on toejam duty. The toil and suffering is a necessary part of the punishment. :twisted:

If you wanted to be especially harsh you could tease your v̶i̶c̶t̶i̶m̶s̶ citizens by saying slightly outrageous things and trying to provoke a reaction from them. Looking at the US today it would seem that trolling your own people is now a respected activity for leaders.

More seriously, the golden rule applies here.

[Jklint]

In our case, by completely avoiding the use of it. Absolute power has seldom been used constructively. Humans have demonstrated that the opposite is true. Absolute power can only be positive when controlled by a supremely refined civilization. We've never had any and likely never will. Whenever held, it only served to demean absolutely those who had it. The ability to use such power signifies the extent of advancement in any civilization whether ours or an alien one, "ours" seemingly becoming more alien every day.

[Papus79]

In our case, by completely avoiding the use of it. Absolute power has seldom been used constructively. Humans have demonstrated that the opposite is true. Absolute power can only be positive when controlled by a supremely refined civilization. We've never had any and likely never will. Whenever held, it only served to demean absolutely those who had it. The ability to use such power signifies the extent of advancement in any civilization whether ours or an alien one, "ours" seemingly becoming more alien every day.

This is also why I'd worry, if we ever did contact an advanced alien species, that it's quite a credible concern that we'd be a global version of the Belgian Congo within a decade.