In this reflection I will ponder on something that I doubt, a notion that I don’t confide in or trust. Upon my deep thinking I could not help myself but to think of how I doubt man, my inability to have complete faith in human beings. My philosophy on this idea very much relates to the selfish nature of people in general and our intentions behind the acts that we commit for whatever reason, Immanuel Kant ideology. Why is this disease embedded in us, why is selfishness in our nature, it spreads like a virus to a human body, weakening the immune system, weakening our humanity. Some may say that it is natural because it pertains to our survival but who says we wouldn’t survive if we didn’t have it. I believe many people including myself have been acculturated, forced to be in a position where I have to worry about myself and my needs before anybody else’s. Some might have exceptions like family or close friends that might make them selfless however that doesn’t lift the burden of the selfish nature off us.
My grandmother was a wise woman she once told me “We use and live in Mud”, a quote that baffled my brains and it was not until after her death I began to contemplate more on these words she shared with me along with many other brain teasers. The message being transmitted through this quote is equableness; we are all essentially the same. Under Kant's ideas, if one's intentions are pure and are in the best interest of others then these policies and beliefs ensues is an ethical course of action, even if the pure intention creates a negative consequence. Which leads me to thinking; we live in a world that was meant to be used for our own pleasure. A world where everything is free (or at least it used to be), trees bares us fruit, beautiful scenery for our eyes to witness, animals to adore and feed off of, water to cleanse our pores, to even the oxygen we breathe as a result of plant life. Implementing this idea that Kant developed of intention it would seem that human intention has been manipulated way before we were born, as way of stating that intentions can be thought.
What is the intention behind a man making a discovery that can change lives for the good but refuse to share the knowledge of his/her discovery with others, the only way the discovery would be shared is if there is an advantage. To fully comprehend what I’m saying you must think practically. Take the example somebody finding a cure for aids, in a selfish world it would make sense to charge people money for this cure, using money (a gift from nature), something free to capitalize of another person, selfishness. What if it was the same predicament but in a selfless world, where the cure would be given to those who need with the strict intent of saving lives as oppose to an exchange. It’s like what my grandmother said “we use and live in mud”, everything we have comes from nature, and whether you believe in God or Evolution, the intent of this earth was to provide us with good things, sustainability, beauty and life. But when mans selfish nature grew stronger then the world began to suffer. The greed of chopping down trees to build corporations or print money, the greed of killing more animals than we need to, pollution, various inventions just for the purpose to sell. I understand what my grandmother meant we use mud and live in it, so that means I’m no better than a homeless man because they use the same things I do, they sleep on mud, wood and stones, I cover myself in it (house). So the interesting thoughts I ponder on is why is it that our selfish nature is causing us to take advantage, capitalize, ridicule and kill each other…it’s just mud. Even when there is no exchange for currency, giving a person a gift has its own sense of selfishness because if I get a Christmas present, it will be expected of me to do the same as well or maybe I made a large donation to a foundation but selfishly I would want to be recognized. Can we be unselfish and be truly comfortable with it. I think it would be very difficult and It’s for these reasons why I doubt man, why I don’t fully trust human nature.
My grandmother was a wise woman she once told me “We use and live in Mud”, a quote that baffled my brains and it was not until after her death I began to contemplate more on these words she shared with me along with many other brain teasers. The message being transmitted through this quote is equableness; we are all essentially the same. Under Kant's ideas, if one's intentions are pure and are in the best interest of others then these policies and beliefs ensues is an ethical course of action, even if the pure intention creates a negative consequence. Which leads me to thinking; we live in a world that was meant to be used for our own pleasure. A world where everything is free (or at least it used to be), trees bares us fruit, beautiful scenery for our eyes to witness, animals to adore and feed off of, water to cleanse our pores, to even the oxygen we breathe as a result of plant life. Implementing this idea that Kant developed of intention it would seem that human intention has been manipulated way before we were born, as way of stating that intentions can be thought.
What is the intention behind a man making a discovery that can change lives for the good but refuse to share the knowledge of his/her discovery with others, the only way the discovery would be shared is if there is an advantage. To fully comprehend what I’m saying you must think practically. Take the example somebody finding a cure for aids, in a selfish world it would make sense to charge people money for this cure, using money (a gift from nature), something free to capitalize of another person, selfishness. What if it was the same predicament but in a selfless world, where the cure would be given to those who need with the strict intent of saving lives as oppose to an exchange. It’s like what my grandmother said “we use and live in mud”, everything we have comes from nature, and whether you believe in God or Evolution, the intent of this earth was to provide us with good things, sustainability, beauty and life. But when mans selfish nature grew stronger then the world began to suffer. The greed of chopping down trees to build corporations or print money, the greed of killing more animals than we need to, pollution, various inventions just for the purpose to sell. I understand what my grandmother meant we use mud and live in it, so that means I’m no better than a homeless man because they use the same things I do, they sleep on mud, wood and stones, I cover myself in it (house). So the interesting thoughts I ponder on is why is it that our selfish nature is causing us to take advantage, capitalize, ridicule and kill each other…it’s just mud. Even when there is no exchange for currency, giving a person a gift has its own sense of selfishness because if I get a Christmas present, it will be expected of me to do the same as well or maybe I made a large donation to a foundation but selfishly I would want to be recognized. Can we be unselfish and be truly comfortable with it. I think it would be very difficult and It’s for these reasons why I doubt man, why I don’t fully trust human nature.