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How can humanity increase its collective wisdom?

Wisdom is a bit of an amorphous term. Not sure how we'd quantify it.

We do have much more collective intelligence at this point. Grade school kids know more than nobility did even a few hundred years ago, at least in certain areas like math and science, and probably many others.

Originally posted by Digi
Wisdom is a bit of an amorphous term. Not sure how we'd quantify it.

We do have much more collective intelligence at this point. Grade school kids know more than nobility did even a few hundred years ago, at least in certain areas like math and science, and probably many others.

True...its ambiguous.

In regards to humanity as a whole. Our position in the universe. Our uniqueness relative to other species. Our ability to shape our environment. What would help us move forward. Usher in the next age

Discard religion.

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Discard religion.

And legalize drugs.

Originally posted by Surtur
And legalize drugs.


I knew you wouldn't let me down.

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Discard religion.

Religion does seem archaic but does belief in a unquantifiable force mean we are less intelligent?

Originally posted by Surtur
And legalize drugs.

Not sure how that would advance anything other than commercialization of drugs

I mean where is the synergy? Active listening and critical thinking seem to be in short demand. I would think that history would have taught us the value of independent thoughts. it would do the world's wisdom a great service for educators at every level, from the nursery onward, to cultivate the art of active listening - in themselves as well as their students. I honestly think that we should shift focus away from celebrity/sports/actors. Not that they arent talented in their own right but we need to set the same stages for academic and scientific achievements.

We live in a computer simulation tbh

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Discard religion.

Ha. ...maybe?

I actually think the root issue would be more about education and synergistic technologies that allow the emergence of new types of thought and more advanced collaborative power. Elon Musk had a great little talk about AI, and amidst the reasonable fears that some people have, he also highlighted that there's a chance to really do great things with it; imagine an AI "cloud" that interacts with the human mind, and can allow us to make communal decisions and directives.

In that sort of paradigm, the presence (or lack thereof) of religion is beside the point.

There are limits to the human capacity for achievement. No one alive can be a true expert in more than a handful of fields. Most times, only a single one. And what happens when some fields reach a point where it takes a lifetime to truly understand the field deeply enough to potentially make a contribution to it? Some think progress will continue at an accelerated pace. But it will need to deal with such hurdles. Transhumanism and technology is going to be the eventual answer.

There's also a lot that can be done to bring up the average of human intelligence, so to speak, in underdeveloped areas. I do tentatively think we can reach an equilibrium with the planet. Green technologies and the fairly static population changes in most modernized countries suggest that we might be able to coexist here indefinitely without burning the planet out. But we're not there yet.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
Religion does seem archaic but does belief in a unquantifiable force mean we are less intelligent?

.

It does when you use that belief as a replacement for fact.

Originally posted by jaden101
It does when you use that belief as a replacement for fact.

Well then I guess we would have to toss in the Religion of Politics in to the basket as well....

Bye Bye Democrats.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
Religion does seem archaic but does belief in a unquantifiable force mean we are less intelligent?
Not at all. But not all religions are the same and equal.

You also made a mistaken assumption that the notion of God that some religions have, e.g. Christianity, equals "unqantifiable force".


Originally posted by jaden101
It does when you use that belief as a replacement for fact.
Which, is not confined only to religion. Science does that all the time, it's called theorizing.

Originally posted by Surtur
And legalize drugs.


TBH freedom of an individual is one of the most powerful sides of pro-legalization argument.



BTW

@ Digi, I am curious if are you going to address my criticism of your posts in "Gay rights vs. Islamic rights" thread? No pressure, if not, that's fine with me too.

My 2 cents:

Another word for wisdom is perspective, and perspective -- being able to see the forest for the trees -- generally comes with time and experience. While some of us *get this* faster than others, humanity overall is still quite adolescent in its worldview.

I would think some fast-moving, global disaster (like in "The Day After Tomorrow", would shake us up pretty good. Until then, morons, eg, will continue to get close to dangerous wild animals to take selfies.

Or, wait ... did you mean smoking weed to get smarter?

Originally posted by Mindship
My 2 cents:

Another word for wisdom is perspective, and perspective -- being able to see the forest for the trees -- generally comes with time and experience. While some of us *get this* faster than others, humanity overall is still quite adolescent in its worldview.

I would think some fast-moving, global disaster (like in "The Day After Tomorrow", would shake us up pretty good. Until then, morons, eg, will continue to get close to dangerous wild animals to take selfies.

Or, wait ... did you mean smoking weed to get smarter?


This. I believe it would take a xeno nightmare to get humanity on one accord.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
Not sure how that would advance anything other than commercialization of drugs

You mean besides saving us the millions of dollars we are spending on the war on drugs, getting a whole ton of people out of jail who really don't deserve to be there, and granting a large boost to our economy?

Originally posted by Stigma


@ Digi, I am curious if are you going to address my criticism of your posts in "Gay rights vs. Islamic rights" thread? No pressure, if not, that's fine with me too.

I saw your response, about countries where it's punishable by death, but didn't think it was a direct response to me. Was it?

{Edit} nevermind, saw the earlier response. Missed it before. Time kinda soured me to that whole thread, but I can probably manage a response sometime in the next couple days.

Originally posted by Digi
I saw your response, about countries where it's punishable by death, but didn't think it was a direct response to me. Was it?

{Edit} nevermind, saw the earlier response. Missed it before. Time kinda soured me to that whole thread, but I can probably manage a response sometime in the next couple days.
That's cool

Take your time too, I'm currently in the "fan mode" as Euro is happening right now in France. At least 2 football matches a day! Poland plays tomorrow their 3rd match. In general, you can imagine what kind of alcoholic frenzy is going on atm in Poland. I wouldn't miss it for the world

Originally posted by Surtur
You mean besides saving us the millions of dollars we are spending on the war on drugs, getting a whole ton of people out of jail who really don't deserve to be there, and granting a large boost to our economy?

Hmmm...Thats extremely small minded. Have you ever been addicted to drugs? Probably not. Anyway not sure how legalizing drug use would create an utopian society.

Originally posted by Sin I AM
Hmmm...Thats extremely small minded. Have you ever been addicted to drugs? Probably not. Anyway not sure how legalizing drug use would create an utopian society.

I never said it would create a utopian society. I said it would boost the economy and get a lot of people out of jail who do not need to be in jail.

It's not small minded. Look up other countries that have legalized drugs.

We already have highly addictive shit that is legal. Why do some dipshits get to decide what stuff we can get hooked on and what we can't get hooked on? How many people are killed by drunk drivers each year? Is alcohol illegal? No?

Originally posted by Flyattractor
Well then I guess we would have to toss in the Religion of Politics in to the basket as well....

Bye Bye Democrats.

The fact that you think all Democrats are, by definition, guilty of being wilfully ignorant shows your wilful ignorance and unwillingness to learn anything that contradicts that view.

Originally posted by Stigma



Which, is not confined only to religion. Science does that all the time, it's called theorizing.

Give me a specific example of where "science" has theorised something and then not changed the consensus of opinion in light of contradictory evidence.

Originally posted by jaden101
Give me a specific example of where "science" has theorised something and then not changed the consensus of opinion in light of contradictory evidence.
Nice try, but that's not what I was on to

I said science also uses belief (assumption without evidence) as a valid point in theorizng about the world. Sorry, if my response was not clear.

From the top of my head, an idea that the speed of light is constant is a belief, not a fact. And the whole theory of relativity hinges on that. Thus a large chunk of modern physics can very well be wrong.

Originally posted by Surtur
I never said it would create a utopian society. I said it would boost the economy and get a lot of people out of jail who do not need to be in jail.

It's not small minded. Look up other countries that have legalized drugs.

We already have highly addictive shit that is legal. Why do some dipshits get to decide what stuff we can get hooked on and what we can't get hooked on? How many people are killed by drunk drivers each year? Is alcohol illegal? No?

That's your argument? Thats because alcohol is legal so should drugs? Which drugs should be legal? Coke? Heroine? Weed and crack? That's a great idea now that I think about it. Lets legalize drug use. But what age should it start? 18? 21? Id love to see the benefits of legalized drug use to an already hostile society. I asked before have you ever been addicted to anything. Opiates? Pills? Liquor...i dont think you understand the ramifications of a society of drug users.

Let me answer your questions though. You said "why do some dipshits get to decide what stuff we get hooked on". I dunno i assume because they are elected officials. I mean we did elect these folks that enact these laws. You mentioned how many people get killed by drunk drivers....ive no clue im sure y could google it. Not sure where u were going with that. Would u rather them be killed by coke addicts instead

Originally posted by Stigma
Nice try, but that's not what I was on to

I said science also uses belief (assumption without evidence) as a valid point in theorizng about the world. Sorry, if my response was not clear.

From the top of my head, an idea that the speed of light is constant is a belief, not a fact. And the whole theory of relativity hinges on that. Thus a large chunk of modern physics can very well be wrong.

It could. The point is that scientific consensus changes with evidence. Religious consensus doesn't.(although the Catholic Church is beginning to shift on certain issues)

Also, theoretical physics isn't just plucking theories out of the air. Mathematical application is the basis for currently non observable physics. Much of what has been theorised for decades is now being proven as technology advances...gravitational waves, higgs boson

Then there's the countless theories that were abandoned after being proven wrong. A scientific equivalent to the way religion denies facts in the face of overwhelming evidence would be scientists still claiming that luminiferous aether is a thing.

Originally posted by jaden101
It could. The point is that scientific consensus changes with evidence. Religious consensus doesn't.(although the Catholic Church is beginning to shift on certain issues)

Also, theoretical physics isn't just plucking theories out of the air. Mathematical application is the basis for currently non observable physics. Much of what has been theorised for decades is now being proven as technology advances...gravitational waves, higgs boson

Then there's the countless theories that were abandoned after being proven wrong. A scientific equivalent to the way religion denies facts in the face of overwhelming evidence would be scientists still claiming that luminiferous aether is a thing.
Which is true, but it may be an error to judge religion and science similarly, though the matter is very interesting indeed.


All religions start with dogma and then are theorized upon.

All science starts with theory, and that sometimes developes into "dogma."

Religion can start with an assumption (religious dogma) and then be proved through philosophical and logical reasoning.

Science can start with premises for the use of the theory (some points can be assumed without evidence) and then move on to the conclusion.


The issue is religion often justifies its dogmas via philosophical and logical extrapolations (e.g. Christianity), while science seemingly constantly shifts its positions due to empirical tests in the natural world (like you correctly pointed out). In that way, both progress, but by using different modes of analysis.

Morover, scientific advances further support the observations made through philosophy (Big Bang Theory, for example.)

On the other hand, religion and science seldom intersect. Science is not equipped to deal with things that religion does, and vice versa.

Originally posted by jaden101
The fact that you think all Democrats are, by definition, guilty of being wilfully ignorant shows your wilful ignorance and unwillingness to learn anything that contradicts that view.

Ahh the Old I'm Rubber You are Glue" strategy....