Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
you can argue that wars are a part of survival of the fittest.
That's what I did. I was implying that although there is a chance of extinction with war, there is a better chance of survival. I then pointed out that you can't say wars will inevitably be our undoing unless you believe wars are evolution in reverse.
I was basically saying that those who believe wars will lead to extinction haven't thought hard enough.
Models of human evolution require some form of war to create the distinct cultural identities we observe. It also requires a strong sense of altruism, but yes, war and group based conflict is a part of the mechanisms of identification we evolved.
I also don't think we should ever want to do away with war. While it is always tragic, there are wars that it was imperative to fight. We are all better off due to the defeat of Hitler, Islamic extremism clearly requires some type of military response, and any would be despot or expansionist leader does need to be stopped. Because man is by nature capable of the most creative forms of cruelty, those who want peace and benevolence need to be the most willing to fight for their freedoms.
Originally posted by Grand_Moff_Gav
I am inclined to disagree.I think this is a bi-product of basic cultural conditioning. There will always be conflict yes, such as an argument with the mother but if the people are taught to hate conflict as they are say taught to hate pedophilia then there wouldn't ever be a war...ofcourse we would have to lower the population by about 5,000,000 billion...or would we? In this super-info age im sure we could do it.
I think mankind is still about 5 billion yrs away from being civilized.
War is not a concept unique to humans , it happens every day in the animal kingdom over things like territory. Its just with humans it happens on a much larger scale using our wonderful technology and twisted ideals. I remember a documentary about ant wars where thousands of ants just ripped in to each other, was quite fun to watch.
Wow, kind of sad, some of these posts. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to try and be over profound and reverent, but I'm surprised at some of the mentality here (kind of sounds like the same people arguing if Galactus can beat Superman on the other forums). Some (most, actually) of you wrote thoughtfully, and I appreciate your views.
I believe that, yes, man will always know war. Our only hope is if we can survive long enough to evolve into a higher state of being, mentaly and spiritually. By that point (if we ever get there) 'mankind' will bear little social or cultural resembelence to Homo Sapiens, and will prob. in fact become a new species.
Originally posted by Bicnarok
Einstein wrong again, as with his "you cannot exceed the speed of light" statement, (the speed has been exceeded in CERN.)If there were two men left on the world, one in USA and one in China, how are they going to have a war?
Wrong again..? You state this as if you have contempt for the greatest physicist of the twentieth century, as is he has a big track record of being wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. The great majority of his theories stand the test of time and indeed form the basis of much cosmological physics today. Einstein stated that nothing can exceed the speed of light WHERE THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE APPLY, that is, where the laws of special relativity apply- which is the entire known universe. There are no findings to dispute this that I know of (I'm no scientist), so please be more specific.
Also, did you really not understand that when he said 'man' he was refering to 'mankind'? His point was that war/conflict is in the nature of mankind.
I'm pretty sure you're wrong.
Originally posted by Bicnarok
As long as theres something to fight about there will be wars. The first person who put a fence arround a piece of land and said "this is mine" is to blame🙂Einstein was wrong about a lot of things (eg.exceeding the speed of light)
You are the poster who referenced the European Laboratory CERN in stating that the speed of light had been exceeded. Thinking it might be possible I missed this news (pretty big news to miss, since it over-turns our understanding of how the universe works), I went to the CERN web site. The only article I could find that supports your statement was about a relay-race their staffers held this summer. The runner that was wearing the speed of light T-SHIRT came in third, hence the title of the article "The Speed of Light Exceeded".
Wow... maybe you should actually read an article that you site, not jut the headline. I think these are the same calibre of folks I run into on the Superhero forums and who screech at me how wrong I am when all they have to debate with are bits and pieces of information, often taken out of context, loosely stitched together as "proof" that Wonder Woman can defeat the entire Marvel Universe.
I know that the superhero stuff is trivial, but it's a shame that our trivial fun is so often ruined by ill-informed people. I love a good argument, but please get your facts CLOSE to being accurate.
Originally posted by Cap'n Happy
Wow, kind of sad, some of these posts. I don't think it's necessary for everyone to try and be over profound and reverent, but I'm surprised at some of the mentality here (kind of sounds like the same people arguing if Galactus can beat Superman on the other forums). Some (most, actually) of you wrote thoughtfully, and I appreciate your views.I believe that, yes, man will always know war. Our only hope is if we can survive long enough to evolve into a higher state of being, mentaly and spiritually. By that point (if we ever get there) 'mankind' will bear little social or cultural resembelence to Homo Sapiens, and will prob. in fact become a new species.
The next stage in human evolution will most likely, involve nano/biomechanics and biointerface. And i still see war being an issue, even then. Especially then.
We'd have civilized sophisticated wars that might end faster and cleaner but the act itself will always be around so long as there are disagreements between a man of any kind, involving money and land, there will always be wars.
Einstein was/is right.
Originally posted by FistOfThe North
The next stage in human evolution will most likely, involve nano/biomechanics and biointerface. And i still see war being an issue, even then. Especially then.We'd have civilized sophisticated wars that might end faster and cleaner but the act itself will always be around so long as there are disagreements between a man of any kind, involving money and land, there will always be wars.
Einstein was/is right.
To add onto this:
last year there was a pseudo war between Russia and [I think] Georgia. Russia had a team of "hackers" essentially shut down the Georgian nation over the internet who were eventually fended off by Georgian hackers. Its a totally new battleground, but technology will not reduce our lust for combat.
You have some good points, but...
Originally posted by FistOfThe North
The next stage in human evolution will most likely, involve nano/biomechanics and bio-interface. And i still see war being an issue, even then. Especially then.We'd have civilized sophisticated wars that might end faster and cleaner but the act itself will always be around so long as there are disagreements between a man of any kind, involving money and land, there will always be wars.
Einstein was/is right.
You have some good points- it's very possible that humans will experiment w/ a closer bond to technology, up to bio-interface... but this really isn't evolution as nature intended. Long before human technology came along, nature evolved microbes into primitive organisms, then into primitive mammals, and then into human beings- a remarkable advancement, and I think that there is more to come. Humans can tinker with advancements, but I don't think we can exceed the plan that God/Nature already has in store. I can see a point of spiritual and cultural evolution where mankind will be far beyond the primitive state of warfare- certainly not over money or property. I think that if humans can survive long enough as a species, we will pass beyond our current, base impulses. But it is certainly a long ways off.
Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
So long as there are women there will always be wars.
Without women, men wouldn't exist, and vice versa.
Given our current level of understanding and desires, yes, I believe that wars will always exist. War serves no greater purpose than to make man feel powerful.