Last week, I mentioned that I had finished examining one-quarter of the philosophical thought experiments that Julian Baggini chronicled in The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten. I'll diligently continue to go through all of these, but I want to take a break this week to go over a thought experiment I recently wrote myself. Rather than break the story into two parts like I usually do, I'll introduce AND discuss my thought experiment all at once on Friday. So, for today, I thought I'd just share a brief post about a 5-minute video that a friend and fellow evolutionary thinker recently produced.
The video is called Evolution Will Change How You See the World, and it was made by Lawrence Rifkin. As you can see from his website, Larry has written dozens of articles along this line of thought for the Huffington Post, Scientific American, The Humanist, and other great publications. Check out the video to understand why he's managed all this:
The video is called Evolution Will Change How You See the World, and it was made by Lawrence Rifkin. As you can see from his website, Larry has written dozens of articles along this line of thought for the Huffington Post, Scientific American, The Humanist, and other great publications. Check out the video to understand why he's managed all this:
While I obviously agree that evolution has changed the way that *I* see the world, I particularly liked nine points that were made in this video:
1. The story of evolution gives us a connection to all life and the world.
2. Evolution shows us we did not come from outside of the world; we grew out of it.
3. We humans have become the most wonderful AND the most despicable animal on earth.
4. We are a heroic AND humbled species in this story of evolution.
5. We are part of something larger than ourselves.
6. This process of evolution has gone on long before us and will continue on long after our deaths.
7. We have a responsibility to this great epic, which our ancestors struggled with their lives to maintain.
8. This is an inspiring and dramatic vision.
9. The future of all life depends on this.
Great stuff. It fits very well with my definition of good as "that which leads to the long-term survival of life in general over evolutionary timespans." I bring this up now though because of its importance to my story on Friday, which revolves around a Letter to the Editor that was printed about my recent article in Humanist magazine. I'll talk more about the back and forth I had with the man who wrote that letter, but he desperately could have used the message imparted by this video from Larry. So, please share it, and check back on Friday when I show why it's so important.
1. The story of evolution gives us a connection to all life and the world.
2. Evolution shows us we did not come from outside of the world; we grew out of it.
3. We humans have become the most wonderful AND the most despicable animal on earth.
4. We are a heroic AND humbled species in this story of evolution.
5. We are part of something larger than ourselves.
6. This process of evolution has gone on long before us and will continue on long after our deaths.
7. We have a responsibility to this great epic, which our ancestors struggled with their lives to maintain.
8. This is an inspiring and dramatic vision.
9. The future of all life depends on this.
Great stuff. It fits very well with my definition of good as "that which leads to the long-term survival of life in general over evolutionary timespans." I bring this up now though because of its importance to my story on Friday, which revolves around a Letter to the Editor that was printed about my recent article in Humanist magazine. I'll talk more about the back and forth I had with the man who wrote that letter, but he desperately could have used the message imparted by this video from Larry. So, please share it, and check back on Friday when I show why it's so important.
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