Most of us have great ideas on how to run the world. A common lament goes, “Moral standards of the world are declining. If everybody is good (whatever that is), the world will be a better place”. Unfortunately, being “good” does not seem to come naturally to humans, unlike other life-forms. Many recommend that wo/men must be “forced” to be good. Here I will examine, among others, why humans find it so difficult to be “good”.
All that exists exists because they possess the required properties. Similarly, properties required to survive, i.e. instincts like hunger, sex, fight/flee etc are hardwired into life. These ensure sustenance of life. Fundamentally, all life has only one goal – to survive as an individual/species. The species survival goal explains parents’ protective nature for offspring. Unlike most species, however, mankind can choose to act against instincts, due to evolved thinking abilities. Survival being a basic instinct is default choice. However, a wo/man choosing not to die implicitly reasoned s/he is worth preserving. Therefore, an individual’s fundamental goal is to justify to self the choice to live by proving worthy of life. This is why no one can genuinely believe that s/he is worthless. Even the “humble” who claim worthlessness, say so only because they believe it makes them better/virtuous.
In pursuit of worthiness, humans needed others as recipients/audience. Thus, societies evolved. Self-worth results from honest approval by other humans. However, wo/men that failed to win approval, sub-consciously reversed cause and effect i.e., have others approve them and deceive self of their worth from that fact. Their method simultaneously showed human capacity to genius and self deception. Firstly, happy wo/men don’t seek others for support/advise. Thus, to establish a society with significant proportion unhappy, the moral was defined as the opposite of the natural to wo/man, sometimes even life. For instance, all life is selfish, has sex urges, ambitious, and not obligated to others. We defined these as evil. Sacrifices, sex abstinence, self-denial, and “service” to society/god were virtues. Further, the reward for these virtues is never real/present on earth. It usually is heaven after death with virgins/drink/dances, or the “if you are really selfless you will feel it” line. Of course, selflessness is impossible. Further, in an audacious appeal to be unhappy, we are told to renounce “temporary earthly happiness” and seek “permanent happiness”. The average human, given that s/he is fighting most natural instincts, fails to do the “good”. In an obvious contradiction, s/he pursues happiness by denying happiness to self and then s/he flocks to gurus for enlightenment from suffering. This obvious con works, not least because many of us rely on it to deceive ourselves of our self-worth.
Simply, it is impossible to “live” “good” if it is defined in opposition to life instincts. It is foolish to harm others, unless necessary for survival, because it increases probability of harm to self. Other species instinctively follow this rule. Further, wo/man’s interactions with other beings are primarily to convince self that his/her life is worth living. It is not possible to convince self, maybe others but not self, of anything by lying/cheating. God isn’t partial to leak messages to selected individual/place/people/times. S/he talks to all of us, always. His/her message is to live a life worth living. God conveys failure to do so by negative emotions like sadness, evasion, and a desire to see others’ fail and success by positive emotions like happiness, excitement, and a genuine appreciation for achievement.
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Some of the ideas expressed were influenced by Ayn Rand.
