> Imagine how many social problems would disappear if people had more integrity and stronger morals. Literally every aspect of life would improve. But instead, we have to bulletproof everything (largely without success) from people who scheme and scam their way through life. We sink enormous costs into this, and it slows the progress and complicates life for everyone else.
That the central problem of human life. "Hell is other people."
Arguably, cities are a bad idea. There's no a priori reason to expect our so-called civilization to work. In evolutionary time-frame it has only just appeared and it shows every evidence of being an ephemeral flash-in-the-pan. I mean, not only are we about to roast ourselves in our own waste heat, but a single virus has deranged our whole global economic structure.
It may well turn out that coming down out of the trees and inventing digital watches was wrong, and the Orangutans and Dolphins have got it right all along.
Government (kings and whatnot) is a kind of machine to manage human wickedness.
> ...a universal, teachable framework for basic morality. ... What do we have now in their place?
The simple answer is e.g. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
That the central problem of human life. "Hell is other people."
Arguably, cities are a bad idea. There's no a priori reason to expect our so-called civilization to work. In evolutionary time-frame it has only just appeared and it shows every evidence of being an ephemeral flash-in-the-pan. I mean, not only are we about to roast ourselves in our own waste heat, but a single virus has deranged our whole global economic structure.
It may well turn out that coming down out of the trees and inventing digital watches was wrong, and the Orangutans and Dolphins have got it right all along.
Government (kings and whatnot) is a kind of machine to manage human wickedness.
> ...a universal, teachable framework for basic morality. ... What do we have now in their place?
The simple answer is e.g. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human...