What can be done to increase humanity’s conscience?

[henry quirk]

Humanity doesn't have a conscience, individual humans sometimes do.

Now, sometimes individuals suss out wrongs and rights for themselves. In those cases you'll have little luck moving them. If such folks go through all the trouble of figuring things out on their own, it's unlikely there's anything you or I can do to 'edit' them.

The rest adopt 'conscience', they accept what's been transmitted to them and don't really give much thought to why this is wrong and why that is right. These are the folks who can be monkeyed around with, over the long haul.

How?

Mostly social pressure and (re)direction (a nice combination of the carrot and the stick [reward and punishment]) applied over generations.

Keep in mind: you can shift the masses around cuz they're pliable but all you're really doin' is gettin' them to swap out 'habits', you're not really elevating, improving, or evolving 'conscience'.

You can take a population of god-fearing republicans and reshape them into god-denying communists over a fifty year span, sure, but it doesn't mean much cuz someone else can come along and reverse things in another fifty.

So: why bother?

[seeds]

I am observing options, which is why the brutal dictator approach (as I an subjectively agree to your circumstances) will be inevitable.

What about fairness and equality? Does that factor into your paradigm of conscience? Or is it a keep taking one for the team approach?

Life is unfair to all of us...in this we are all equal.

Right.

Life has been equally unfair and troubling for all of us.




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[seeds]

...why bother?

This thread is an offshoot of another thread where I posted the following:

I can only speak for myself, but some of us (no doubt with a naïve hope and intent) are here to help awaken others from their zombie-like state of mind that allows them not only to ignore the suffering across the planet,...

...but also to ignore the fact that they themselves may actually be responsible for some of it.

I had my heart broken decades ago at the sight of images similar to this...



...while simultaneously witnessing the inexcusable fact that those who could actually do something about it...

(and when I say “those,” I mean “us”)

...simply look the other way as we focus on (old Roman style) entertainment (athletic spectacle, gluttonous eating, television, Internet, Kardashians, porn, etc., etc.).
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So the whole point of this thread is to try and come up with some ideas for elevating the general level of human conscience (empathy) to at least a point where children dying from a lack of food and water represents a situation wherein everyone is inwardly compelled to do something about it.

Now if you disagree, then perhaps you can explain to the little girl in the photo why she is not worth the “bother.”


(P.S., would you please stop erasing the thread headers.)
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[Eodnhoj7]

I am observing options, which is why the brutal dictator approach (as I an subjectively agree to your circumstances) will be inevitable.

What about fairness and equality? Does that factor into your paradigm of conscience? Or is it a keep taking one for the team approach?

Life is unfair to all of us...in this we are all equal.

Right.

Life has been equally unfair and troubling for all of us.




_______

Western Culture caused this...blame yourself. But we can see the disintegration of western culture following the same actions it sowed. What's the difference between this and the increase in suicide in Western Culture? Which is worse spiritual starvation or physical starvation if both end in death?

[Eodnhoj7]

...why bother?

This thread is an offshoot of another thread where I posted the following:

I can only speak for myself, but some of us (no doubt with a naïve hope and intent) are here to help awaken others from their zombie-like state of mind that allows them not only to ignore the suffering across the planet,...

...but also to ignore the fact that they themselves may actually be responsible for some of it.

I had my heart broken decades ago at the sight of images similar to this...



...while simultaneously witnessing the inexcusable fact that those who could actually do something about it...

(and when I say “those,” I mean “us”)

...simply look the other way as we focus on (old Roman style) entertainment (athletic spectacle, gluttonous eating, television, Internet, Kardashians, porn, etc., etc.).
_______

So the whole point of this thread is to try and come up with some ideas for elevating the general level of human conscience (empathy) to at least a point where children dying from a lack of food and water represents a situation wherein everyone is inwardly compelled to do something about.

Now if you disagree, then perhaps you can explain to the little girl in the photo why she is not worth the “bother.”


(P.S., would you please stop erasing the thread headers.)
_______

I have done community service, along with familiar service to the sick...have you? Death is death.

Before I argue a solution, does you "empathy" translate into action?

[henry quirk]

I take care of mine; I expect others to do the same.

I'm a finite resource. I can't save the world.

I'm no salesman. I can't convince other folks to go out and save the world.

I'm no altruist. I won't sacrifice mine in service to strangers.

I sure as hell am not communitarian. I won't be regulated so as to 'spread my wealth'.

As for the littie girl: where's her parents? You wanna lay a guilt trip on me when you oughta be askin' after them.

[Eodnhoj7]

I take care of mine; I expect others to do the same.

I'm a finite resource. I can't save the world.

I'm no salesman. I can't convince other folks to go out and save the world.

I'm no altruist. I won't sacrifice mine in service to strangers.

I sure as hell am not communitarian. I won't be regulated so as to 'spread my wealth'.

As for the littie girl: where's her parents? You wanna lay a guilt trip on me when you oughta be askin' after them.

No guilt trip on you, one is strictly responsible for their surroundings. The reference is in regards to the relation of one nation falling causing the fall of another.

[seeds]

I have done community service, along with familiar service to the sick...have you? Death is death.

Before I argue a solution, does you "empathy" translate into action?

I am a firm believer in the old Biblical axiom that...

...when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret...

But seeing how you put me on the spot (and without going into any detail), I have been trying to help children and their families in Africa and Bangladesh (nonstop since the 70s) through a Christian organization called World Vision.

So if you would like to look into sponsoring a child through them, then here is a link to their website - https://www.wvi.org/

(And btw, the post you are responding to was directed, not so much at you, but at henry quirk’s “...why bother?...” retort.)
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[Eodnhoj7]

I have done community service, along with familiar service to the sick...have you? Death is death.

Before I argue a solution, does you "empathy" translate into action?

I am a firm believer in the old Biblical axiom that...

...when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret...

But seeing how you put me on the spot (and without going into any detail), I have been trying to help children and their families in Africa and Bangladesh (nonstop since the 70s) through a Christian organization called World Vision.

So if you would like to look into sponsoring a child through them, then here is a link to their website - https://www.wvi.org/

(And btw, the post you are responding to was directed, not so much at you, but at henry quirk’s “...why bother?...” retort.)
_______

Good, then continue what you are doing. If you continue trying to make the world better in your own respective measure, then other's will follow. What is the exact issue you are having then?

[Belinda]

Seeds, improvement in education in the humanities is the way, free through undergraduate level. While some individuals learn compassion from parents or others such as church and mosque, learning compassion must be formalised so that no child or young person misses out on it.

This is longer term strategy. Immediately there is nothing I can do to stop the child dying of thirst, disease or hunger except send money to the best charity I know of. Apropos best charity let's now post our own recommendations for efficient and honest charity for relief of poverty and the effects of poverty.

I note that you recommend World Vision. That is an excellent choice. recommend Mary's Meals.It is aimed at a specific project so can be verified and it is adopted by at least one very respectable church as its pet charity.

[Belinda]

rewire or recreate the individual's human brain (that's about 7.6 billion times initially, give or take births and deaths)

-Imp

Not so. The human brain is formed by the influence of culture. Nobody knows how long ago in the course of evolution the human brain stopped being formed by genetics alone. As a result the human brain can adapt very fast indeed.

[Impenitent]

hunger and pain have far more influence than cultural dreams and stories of utopia

-Imp

[henry quirk]

Free

Ain't no such thing.

#

"hunger and pain have far more influence than cultural dreams and stories of utopia"

Exactly.

[Belinda]

Quality historiography, reportage, and fiction reflect the whole of human experience, including pain, suffering, compassion, jealousy, narrow mindedness, ambition, religious fanaticism, the daily drudge, the human effects of technological change, gender roles related to time and place. I could go on but will stop now that you get the idea of what studying the humanities is all about.

ttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/vicarious
vicarious definition: experienced as a result of watching, listening to, or reading about the activities of other people, rather than by doing the activities yourself: .

[henry quirk]

I do indeed (and mostly, today, it's not merely reviewing accounts, but 'interpreting' those accounts through a marxist lens, making the humanities an exercise in propaganda and indoctrination, not education).

And -- again -- it ain't free.