Draft – Late night musing on thinking responsibly.

Because we can think and verbalize a specific idea, and map it to a set of values, does not make that idea fit for application in any broader sense.
The idea must contribute or at least not cause a degradation to society.
There is no such thing as “collateral damage” when we think. The comprehensive quality of life on earth is a direct representation of the words and actions of humans which in turn are the physical manifestations of our ideas.

This concept (ok, this idea) evolved from an observation that, as humans, over the course of our few million years as sentient beings, we have made significant strides along many vectors, intellectual, physical, emotional, social, technical, and even philosophical. Some of this has been overall beneficial and some has been hideous. Maybe some of the hideous has been necessary. The long term benefits outweighing the short term costs. Maybe.

But one thing that focuses all of this is that it has all, every smallest particle of it, has been the fruit of our unfathomably complex brain not withstanding the benign neglect of providence.
In short, we have been granted by the creator, a tool which we are not fully capable of using. Like a kid with a new sports car, we’re careening recklessly thru history, assuming a significant moral hazard.  Ideally, with enough negative and positive feedback, we are gaining control over the process, optimizing the resulting comprehensive quality of life.

This is not an argument for eugenics or social engineering thru neuroscience, it’s an observation that may help inform future use of our mental facilities.  This is a meta-idea, an idea about ideas.  And, as the title states, a Draft version of this idea.  So please don’t go out and lower the comprehensive quality of life on earth as a result of reading this blog post.

-jgp