*I’ll explain more below, but this is my bike. Trying to grab a photo of something that inspires me throughout the day.

Today’s Thoughts

I’m having trouble finding the motivation to create… anything. To address this, I am going to start writing whatever is running through my mind and post it here.

It’s probably not worth reading, but if you like it, interact.

Better than nothing, right?

Living in Reality

Today I’m playing with an idea I heard on a Q and A session from the Within Reason podcast.

Alex, host of the show, was asked about where he disagrees with Sam Harris on the topic of free will.

Alex explained how this breaking point happens when Sam explains that a world where all beings experience the maximum amount of suffering at all times and claims this is clearly… “Bad” “Wrong” “Evil” – whatever word you choose.

My understanding is that Alex is not clear how to make that jump from suffering to a categorical like “Bad.”

I understand the point, and I agree that a statement like this does not clearly articulate why one might claim that the most suffering possible is “bad.” BUT, isn’t this just a distraction? No person (exceptions prove the rule) would wrap up a good 70-80 years of the most intense suffering possible and not come out the other side believing that was gratuitous hell – or, assuming full thoughts could even be formed after that experience, some foundational belief that what they had endured was wrong. Something deep in us recognizes forces that oppose the goods we would generally pursue – and we have protective mechanisms in place to support our instincts. We know what is wrong. Go out and ask anyone this question and I believe you’ll get the answer. Yes. You can make that jump. Why? Experience is all we have, and we all know the things we want to avoid. Being forced to endure those things for our entire existince is nothing but wrong. It is bad. It is evil.

I like spending time thinking about concepts. Of course, Alex is right, and it might be fun to discuss the nuance of words, but Sam is also right. They are different conversations. That’s what got my hackles up. We do need to participate in the same conversation to find any meaningful answers. In this conversation, I think you have to dispense with some of that and position ourselves in the reality where we exist. Can we dispense with the games and assume we’re human? I’m not interested in spending too much time thinking about whether or not my senses can be trusted or recognizing that what I “see” is just a best guess at the information my eyes are taking in (if what we’re talking about is the alleviation of suffering, establishing our morality, or other practical moves about how and why we do what we do). I don’t actually understand everything about what the world is like. But we do, right? You know and I know what a floor is and when there isn’t one. We know how to recognize fire and we can trust that sticking an unprotected limb in the fire is both painful and bad.

A life that experiences nothing but the maximum possible amount of suffering has experienced evil.