God Dec 29, 2022
I love atheists because they choose to be good not out of fear of hell but because it’s the right thing to do.
Show threadJoel at Seldon Crisis
@godpod Or we're just not naturally assholes? I honestly don't remember ever choosing to be good. It just seems to be the way I generally am (though obviously I've had my asshole moments via being oblivious to others' perspective and values).
Dec 29, 2022 at 10:06pmWeb
Show threadZ.A. MackicDec 29, 2022
@seldoncrisis @godpod Somehow, this sounds right to me too.
Show threadJohn GoveDec 30, 2022
@seldoncrisis @godpod I think you're right that humans generally ARE inherently "good," meaning we treat others well. I think that this is the result of evolution – those "good" traits evolved as traits necessary for forming large social groups. Many mammals exhibit "good" social traits that are shared by humans, so I suspect many of our moral attitudes actually have their roots in pre-human history.
Show threadJoel at Seldon CrisisDec 30, 2022
@johngove @godpod We have to be overwhelmingly decent folks considering how many of us there are. If only 1% of human beings are assholes that's a terrifyingly large number of horrible people we have to deal with.
Show threadJohn GoveDec 30, 2022
@seldoncrisis @godpod Sobering way to put it.