Message from @fallot
Discord ID: 289147213483868161
and you're going to take the whole world with you
im pretty convinced that humanitarianism is the cause of alot of the problems we have. our idea of progress
you're right, but that itself is a phenomenon that deserves further scrutiny
@Jim What precipitates that, though? Exploitable empathy by those capable?
but counter to that, the romans expanded without an idea of utopia
Or just altruism for the sake of itself?
im not entirely sure what you mean?
the reasoning for humanism itself?
Yeah.
Humanitarianism specifically. or did you mean humanism?
If you attribute anything to an idea, you have to also explain
from christianity, protestantism. reminants
why that idea has traction
what makes people accept it
once they do, why do they persist in it
the idea of humans on a timeline of progress, technology. morality. wellbeing.
I don't think that's enough, such an idea could result in a multitude of ends
what does progress have to do with tribal/racial solidarity
when these people say "progress"
they mean progress towards a certain end
because that's the only progress that their values allow
i mean, humanism = one day all humans will live together in one happy house
escape from suffering
basically idealism
nothing wrong with idealism
the problem is this idealism is sick and terrible
not that it's idealistic
even so, the idea that we can escape our woes completely somehow is toxic
more toxic than the reality
The key to humanism is the ability to empathize, yes? Where do Africans fit in or religions that require servitude for non-believers?
i would say the key is universalism
Perhaps i'm not scoping the timeline long enough by asking that BTW
"we're all the same"
with christianity it was if we all believed in the same God, with humanism its if we all drink Starbucks
The secular religion of the Roman state - the imperial cult - had pretty much reduced Jove and it's host of polytheistic gods into political functionaries. The narrative of the religion was derived around Jove's role in the cosmos as a benevolent despot who transformed primal chaos into order. The emperor took on that role over the community during the secular phase.
The power it had was derived from the fact that Rome was highly successful in subduing it's warring neighbors into productive vassals.
what was their reasoning to expand?
It worked well in the past to build the Roman empire
Humans being what they are tend to stick with familiar patterns of behavior even if the conditions that allowed those behaviors to be successful no longer exist
think of how a monkey trap works
pulling it's hand out works nearly everytime and it doesn't occur to the monkey that it has to let go of the food to get its hand out of the trap