Do you agree that when people say they don't care about the long-term future of humanity they're effectively declaring that their death obliterates the moral universe?
I have always wondered how so many people can lack empathy and understanding when it comes to social and moral issues, but then i stumbled upon solipsism. Before i even knew what solipsism was i had observed that many people lack the skills to see past themselves and put themselves in another's perspective. Essentially what they can not see does not exist to them. I don't mean this in a literal sense, of course they know other people exist and they are aware of what goes on in the world to an extent. The problem arises when you challenge them to put themselves in the shoes of someone less fortunate than themselves. Maybe it is a lack of imagination that does not allow them to see the suffering of others. I think it is more likely that they are too greedy and selfish to imagine anyone but themselves. I do agree that when people say they don't care about our species future that they are essentially ending all moral discussion with their passing. It is no surprise to me that so many people hold this view, we are discussing the lives of future human beings when there are people in our country who don't even see members of their own species as human or deserving of life. Of course these types of people would not care about future generations, they hardly care about their own neighbors. So when i say people only believe in what is right in front of them, what i am really saying is human beings only care about what is affecting them directly and what is in their immediate sphere of influence. How can racism exist if it doesn't affect me? How can people be starving when I have had access to food my whole life? These are the types of questions I imagine many Americans ask themselves subconsciously, which leads me to the question. Why should I care about climate change when I am not the one who is going to suffer the consequences? This sort of privileged and selfish mindset is what has gotten us into the almost irreversible catastrophe we are facing today. People never had to face the consequences of their actions so they now believe there are none. We know this is not the case and there will be many who suffer needlessly because of the greed displayed by so many people across the world who refuse to look beyond themselves.
I really love how you connected the question to current events happening in our own country. I actually did not know about the term solipsism until just now reading this, but have always known about this concept. I agree that as humans we have a tendency to only think/care about what affects us directly and I'll admit that I had a privilege of thinking this way (not caring about something or ignoring it because it does not directly impact me.) But fortunately, I have grown to see how this (solipsism) is an issue and now acknowledge that how I used to think, is really messed up.
ReplyDeleteSolipsism is really the reductio ad absurdum of unenlightened egoism.
ReplyDeleteRemember Tom Hanks (who btw has an essay in the NYTimes today) in Castaway, with his friend "Wilson"? It's a pretty dramatic illustration of just how foreign to our nature and well-being a genuinely solipsistic outlook would be. He knew he could not survive and retain his sanity under conditions of utter solitude, he needed one other "loving soul" (recall James's speculation about the Rock, and the moral universe) to share his island -- even if it was in fact an inanimate ball.
So there really are no true solipsists among us, but the present extent of selfish egoism and narrow disregard for others -- let alone future others -- is really pushing in the direction of that end of the egoistic spectrum. It's a lack of imagination, a lack of the most rudimentary compassion and empathy, and it's misanthropy too.
Piling onto this issue of solipsism is, I believe, misinformation. How can anyone agree on a path forward if there isn't a baseline consensus of factual reality? Take, for instance, COVID-19. There are a lot of people out there that believe it's a hoax, primarily because of "not knowing anyone who has it" and, additionally, the vast amount of half truths and straight up lies circulating regarding the virus. Hence, we're still dealing with the virus 6 months in. While some people cannot be saved and are truly selfish, I truly believe a majority people just lack the proper education on important topics such as climate change and preserving future generations.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you've wrote. I think it is also worth mentioning that oftentimes the selfishness of those feeling this way is a direct result of our upbringing. In this society, the definition of success is determined by monetary means alone. Because we are constantly competing with our peers to be the most successful, our immediate interests are forced to be those of self sustainability. We know that our personal success causes someone else to be unsuccessful, as that is the way capitalism works. When we are all raised to be selfish in our endeavors, it's not a surprise that many people cannot muster up the empathy to care for the world as a whole. When covid hit, all we heard was "the only one's who will die are the elderly and the high risk! So open up those bars!!" This is a direct reflection of the mentality that capitalism fosters, just like you said when referring to the racist comments often made by those of privilege.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I also hadn't heard of the term solipsism before. I've been reading a couple articles about this view and it seems to be a ridiculous selfish philosophical view. Regarding the question, I agree with what you stated. I think a lot of the time, people are selfish. I also don't understand how people can lack such even a little amount of empathy and not have any compassion for anyone but themselves. I think people show this much selfishness because it was ingrained in them at a young age and they were not taught to look at the bigger picture. I think there are people that can see the suffering of others and they do see what's going on in the world, but they simply don't care. They don't see any issues with their beliefs. I'm grateful that I have an open mind and I'm not afraid to listen to others and admit when I'm wrong. If more people did this, I think we as a species would be better off.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think solipsism I think is an extreme in life, but I thought when reading your post it sounded like describing a mild case of narcissism instead. I say this because you agree that people do acknowledge others besides themselves which goes against solopsism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you wrote. I honestly didn't know what the word solipsism meant but i looked it up. As you stated, some people are to selfishly stuck in their own way of thinking about just their way of living they dont think about anybody else's quality of existence nor do they care. People need to see the bigger picture of things but you cant force people to think . They have to want to know about more than whats in front of them.
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