Bubbles and Life

[Ro-]

This is different than us asking ourselves if we'd rather exist or not based on our enjoyment of our experiences - we know they'd be happy.

[Chu]

I'm pro-letting-bubbles-go and pro-choice as well. xP Interesting connection there, Link. I never thought of that.

 

First off, I think this is very different from abortion, since the scenario guarantees a happy life, which wouldn't be the case in an abortion scenario.

 

[...]

 

But humans also have a big impact on the world. Oil spills, deforestation, wonderful things like that, all impact the world.

 

You'd be surprised at how many people seem to think otherwise. x_x *has had enough abortion debates to last a lifetime*

 

And I'd actually have to disagree with you on that statement. You see, in terms of how long the Earth has been around, and will most likely stay around, we humans are really nothing more than a cold. We feel like we can make such a huge impact on the universe and on our planet, but the only reason that it seems that way is because we're so small and insignificant that the only thing that we can destroy is ourselves. If we go out with a literal bang, the Earth can and will recover easily, eventually leaving no trace of our existence at all. Oil spills and deforestation can fix themselves over time. It will seem like an eternity to us, but not the Earth.

[Noog]

Wow this is such a great topic. I wish I had found it earlier. There's a lot to say.

 

First off, I think this is very different from abortion, since the scenario guarantees a happy life, which wouldn't be the case in an abortion scenario. Who knows? There's got to be some kids out there wishing they were aborted (wow, that's depressing).

 

This was kind of my initial reaction to the prompt. It doesn't really matter. If the bubble pops and doesn't know of it's existence, then there was no point for it to have existed to begin with. I mean, it's only one second. It wouldn't even have time to process its existence before it died. It probably would never know it was alive to begin with. So whether or not you leave the bubbles in the jar or release them, it's the same end result - no consciousness. The whole question is meaningless and irrelevant because that one second is meaningless.

 

But then I read this post:

 

It kinda struck me then as a wow, we're all kind of like the bubbles that were released. Granted, we aren't all happy with our lives, but essentially, we weren't given the option of whether or not we wanted to be alive. Yes, the bubbles will live and die whether they like it or not, but we have to too. So it really boils it down to this. Would you have preferred to never exist or do you enjoy your existence, your ability to make friends (and lose them), fall in love (and out of it), feel pain, post a message on this thread, etc.?

 

 

I think this is a great answer. You could leave the jar closed and hope that the next person to come upon it has more options.

 

 

Okay, I'm sorry this is so irrelevant, and that I'm just picking on such a small thing, but it's one of my biggest pet peeves. Don't ever use the "playing God" card. We play God all the time. Playing God is making a choice, any choice. We play God when we save a person's life. We play God when we make our own decisions in everyday life. It's just who we are.

As a Christian, I must say, the "playing God" card is the weakest one in our hand.

Plus for this situation, we could ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" Or probably more correctly, "What did Jesus do?" (Assuming you believe that Jesus and God are the same deity). Well God created the universe and opened the jar of bubbles.

 

Oh and by the way, the bubbles wouldn't be blissfully ignorant if the jar wasn't opened. They wouldn't be anything, actually, other than just bubbles. Ignorance implies consciousness.

 

 

But humans also have a big impact on the world. Oil spills, deforestation, wonderful things like that, all impact the world. But also those trying to save it too. The ones planting trees, rebuilding lost habitats - they help the world too. They're useful to the world - like the immune system that tries to keep the "human virus" (Matrix reference :P) in check.

 

Okay. That was the best answer by far.

 

no wait but he said—NO, WILL HAS ANSWERED ALL QUESTIONS.

[Unstream]

And I'd actually have to disagree with you on that statement. You see, in terms of how long the Earth has been around, and will most likely stay around, we humans are really nothing more than a cold. We feel like we can make such a huge impact on the universe and on our planet, but the only reason that it seems that way is because we're so small and insignificant that the only thing that we can destroy is ourselves. If we go out with a literal bang, the Earth can and will recover easily, eventually leaving no trace of our existence at all. Oil spills and deforestation can fix themselves over time. It will seem like an eternity to us, but not the Earth.

Well I guess it's what you consider Earth to be. Do you mean all the life on it or the simple rock?

I mean, if we polluted the Earth enough to wipe out all life on it, it wouldn't be able to recover easily. It probably never would get a chance to before the sun exploded if we wiped out everything.

And it's like saying the Mayans are still here today just because you can still see the ruins.