Do you feel man is superior over all other species?

Of course you do.

Our species has been to the moon and back!

How do we compare with other species?

Darwin’s work proved that humans evolved from monkeys.

The major difference between us is brain size, in other words, intellect.

Humans are good at inventing things and being creative.

How smart are we?

Was creating the atomic bomb really such a good idea?

Evidence is that humans are to blame for global warming, melting ice caps and rising sea levels, plus pollution.

Which means millions of people and other species could perish.

ARE WE SO CLEVER AFTER ALL?

Is man or nature best for looking after balancing life support systems on our planet?

This is the Great Debate.

Man’s dominion was backed up by the inventing of guns and gunpowder.

Then came transport linking up continents using ships to transport goods.

Man was doing great things!

Then in 1800 something happened–POPULATION EXPLOSION!!!

Despite wars, disease and natural disasters, the world’s population rose to one billion people!

What did Thomas Malthus, the economist, say about this?

He predicted disaster!

With the population explosion there would NOT be enough food to sustain human life.

Nature would have to take over producing disease, famine and starvation until balance was restored.

This shocked the World!

What happened next, how did the World respond?

Malthus’s predictions became a challenge to the creative minds of Europe and America to make sure they didn’t come true and man could break free from Nature’s limitations.

So what did the minds of the World come up with?

Britain found coal under the ground to replace wood burning.

BUT the World still relied on wind and water power.

In other words, energy came directly from natural processes. Nature was still king!

Then steam was perfected with the steam engine. This machine didn’t rely on the earth’s natural forces.

The steam engine could pull a wagon without the help of gravity, wind or water.

All it needed was the raw materials of the earth itself, such as coal, oil and gas.

By burning coal in an oxygenated atmosphere water could be heated in a high pressure container to produce an independent source of power.

Then the railroads were built.

After steam power came electricity.

Then mass production of products in factories followed.

Now man and nature were in competition for the earth’s finite resources.

Nature needed them for sustaining habitats and species.

Man needed them to keep the machines going to maintain a lifestyle for the people.

Man made materials, such as rubber and plastics, were on the rise.

So these advances were made without regard for nature or other forms of life.

What problems did all this progress create?

The man made materials have NO place or function in the natural eco systems.

Nature’s products degrade and decay over time.

But man’s products create waste and clog up the earth’s environment.

What has this to do with population increase?

Man’s manipulation of nature has led to population boom.

Better farming methods produce more food.

Better health and hygiene (vaccinations and drugs).

Motorized power and insecticides help the boom.

Today the population grows by approximately 211,000 everyday!!!

What will the future bring?

In the next 30 years the earth’s population is expected to be almost 10 billion!

Right now there is enough food grown to feed 10 billion people.

BUT the food is NOT evenly distributed, that’s why the Third World countries are hungry.

The other problem is food waste.

Most developing countries don’t have refrigerated warehouses and trucks.

So lots of food spoils fast.

What are the negative effects of population growth?

More infrastructure is needed in developing countries.

Undernurishment do to lack of food, which lowers productivity and poverty emerges.

Poverty breeds large numbers of children which increases poverty further–a vicious cycle.

The the overall consequence of population growth is to lower standards of living.

In conclusion:

Man’s intervention stopped Nature from having her way and keeping things under control!

Life is comprised of misfortune and suffering as well as pleasure.

In life we hope there will be an even balance between pleasure and pain.

So, on our good days, we are unconscious of the evil fate may have in store for us–sickness, loss, sadness, or loss of reason.

In youth we look forward to our coming life, we are like kids in a theatre before the curtain is lifted, sitting, feeling good, waiting for life to begin.

It is a blessing we don’t know what is coming our way.

If we foresaw it, it would be like the kids were condemned, NOT to death, but to life!!!

Nevertheless, every man desires to reach old age, a state of life where it may be said:

It is bad today, and it will be worse tomorrow, and so on, until the worst of all happens!

Life is a task to be done, in death it means that man has done his task.

It is a bad situation when you are faced with a future that can only get worse in the throes of old age.

Now, lets turn to some OPTIMISM in old age.

Death looks different in old age!

In old age, hopefully, the life force is strong and death looks different, less scary.

Most old people can’t escape illness but they live with it.

They don’t let it overwhelm them and ruin the time that is left.

Part of life is aging. Dying is the biological process that happens only at the end of all that LIVING.

Our ageist society combines aging and death into one.

That’s not right, aging is concerned with life.

Every old person struggles to come to terms with death.

In our youth oriented society we tie aging to death.

We project our fears on the oldies.

But the old can and do, to a great extent, adapt to their circumstances.

As I move into my eighties I become less uneasy about death.

None of us wants to die in pain, but we’re not afraid.

People project their terror of death onto the aged.

But to an oldie, life goes on in death’s shadow!

Oldies are aware that time is short but it doesn’t fill them with dread.

It makes people spend their time more wisely.

Oldies give priority to relationships and spend time doing things that are satisfying to them.

When you’re young and striving for success, the future can be oppressive.

So, for the oldie, we are relieved of the burden of the future. We savour the moment.

There is NO present if there is NO ending!

Oldies live in the moment because we know time is running out and we don’t want to waste our time.

As I go into my eighties, I realise that somewhere along the line there is a STOP.

That’s it!

So you decide to live life to the fullest.

REMEMBER: THE GRIM REAPER LOOKS DIFFERENT IN OLD AGE!!!

Do you remember the story of the Lord of the Flies?

It was a novel by William Golding about a group of boys stranded on an island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves.

Democratic rules of civilisation vs Autocratic savagery.

In the novel two different types of leaders emerge…

Ralph-represents civilisation. He was elected by the boys in a democratic vote.

He wants to implement rules by which to live.

Jack-represents autocratic savagery.

He put himself up as the leader who has absolute power, who takes no account of the other boy’s wishes or opinions.

The theme of the novel is the conflict between two opposing instincts in humans.

The instinct to live by the rules and act peacefully and value the good of the group.

OR, gratify ones immediate desires and act violently to obtain supremacy and enforce one’s will.

Everything was going good under Ralph.

But then, Jack imposed his will and put himself up as an autocratic leader.

Everything collapsed under Jack!

So, I’m going to talk about the need for Good Political Leaders for World Survival!

The world is full of aspiring political leaders, but sadly, very few live up to the leadership ideals.

In fact, many political leaders lack some of the most important leadership qualities, such as integrity and accountability.

Political leaders are vitally important–through the authority of government they assess the distribution of power and resources, build relationships with other countries and leaders, and make decisions that have a great impact on the well-being of a nation.

Good leadership requires a focus on the long-term good of the country, above any personal short-term gains.

They need to assess a situation and make a decision based on what would be best for the greatest number of people.

What is very important in a leader?

STATESMANSHIP–THIS MEANS HAVING THE INTEGRITY AND WILLINGNESS TO STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.

What makes a good political leader?

Someone with good communication and interpersonal skills, who can work with others to achieve the greatest good for the population.

Someone with a strong character.

Someone who listens to the needs of the people.

Someone with the courage to say what needs to be said.

Someone who is willing to make difficult decisions for the greater good.

Anybody come to mind???

A good leader must have a style that focuses on building and doesn’t use manipulation to get what they want but uses inspiration and motivation.

Sometimes they might have to use coercion and negotiation, but in the end they use persuasion.

A key quality is taking Responsibility.

Accountability is crucial to effective leadership, without it there will be NO respect from followers.

A good leader is someone who will be honest and responsible for their actions and decisions and who is willing to admit mistakes.

They will focus their energies and time on representing the people rather than spending time covering their backs and criticising others.

GOOD LEADERS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF CIVILISATION!

AMEN!

The other day I was walking on a crowded pavement and I noticed everybody was glued to their phones except me.

There was one zombie headed straight for me, so I bumped into him.

He looked up with a blank expression and continued on.

I bumped into another one, he gave me an angry look like I was interrupting his obsession.

Other zombies just look at you with a bored look and don’t even say they are sorry.

What’s the world coming to???

The world is feeling the effects of the intense environment of instant communication.

Are you unable to do without your smartphone for even a few hours?

That’s an ADDICTION!

Screen culture is a world of sound bites, gossip tidbits and news headlines–ideas that don’t stand alone, they are interlinked to everything else.

What is this doing to people’s minds?

The addicted have to stay plugged in for fear of missing something!

This is the life of being constantly connected which is the norm today.

It’s NOT all bad. The internet carries and distributes a lot of information. It can bring us data on anything.

It is the basis of our financial, health and education systems.

This is a dream world our ancestors never experienced.

But humanity still seems in a state of pain, injustice, prejudice, abuse and general unhappiness!

SOMEHOW WE HAVE BECOME THE VICTIMS OF OUR TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.

The state if being withdrawn or isolated from the objective world is having a bad effect on our mental health!

We shouldn’t moan about technology, but develop self-control, like we do with other temptations in life.

The public is addicted to their smartphones and this makes some people depressed and anxious.

The need for instant connection to others is a need we can’t control.

We spend more time on social media trying to connect with others digitally but we spend less time interacting face-to-face.

So, people have to learn how to self-regulate this device in their hands.

Lets talk a bit about the importance of face-to-face communication.

Some people can go an entire day without actually interacting with others!

They rely on emails, texting and social media.

Digital communication tends to be impersonal.

Advantages of face-to-face communication:

First is Non-Verbal Clues.

You can read a person’s body language to see if they’re interested or not in what you are saying.

Next is Effectiveness–emailing and texting back and forth is less effective than getting your ideas over to someone in one go–face-to-face.

Face-to-face creates a personal touch to your communication.

It also builds relationships, it builds a bond between people.

And lastly, your information retains confidentiality through face-to-face in a private setting.

Face-to-face is still the most efficient way of communicating between people because it’s personal and you can get a direct response from the other person.

It’s not enough to just say the words, we need eye contact, body language and facial expressions to communicate our feelings.

Face-to-face is the best way of communicating because you can avoid misunderstandings that may occur in writing.

Too much digital attention is the cause of a shallow, scattered mindset especially in the young.

So lets learn some self-control over our digital world.

In the meantime…here comes another glassy-eyed zombie headed straight for me.

GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU DIGITAL SLEEPWALKER!!!

While checking out the philosophy in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, I uncovered two philosophical questions that are brought up in the novel.

They are:

Is it alright to eat animals?

What is acceptable as entertainment?

We will look at Vegetarianism first:

Arthur, the main character in the novel, questions the ethics of animal eating when he is confronted by a cow!

He is an omnivore and he never before contemplated the case for vegetarianism.

We don’t usually think about our modes of behaviour, whether they are morally right or wrong.

Do we wear clothes that are made in a sweet shop in a third world country?

Is that wrong?

Well, eating meat is another behaviour that not many of us consider.

If we thought about the morality of our actions constantly we wouldn’t have time to enjoy our own lives!!!

Some people feel animals exist for eating, for human sustenance.

Vegetarians object to the slaughtering of animals for human consumption.

Some have a humorous outlook that killing an animal deprives it of its long term pleasant existence.

Do you know any animals that have long term plans or projects?

No. Well then, their deaths aren’t like human deaths, are they?

The vegetarians abhor the pain and suffering animals are put through before they end up on our plates.

Are animals devoid of mental life?

Of course, you say. Animals don’t think about death like we do.

But we know they do feel pain because most have a central nervous system.

What are your thoughts on vegetarianism?

Myself, I enjoy a juicy T-bone steak!

Now, lets turn to entertainment:

What is acceptable entertainment? No violence. Mild violence or extreme violence.

There are several passages of violent entertainment in the Galaxy of the Hitchhiker’s.

What is violent entertainment?

Tarantino movies? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

This is fictional violence.

Violence is defined as the physical force that causes injury or damage to a person or property.

Is it acceptable to read or watch moderate to severe fictional violence as “Mere Entertainment”?

Let us now turn to the objections to violent entertainment.

The first objection is the idea of Character Corruption.

Does a diet of violent entertainment desensitise a person?

Does violent entertainment cause violent, aggressive behaviour?

The second objection is that real people suffer from violence, so then is enjoyment of violent entertainment decadent?

Does it contribute to moral and cultural decline?

The third objection is the “Viciousness Objection”.

If a person reads or watches about a vicious violent act, should this feel repugnant to the person or is it entertainment?

Why should the person who enjoys fictional violence be said to lack sensitivity or compassion?

Maybe such enjoyment requires the person to suspend his compassionate attitudes.

Or does one’s enjoyment of fictional violence make one desensitised to actual violence?

That would mean that it would corrupt the person.

There is another objection and it is called the “Cognitive Failure Objection.

This entails a moral failing, a failure to realise the nature of violence, for example, that violence hurts and causes damage.

The last point to make is the violence in comedy.

Remember the old cartoons? They used slapstick violence, poking each other in the eye, or hitting someone over the head with a frying. pan–this trivialised violence.

I enjoyed:

The Three Stooges

Laurel and Hardy

The Marx Brothers

This is slapstick comedy violence at its best!

Let me know your thoughts.