20120103 (J)
Journal: January 3, 2012
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Compassion                                  Epistemology                                  Idea of Time                                  Morality

The Way of Things: The way of things? Is it perfect, or the worst possible or somewhere in the middle? The improbable but inevitable manifestation of an instant from infinite possibilities of the instant before, with infinite possibilities for the next instant and each succeeding instant, which then become inevitable as the only “existence”. No past, no future, just now.

We, with our propensity to desire to influence tomorrow’s possibilities, are part of the inevitable way of things. Now. Maybe not tomorrow. Tomorrow we may be extinct, definitely after just one more galactic rotation.

And me? Well, I am different this instant than I was the last, whatever “I” am? I am also pretty sure I won’t see the galaxy rotate very much. I wonder what my vector in space is right now, at least relative to the center of the gravity (an abstraction) of my end joint on my index finger as I write this, or relative to, say, the observable universe. I guess I am the center.

What is this thing called human knowledge? No one person can build this book that I write in. I sure can’t, from harvesting the trees and glue, shipping them, pulping them just right, treating them, rolling them, cutting them, inking them, binding them, bar-coding them, distributing them, advertising them, and many more steps between and after, each single step with “experts” and proprietary process. But here it is, ready for my pen.

Maybe common knowledge comes from a single person or many sharing knowledge thoughout overlapping ranges of processes a variety of ranges of ken (including gaps) and styles of overlap.

The crows just ganged up on a small hawk, no injuries, just the rush.

"The greatest good for the greatest number"
"Compassion"

Are they selfless or selfish?

To ascribe to such an absolute moral imperative? Maybe the motive is, “If everyone cares as deeply as I do, then someone will be around to care for me (which is what I REALLY want)”. “The farther we spread our caring the greater our protection against people not caring about me.” So, “come on people, everybody get together and love one another right now". (me too, I deserve love too, I am part of “everybody”).

If we both have two and I take one your yours and turn it into two of mine – we as a society have gone from four to five, a greater good, the “greatest good for the greatest number”, or perhaps the “good” is also measured by spread, which many find undesirable. So balance among these and other things must be sought. Note the “must be” is a solipsism, they creep in everywhere.

Such a balance always does occur, but we don’t seek it. We seek a new balance, an improved balance. People are all over the place a jumpin’ and a hollerin’ at the end of their long levers of reason and morality, trying vainly to nudge the center of the juggernaut a little more their way.