The Poetic Expression

humansofnewyork:
“ “The absolute best thing in the world that can happen to me is telling a parent that their child’s tumor is benign. I live for those moments. And the worst thing that can happen to me is telling a parent that I’ve lost their kid....

“The absolute best thing in the world that can happen to me is telling a parent that their child’s tumor is benign. I live for those moments. And the worst thing that can happen to me is telling a parent that I’ve lost their kid. It’s only happened to me five times in thirty years. And I’ve wanted to kill myself every single time. Those parents trusted me with their child. It’s a sacred trust and the ultimate responsibility is always mine. I lose sleep for days. I second-guess every decision I made. And every time I lose a child, I tell the parents: ‘I’d rather be dead than her.’ And I mean it. But I go to church every single day. And I think that I’m going to see those kids in a better place. And I’m going to tell them that I’m sorry. And hopefully they’ll say, ‘Forget it. Come on in.’”
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As we learn these stories, we are trying to raise $1,000,000 to help the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in their fight against pediatric cancer. Thanks to the 15,000 people who have contributed so far. We’re almost 60% of the way there. Please consider donating:http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy

(via humansofnewyork)

titirbhattacharya:

So I saw the original post the other day, and it was really cool, so I showed it to a few friends and we started talking. And well. I got thinking. So this shall be a post questioning the evolution of our intelligence and sense of ethics, our adaptive skills etc. Frankly I don’t know what it will culminate in, I’m just thinking out loud here. I may or may not reach a conclusion even.

So how I see it, as our intelligence evolves, so does our sense of ethics, morality and right-and-wrong. Also, this evolution of our sense of morality is fundamentally rooted in our survival instincts. Most basic rules of morality - don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t kill - are rules of survival if you closely look at them. Either self preservation, or common good of the species.

However, could there reach a point where our intelligence had developed to the extent that we became aware, somewhere at the back of our consciousness, that there were certain values that we should follow, but not to the extent that we became aware enough to follow them? Or could it so have happened, that in the past few decades, the intelligence quotient of a large part of our species as a whole has grown, which has led to a growth of a set of values and ethics (therefore survival instincts)? I believe, yes. Here, of course, I’m talking about environmental consciousness. I believe that the recent trends in being eco-friendly, preserving the planet etc, is more than just a “realisation”. I believe it’s a living proof of how the intelligence of a species evolves. Further, I believe, that it is proof of how, as intelligence advances, so do morals. Today we consider it morally wrong to say, kill a tiger. Our first thought is NOT how it will affect the ecosystem, but how “cruel” it is. I believe that this is how our brains process it. Ethics. Morality. All linked to intelligence. Although our base instincts know that the reason we think killing a tiger is wrong because of the effects it will have on the planet, therefore risking the survival of our own species in the long run, this, I believe, is proof that our intelligence converts our survival instinct into morals and values. Which is why morals and values change over time. The need of the hour for the species’ survival is what takes the form of the contemporary ethics.

Therefore, growth in intelligence = adaptability [growth in survival instincts] = growth of morality = increased chances of survival.
It’s a cyclical process of course, but that’s a topic for another day.
Could there come a time, though, where our intelligence exceeds the power of nature? So far, I believe, it is a natural process of evolution. However could there come a time where our intelligence becomes so great, that our entire consciousness reaches a power greater than that of nature itself? This, I believe is a philosophical question. Is it possible? And if it is, if there were a God, could we be it? And if we did, would it be so, that, since we have grown more intelligent than nature itself, the level to which our morality can grow has reached its zenith and cannot grow any further, but our intelligence keeps growing?

And in such a case, would we become the Gods some of us think are out there, benign or benevolent, ensuring the survival of our as well other species, using this intelligence? I think not. Since we have reached the end point of morality, I believe that such an increase in intelligence would also lead to an end point in our instinct for survival (because as I pointed out earlier, survival instincts and morality are correlated). I believe we would reach a paradoxical situation where our intelligence (and let’s not forget that our intelligence makes us an arrogant race however aware we might be of all ironies and fallacies, case in point, being myself) will be at a point where our instinct of self preservation (which depends on preservation of all other species) will no longer kick in. We are a destructive species by nature, held in check by these morals which are rooted in the need to survive, but in the absence of morality, and the growth in intelligence, we as a species, will destroy all around us and finally, self-destruct therefore proving what I said earlier (growth in intelligence = adaptability [growth in survival instincts] = growth of morality = increased chances of survival) wrong.

I don’t know of course. Also, the original post had more to do with basic survival, predator-prey relations and our adaptive developments. This was just me thinking. Most of you will probably disagree and there’s probably a lot of loopholes in this theory. Like, I said, my mind was just wandering and I thought why not put down my thought process, haha.

[edited out my friend’s name in the screenshot of the comments for privacy reasons]

I like the thought, madame! It’s something as invisible as light but morality has always been about survival.