Does anyone have a negative outlook on the human race?

The good news is that we are going to drive ourselves to extinction, or near it, and the planet will eventually recover.

We have become a blight on the planet. Our various pathetic superstitions and our greed will doom us. I am glad to have been born at the *perfect* time in history, right before the bills for our bad behavior are going to start coming due. I pity children born today, they will not have nearly the quality of life that I enjoyed.

That said, I enjoy my life and don't take it too seriously. Partly because I believe the earth will recover from us (it has a long time to do so after we're gone) and partly because it doesn't matter anyway.

Most people are sloths. I keep hoping they prove me wrong, so far they haven't.

Cheers.

Legally blond might, for some guys at any rate.

There's a guy named George Carlin.

You should investigate some of his work.

Here's a song for you, from Roger Waters' "Amused to Death" (title track from that CD):

Amused To Death

Doctor Doctor what is wrong with me

This supermarket life is getting long

What is the heart life of a colour TV

What is the shelf life of a teenage queen

Ooh western woman

Ooh western girl

News hound sniffs the air

When Jessica Hahn goes down

He latches on to that symbol

Of detachment

Attracted by the peeling away of feeling

The celebrity of the abused shell the belle

Ooh western woman

Ooh western girl

And the children of Melrose

Strut their stuff

Is absolute zero cold enough

And out in the valley warm and clean

The little ones sit by their TV screens

No thoughts to think

No tears to cry

All sucked dry

Down to the very last breath

Bartender what is wrong with me

Why I am so out of breath

The captain said excuse me ma'am

This species has amused itself to death

Amused itself to death

Amused itself to death

We watched the tragedy unfold

We did as we were told

We bought and sold

It was the greatest show on earth

But then it was over

We oohed and aahed

We drove our racing cars

We ate our last few jars of caviar

And somewhere out there in the stars

A keen-eyed look-out

Spied a flickering light

Our last hurrah

And when they found our shadows

Groups 'round the TV sets

They ran down every lead

They repeated every test

They checked out all the data in their lists

And then the alien anthropologists

Admitted they were still perplexed

But on eliminating every other reason

For our sad demise

They logged the only explanation left

This species has amused itself to death

No tears to cry

No feelings left

This species has amused itself to death

Amused itself to death

Written by Roger Waters (P) 1992

Reading LetsRun will do nothing to improve your view of the human race

As I get older, I like dogs more, if that says anything

Humans are humans....their existence on earth is a natural process. Whether they are good or bad in general doesn't really depend on what we think.

Not sure if I'm negative, but I don't buy into the "We are the supreme organism of the planet, as deemed by [pick your god/s]." The best description I've heard of our species is "we're apes with a slightly more refined neurological checks-and-balance system." We're animals and-- whether we believe it or not-- are trapped by a lot of the limitations that control other animals.

We share DNA similarities to other primates (and a lot vertebrates), we're aggressive, we're territorial, we're tribalistic, we deplete resources (but now globally rather than locally), we haven't really over-ridden a hierachical thrive-or-perish existence, we're subject to epidemics and pandemics, etc.

We have nothing on bacteria as far as adaptability.

Homo sapiens is indeed a marvelous creature, but it certainly isn't the only thing of beauty in the universe, nor has it lived up to its self-perceived potential.

But I don't see it as solely depressing. Despite our kind's flaws, we have experienced marvelous things-- both in the good and bad sense, as have previous generations. We are enjoying our moment in the sun, and sometime in the future our species' descendents or replacements will have their time. Enjoy your lifespan and try to be an overall positive.

Humans are awesome!

We're a virus with shoes...

Sounds like it's time to shelve the Hobbes and open the Rousseau. Or maybe it's time to stop reading the Old Testament and flip to the New Testament. I always find it so odd that there are fundamentalist bible thumpers and atheist (or at least very secular) leftists who share a strong belief in original sin. "People are so lazy and greedy and decadent, etc."--lefty and fundamentalist agree!

Misanthropy of the type you describe are all grounded in a belief that you are better than everyone else. Think about it. You claim to have the perspective to judge other people as basically evil. So either you think you're evil, or you think you're a pretty damned good person compared with all the sinners, polluters, consumers, etc. You can see how bad everyone else is. Good for you! You deserve a pat on the back! But not from anyone else, who are all or mostly inherently evil, but from yourself.

Also, it's also a stupid fallacy to say that humans are basically evil since you have nothing to compare humans to--except maybe your fantastic little puppy dog. I guess your dog just arrived at his present perfect state of contentment. He needed no training from a certain evil species. And he certainly didn't need millenia of selective breeding from that same certain evil species to become the face-licking, tail-wagging critter you know and love. No, he was a great little product of nature plucked from the wild.

And his virtues are great: contentment from a slavish loyalty and a complete dependency arising from an inability to think for himself except when it comes to chasing critters and tennis balls. Naive loyalty and syncophancy sure are traits I admire in the few human beings who are not inherently evil! If more people could be just like that we sure would live in a better world (everyone would be so happy!).

I guess you missed the animal planet show on the other night where the mama-polar bear left one of her cubs to die so save her own ass and her one remaining cub. It was a life and death situation because they were being stalked by a male polar bear who wanted to eat the cubs. Those cannibal polar bears--so much more benevolent than the pond scum you saw who had the malevolence to...throw mcdonald's trash out the window! What evil hath man wrought!

To sum up: some people are bad, some are good, but the generalizations you make about their inherent good or evil will say a lot more about yourself than about everyone else.

To echo a previous poster's message: I think we're pretty damned awesome.

I'm in total agreement with you. Humans will be the cause or our own demise. We keep destroying natural land by building new buildings, homes, offices, etc. We deplete natural resources, throw away enormous amounts of trash and garbage in landfills. We drive animal and plant life to extinction. We are doomed and it's a ticking time bomb. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when humans cease to exist because of our own stupidity.

Can you explain where the term "evil" was ever presented in the OP's statement. You sort of just inserted it so that you could put your philosophy degree to work. He was discussing the carelessness and general laziness of most people and the general toll they create on the earth.

You got so caught up in your own mindless rant you forgot what he was saying. His point was that the earth would have been better off without human beings.I hate to break this to you but the fact that humans have put the planet itself in peril is a fact. Its not some abstract idea about evil or good. It is about the warming temperatures, the mass extinction of other species, and the massive depletion of natural resources.

Therefore, his argument that the planet itself would have been better off proves to be true.

One more hole in your post how can you berate him for supposedly claiming human beings are evil, then finish off your post with that you think they are awesome.

rockin ron wrote:

Also, it's also a stupid fallacy to say that humans are basically evil since you have nothing to compare humans to

On the contrary, we have the IDEAL thing to compare them to: The virtues they espouse. Do they live up to them?

Irrespective of your degree of optimism, pessimism, Philogenic Regression is an option worth looking into.

Well said, as was the post by Zeeba Neighba. Even though I am generally a positive, upbeat person, I can't help but be constantly reminded of the havoc that we as a species have wreaked on this planet. I frequently recall the words of Agent Smith in The Matrix, when he said to Neo, "You humans are a virus," referring to our propensity to breed in great numbers, with no predators to thin our ranks.

I'm surprised no one has quoted Nietzsche yet:

"The earth,... has a skin; and this skin has diseases. one of these diseases, for example is called 'man'".

ya dude wrote:

I'm surprised no one has quoted Nietzsche yet:

"The earth,... has a skin; and this skin has diseases. one of these diseases, for example is called 'man'".

I'm not surprised.