I’ve been reading a bestselling book called Homo Deus. The
premise, as far as I can tell, is the author tries to evaluate the next stages
in human evolution and an agenda for humanity as we slowly put to death wars,
plagues and famine. It is a well-informed book with lots of research and
citations.
The author accurately points out that since the end of the
twentieth century, suicide, over eating, diabetes and death by natural causes,
far exceed death by war, plague and famine. He makes several other reasonable assertions
on what likely goals humanity will pursue, as these age old struggles are
conquered. Several huge Silicon Valley corporations are spending billions on research
to extend human lifespan with the ultimate goal being near immortality, outside
of accidents. He points out three paths; genetic engineering, cybernetic enhancements,
and artificial intelligent beings, made of inorganic material.
His theories thus far have been very interesting and not entirely
surprising. What I did find surprising was his treatment of gods, deities and philosophies
in the evolution of human beings. Most fascinating was his comparison of the
Greek gods of mythology and the current state of human technology. Humans in
that era, say 500 BC, gave their gods lots of superhuman traits and abilities.
He compared some of their traits with our abilities now and I came to the realization
that things we now have at our disposal, and that we even take for granted, are
attributes far exceeding the Greek gods.
We have made cyberspace an everyday reality, putting nearly
all human knowledge at the disposal of anyone with a smartphone and fast
internet connection. We can now communicate across the planet instantaneously
with nothing more expensive than a $25 Track phone. Israel built a huge
desalination plant on the Mediterranean bringing water to the desert. For a
couple hundred dollars you can sit in a chair and fly across the planet faster
than the ancients could ever imagine. We’ve discovered thousands of planets
orbiting nearby stars. In ancient Greek times people rarely survived until age
40. It wasn’t that people didn’t make it into their seventies and eighties
because some people did, but they were felled by things they couldn’t see. And
now, not because we have extended life, but because we have identified germs, pathogens,
virus’s and other maladies they couldn’t imagine. Medical care is learning and
growing and research is continuing nonstop on curing all diseases. Food
production vastly exceeds anything they could have imagined in their time. Neighboring
countries rarely now invade and plunder each other. In 1913 Europe, France and
Germany were normally planning war with each other with peace just being a fragile
interlude between wars. Now war between them is unthinkable. The list goes on
and on.
We have achieved a demi-god like life for ourselves which is
affordable and convenient and wholly taken for granted. Wow, what more could we
possibly want? Everything, is what we want. We are not satisfied with any
achievement once the newness wears off. We want a faster phone, a faster
airplane ride, a higher resolution TV, a better body, better medicine, the list
goes on. We are never satisfied. Are we truly happy? What is happiness? More
stuff, more pleasure, better stuff?
You could probably say happiness is pleasure, or at least
the lack of pain. Scientifically it’s simply biological sensations that feel
good. Epicurus said over-pursuit of physical pleasures brought not happiness,
but more pain. Buddha said something similar. I for one, am going to look at
ways to moderate these pursuits and maybe spend more time being happy in the
moment, and appreciating what glorious times we truly live in.
