competition
Where Goeth Evil?
The Universe is neither good nor evil. It is indifferent. The Human race and all life on earth could disappear in a flash and the Universe would continue right along unperturbed. Here on Earth Mother Nature’s children are, for the most part, locked in a competitive struggle for continued existence. It’s an “each one eat one—he who hesitates is lunch—might makes right—survival of the fittest” kind of world. That’s just the way Nature works. Everything you ever ate was alive at one time and had to die to sustain you (salt, milk, and honey are exceptions). The terms “good” and “evil” don’t seem to apply in this context either.
Good and evil are moral abstractions derived from the attempts of human beings to cooperate and thus improve their chances of survival. “Good” is any human behavior that promotes or enables cooperation and “evil” is the opposite. This cooperation, known as “civilization,” is an exception to Nature’s general rule of competition. It’s like a fragile bubble of calm afloat in an often-violent sea.
Outside the bubble other species have developed rudimentary cooperative techniques. There is the symbiosis between species such as flowering plants and pollinating insects, and certain insects (ants, termites, bees, etc.) build organizational structures that are reminiscent of cities. These, however, are not conscious efforts but genetic adaptations. In addition, some higher forms of life are seen to cooperate at the family or larger level such as a pride of lions or a herd of bison. Furthermore, some of the higher life forms, when invited inside the bubble, become domestic and show a measure of cooperation with humanity. However, outside the bubble the predominate rule remains competition and nothing else comes close to the extent of cooperation found between human beings, imperfect as it is.
There is a temptation to project the moral terms of human cooperation onto Mother Nature. If one witnesses a mountain lion kill a fawn in the presence of the mother deer, empathy for the agony the mother must feel can tempt a person to apply the term “evil” to the mountain lion. But “Nature [is] red in tooth and claw,”* and such a usage is misplaced. In the great American classic Moby Dick by Herman Melville, the central and unifying theme of the book is just such a projection. Captain Ahab in an earlier encounter with the white whale was severely injured including the loss of a leg. He casts his intense desire for revenge in terms of “good” verses “evil,” and sees himself as similar to St. George in pursuit of the dragon. Eventually he does come up with Moby Dick again and sets out to slay the whale. The whale, however, fights back and wins. The ship is sunk and all aboard perish with the exception of Ishmael who lives to tell the tale.
Was the whale evil? Of course not, Moby Dick was simply doing what all life forms in Nature do, he was struggling to survive. If there was evil present it was Ahab himself whose obsession with revenge resulted in the destruction of his little piece of the bubble, the ship PEQUOD and it’s crew.
Occasionally, a natural event such as a storm or an earthquake destroys a piece of the bubble, but even though such an event can be bad for civilization, it is not evil. On the other hand, a disastrous natural event is often exacerbated by human actions such as looting and that is evil.
Originally the bubble of civilization was quite small and only encompassed the family, but over time we have learned to live in successively larger and larger societies. Now, the scope of civilization is world wide, though the quality is not perfect and competition still plays a subsidiary role within. . . We are still learning.
R. L. Mason
Mendocino, California
2005
*Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam
Categories
- THE GALLERY
- Uncle Rob's Art
- 3D Works (stills) I
- 3D Works (stills) II
- 3D Works (stills) III
- 3D Works (video)
- Design & Abstract I
- Design & Abstract II
- Design & Abstract III
- Figurative Works I
- Figurative Works II
- Landscapes I
- Landscapes II
- Largest Art Project
- Nautical and Marine Images (video)
- Nautical and Marine Images I
- Nautical and Marine Images II
- Nautical and Marine Images III
- Nautical and Marine Images IV
- Portraits
- Still Life Images
- Stump Hollow Photo Essay I
- Stump Hollow Photo Essay II
- Uncle Rob's Mendocino Shop
- The Five Sense Series
- Irene's Creations
- Works by Don Mason
- Works by Don Mason II
- Works by Joseph de Borde
- Painting by Albert Robbins
- Art by Leslie Masters Villani
- Paintings by Nellie Harriet Parker
- The Art of Bee Yearian
- Works by Evie Wilson
- Uncle Rob's Art
- SCHOONER MOON BOOKS
- SEA STORIES
- ONE DOZEN AND TWO ESSAYS
- Cousinhood
- Art by Definition
- Cake Mixed Economy
- Marriage Anyone?
- Sex and/or Violence
- Searching for Truth
- The Philosophical Roots of Science
- Stepping Stones and Stumbling Blocks
- On Being Good
- Teaching By Example
- The Basic Law of Civilization
- Where Goeth Evil?
- A Modern Empircal "Religion"
- Knowledge as Wealth
- PAPERS AND ARTICLES
- FAMILY STORIES
- BOOK REVIEWS
Archive
- December 2021
- October 2020
- June 2020
- September 2019
- July 2017
- March 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- February 2015
- January 2015
- February 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- August 2013
- June 2013
- August 2012
- July 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- November 2011
- September 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008