ABEL\'S UNIVERSE (General)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Friday, November 18, 2011, 20:45 (4563 days ago) @ dhw

DHW:

But there most certainly is a need to ask why a creator would introduce predation if it wasn’t necessary. Why wilfully produce callous carnivores to disrupt a world of happy herbivores cheerfully chewing a plenitude of plants? My theological question concerns the nature of a creator who invents killing as a means of survival (though I’m also interested in the diet of Abel’s mortal gods). We don’t hesitate to question the nature of humans who kill for the sake of killing, so why not extend our curiosity to god(s)?

By "predatory self-interest" I mean pursuing one’s own ends regardless of the effects on others. I find it difficult to think of any sort of evil that does not follow this pattern, as laid down long before humans brought it to such a fine art.

Ok, so let's dig a little deeper here. Now, since we are discussing the topic in a religious context, I think it is fitting to examine the accounts of religions, whether we agree with them or not.

The second account in the Abrahamic faiths of 'predatory self-interest' is in Genesis' account of Cain and Abel. On the surface, it may seem like simple murder out of jealousy, but a little deeper what we see is that Cain wanted favor(i.e. glory) and was willing to kill to get it. The only other account of death in the bible prior to that was the sacrifice of a lamb to God. One of the interesting points in this is that Cain sacrificed vegetables. It may seem insignificant, but if you were going to make a sacrifice to whatever you believed to be the almighty Grand Poomba of the Universe, you would sacrifice something that MATTERS to you. So, why would Cain sacrifice something that he literally picked up off the ground? Why would Abel sacrifice a lamb? Remember that prior to this first sacrifice there was no instruction given as to what qualified as a good sacrifice. The only hint we have is that Genesis implies that one of mans primary functions was to be husbandry of all living things. So, sacrificing something that you are supposed to have caring relationship with held greater value than sacrificing your food. This gives insight into the nature of the mind of the Abrahamic god. Life was precious, and giving up life or taking a life was a matter of utmost gravity, a token worthy of being a gift to a God. Since sacrifice is defined as the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim, this gives a hierarchy of importance in the grand scheme. God>Human>Animal>Plant. Interestingly enough, this hierarchy also follows the level of intelligence from top to bottom.

Now, the other thing to consider when looking into the Abrahamic version of this, is that sacrifices weren't required prior to sin, and that all sin, including what is coined as 'original sin' is exactly what you described: predatory self-interest.

Now, my personal belief regarding the topic of WHY this function had to be designed into the system is simply that it was necessary. As I have often said, I believe that there is a balance to all things, and that all things must survive within that balance, and that anything that affects that balance will, in time, be corrected by some counter measure. The system was originally designed to be a self-righting system, what we refer to as Homeostasis. The original sin was, in it's simplest form, putting the wants of a single individual over the good of the entire system(thus the first account of predatory self-interest). That concept has propagated to the point now where humanity justifies any action as being for the betterment of mankind without any regard for the natural balance of things. And just like that original sin, it evolves out of a thirst for knowledge that we are not prepared for and a hunger for personal glory.

Predatory self-interest is a perversion of rational self interest. Rational self interest is required for life to sustain itself.

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.