In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, or any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”
-Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Richard Dawkins is a brilliant scientist. I’m not planning a theological debate with him any time soon. It would be like a tee-baller stepping up to the plate and giving the stink-eye to Nolan Ryan (in his prime, not now that he’s old as shit). But like the tee-baller, knowing that I’m not ready yet won’t stop me from dreaming of a day when I am. Yep, I’m a C.S. Lewis guy. I believe in a very real moral code that wasn’t passed on to me from my parents or society or evolution.
I would quite literally do anything for my son and my wife, up to and including enduring torture, death, and the remodeling of our kitchen. If evolution instilled in me the biological need to sow my seed and spread my DNA to the ends of the Earth, why the hell would I be so clearly programmed to give up my life for them when it would be such a horrible waste of rugged-good looks and charisma?
Forget about my wife and son. Why does anyone act bravely and put their life on the line when everything in their biological make-up tells them to run away and survive instead? Why does anybody donate their money to charity?
One obvious explanation is that bravery and charity both lead to a self-serving need to feel good about ourselves. I don’t buy it. Drinking a beer (or three) and sitting on the couch makes me feel good too, and it’s a hell of a lot easier than helping a stranger get her car out of a snow drift, not to mention, quite a bit more desirable than death.
Another argument would be that when I’m brave or charitable, others view me as a better person, thus making me more attractive and therefore more likely to pass on my DNA. Giving my life for somebody else makes me dead, and only a very small and disturbed minority finds that attractive. While it’s true that my wife loves when I’m charitable, she also loves presents. Couldn’t I just cut out the middle man and pass on my DNA much more effectively?
Nope, I believe there is a real right and a real wrong, and that our motivations matter. If I may very loosely paraphrase C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity: if you intentionally try to trip me and miss, I’m a lot more pissed off than if, by accident, you actually trip me. Why is that? Shouldn’t the outcome be more important than your intentions?
For the 17 people who actually read this blog, I can’t argue that this world isn’t cruel and unjust. It is. Read Steve’s last post if you’re not convinced. However, the simple fact that we perceive the world to be cruel and unjust means that we hold up the ideals of goodness and justice as the way the world ought to be. If these ideals don’t exist independently of us, where did they come from? What possible biological purpose do they serve? Wouldn’t we just see the world as it is, and not how it should be?
On a much less philosophical note, Dom pooped in the bathtub tonight and it was awesome.
Tagged with: C.S. Lewis • Justice • Richard Dawkins