The Ultimate Goal of Mankind

[Galloism]

Bang hot alien space babes.

Best answer.

[Stellar Colonies]

Expand and improve the area we live in.

[Last Breath]

I wouldn't say that there is any sort of goal for mankind because that would imply intention, but out of the options listed apotheosis seems most desirable (though I am skeptical about whether it is possible).

[Immoren]

Deicide and Apotheosis.

[Albrenia]

I guess one could make a naturalist argument that, like all earthly life, the replication or procreation of one's genetic code could be considered a 'goal' of the species.

Otherwise, there is none. We make our own goals in this vast Cosmos, devoid of easy answers like 'ultimate goals'. Quite beautiful, really.

[Nolo gap]

we are an accident of the universe. ultimate goals are pointless and meaningless.

not destroying the very means of our own existence, might be a really good idea though.

although there's every reasonable chance, and more so then not, that the rest of the universe would be no worse of, and possibly better, without "us".
(though i refuse to think of my awareness as anything so limited as that of one species on one planet in one solar system)

[Velosia]

I personally feel the ultimate 'goal' of humanity will likely be to achieve, as you put it, an absolute state of pleasure.

I've often felt that such a goal may provide the answer to the Fermi Paradox. Imagine if we were to upload our minds into a digital space, creating our own personal paradises in which we can spend an eternity (i.e simulated reality), it would make the real world look unimaginably dull and uninteresting in comparison.

Perhaps we see no evidence of aliens since, once they've found a way to achieve this goal, they have no desire to expand outwards into the empty expanse of space beyond acquiring resources to expand or power their hardware that hosts an entire civilisation of countless digitised consciousnesses?

[Last Breath]

I personally feel the ultimate 'goal' of humanity will likely be to achieve, as you put it, an absolute state of pleasure.

I've often felt that such a goal may provide the answer to the Fermi Paradox. Imagine if we were to upload our minds into a digital space, creating our own personal paradises in which we can spend an eternity (i.e simulated reality), it would make the real world look unimaginably dull and uninteresting in comparison.

Perhaps we see no evidence of aliens since, once they've found a way to achieve this goal, they have no desire to expand outwards into the empty expanse of space beyond acquiring resources to expand or power their hardware that hosts an entire civilisation of countless digitised consciousnesses?

I dunno, pleasure for its own sake seems a rather empty goal, especially if we have to reject reality in order to achieve it.

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

I personally feel the ultimate 'goal' of humanity will likely be to achieve, as you put it, an absolute state of pleasure.

I've often felt that such a goal may provide the answer to the Fermi Paradox. Imagine if we were to upload our minds into a digital space, creating our own personal paradises in which we can spend an eternity (i.e simulated reality), it would make the real world look unimaginably dull and uninteresting in comparison.

Perhaps we see no evidence of aliens since, once they've found a way to achieve this goal, they have no desire to expand outwards into the empty expanse of space beyond acquiring resources to expand or power their hardware that hosts an entire civilisation of countless digitised consciousnesses?

If you wanted to do that, you'd be siphoning energy off as many stars as possible so you had enough for the long term, while there are still stars to work with. Such a civilization wouldn't look much different from the one building Dyson swarms everywhere, which we'd also see.

I dunno, pleasure for its own sake seems a rather empty goal, especially if we have to reject reality in order to achieve it.

So we build Dyson swarms around every star in the Milky Way and stock up for the future. What would you rather we spend the energy on?

[The Huskar Social Union]

Bang hot alien space babes.

I’m sensing some serious heresy...

Look. Im all for the Emperor, blessed be he who resides in Terra, golden and eternal.


But sometimes you just gotta bang the space babes, especially them ones with the T H I C C hips

[Last Breath]

I dunno, pleasure for its own sake seems a rather empty goal, especially if we have to reject reality in order to achieve it.

So we build Dyson swarms around every star in the Milky Way and stock up for the future. What would you rather we spend the energy on?

I'm not saying achieving pleasure is a bad thing, just that its better to live in reality than in a simulated world.

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

So we build Dyson swarms around every star in the Milky Way and stock up for the future. What would you rather we spend the energy on?

I'm not saying achieving pleasure is a bad thing, just that its better to live in reality than in a simulated world.

Okay, I can work with that statement. Here's another question, then: how many times better?

That's a serious question.

Divide Earth's average net energy production by the population, and you get a few kilowatts per person (that is, kilojoules per person-second). Simulating peoples' brains could make them just as happy for far less than the real-world resources we need now, and we'd be able to do it for a lot more people than otherwise, no? How much of an efficiency multiplier would you need to break even?

[Saiwania]

To become as Gods, judging from what people seem to collectively want to do on this Earth. We have the Knowledge of Good and Evil but haven't done the equivalent of taking from the Tree of Life to eat thereof and live forever.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

To find Christ, serve Christ, and ultimately reign with Him in Heaven.

On a secular basis? To end hunger, the absence of potable water, and the absence of shelter. To spread to the farthest corners of the galaxy and enslave non-human aliens for our service, fields, and menial chores. We should approach colonizing space as the galaxy's future master. Aliens exist to serve us for the same reason livestock do.

[Last Breath]

I'm not saying achieving pleasure is a bad thing, just that its better to live in reality than in a simulated world.

Okay, I can work with that statement. Here's another question, then: how many times better?

That's a serious question.

Divide Earth's average net energy production by the population, and you get a few kilowatts per person (that is, kilojoules per person-second). Simulating peoples' brains could make them just as happy for far less than the real-world resources we need now, and we'd be able to do it for a lot more people than otherwise, no? How much of an efficiency multiplier would you need to break even?

I'm not sure it would ever be preferable, living a false life would be inherently inferior to living an actual one

[Last Breath]

To find Christ, serve Christ, and ultimately reign with Him in Heaven.

On a secular basis? To end hunger, the absence of potable water, and the absence of shelter. To spread to the farthest corners of the galaxy and enslave non-human aliens for our service, fields, and menial chores. We should approach colonizing space as the galaxy's future master. Aliens exist to serve us for the same reason livestock do.

If aliens existed and were sapient, forcing them into bondage would be comparable to any other form of slavery.

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

Okay, I can work with that statement. Here's another question, then: how many times better?

That's a serious question.

Divide Earth's average net energy production by the population, and you get a few kilowatts per person (that is, kilojoules per person-second). Simulating peoples' brains could make them just as happy for far less than the real-world resources we need now, and we'd be able to do it for a lot more people than otherwise, no? How much of an efficiency multiplier would you need to break even?

I'm not sure it would ever be preferable, living a false life would be inherently inferior to living an actual one

I'm not asking for a comparison, I'm asking for a multiplication. I could fully agree with you that one good experience in our world is worth more than an identical experience in a virtual world, but that's not the question. How inferior is it?

Suppose you say that you'd need ten satisfied emulated people to equal the ethical weight of one equally satisfied meat-person. Then, given we use all available energy (say, in the Milky Way) on helping people (what's the alternative, intentionally not doing that?), if you can run an emulated person for one-twentieth the cost of providing all the luxuries a meat person needs, it's preferable to do that. If meat people have infinitely more value than emulated people, then are you saying it'd be worth killing billions or trillions of them for the sake of one meat person?

This is the sort of thing that we have to stake possibly decillions of lives around; this is not meant to be easily answered.

[Last Breath]

I'm not sure it would ever be preferable, living a false life would be inherently inferior to living an actual one

I'm not asking for a comparison, I'm asking for a multiplication. I could fully agree with you that one good experience in our world is worth more than an identical experience in a virtual world, but that's not the question. How inferior is it?

Suppose you say that you'd need ten satisfied emulated people to equal the ethical weight of one equally satisfied meat-person. Then, given we use all available energy (say, in the Milky Way) on helping people (what's the alternative, intentionally not doing that?), if you can run an emulated person for one-twentieth the cost of providing all the luxuries a meat person needs, it's preferable to do that. If meat people have infinitely more value than emulated people, then are you saying it'd be worth killing billions or trillions of them for the sake of one meat person?

This is the sort of thing that we have to stake possibly decillions of lives around; this is not meant to be easily answered.

I reiterate my claim, life in a virtual paradise that was nonetheless unreal would be comparable to life in the real world by any sort of factor, it would not be justified by any gain in efficiency. If the simulated minds were engaged in activity other than simply enjoying their hedonistic utopia then they would have just as much worth as a meat person, but given the description of the simulation that we are arguing over, this does not seem to be the case.

[Senkaku]

I'm not asking for a comparison, I'm asking for a multiplication. I could fully agree with you that one good experience in our world is worth more than an identical experience in a virtual world, but that's not the question. How inferior is it?

Suppose you say that you'd need ten satisfied emulated people to equal the ethical weight of one equally satisfied meat-person. Then, given we use all available energy (say, in the Milky Way) on helping people (what's the alternative, intentionally not doing that?), if you can run an emulated person for one-twentieth the cost of providing all the luxuries a meat person needs, it's preferable to do that. If meat people have infinitely more value than emulated people, then are you saying it'd be worth killing billions or trillions of them for the sake of one meat person?

This is the sort of thing that we have to stake possibly decillions of lives around; this is not meant to be easily answered.

I reiterate my claim, life in a virtual paradise that was nonetheless unreal would be comparable to life in the real world by any sort of factor, it would not be justified by any gain in efficiency. If the simulated minds were engaged in activity other than simply enjoying their hedonistic utopia then they would have just as much worth as a meat person, but given the description of the simulation that we are arguing over, this does not seem to be the case.

okay, one noble lie later and your misgivings are solved lol

[Kasa Tkoth Sphere]

I'm not asking for a comparison, I'm asking for a multiplication. I could fully agree with you that one good experience in our world is worth more than an identical experience in a virtual world, but that's not the question. How inferior is it?

Suppose you say that you'd need ten satisfied emulated people to equal the ethical weight of one equally satisfied meat-person. Then, given we use all available energy (say, in the Milky Way) on helping people (what's the alternative, intentionally not doing that?), if you can run an emulated person for one-twentieth the cost of providing all the luxuries a meat person needs, it's preferable to do that. If meat people have infinitely more value than emulated people, then are you saying it'd be worth killing billions or trillions of them for the sake of one meat person?

This is the sort of thing that we have to stake possibly decillions of lives around; this is not meant to be easily answered.

I reiterate my claim, life in a virtual paradise that was nonetheless unreal would be comparable to life in the real world by any sort of factor, it would not be justified by any gain in efficiency. If the simulated minds were engaged in activity other than simply enjoying their hedonistic utopia then they would have just as much worth as a meat person, but given the description of the simulation that we are arguing over, this does not seem to be the case.

Okay, I see where you're coming around to. Thank you for your patience, and I apologize if I made errors in assessing your claims.

Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced that wanting to just be happy all the time is what invalidates some level of one's life's worth, but I really hope my ethical framework is a little more flexible than that and can allow for people who want to experience life's challenges and such to flourish too.

Nonetheless, we've got a long road.

[Velosia]

We should approach colonizing space as the galaxy's future master. Aliens exist to serve us for the same reason livestock do.

I thought Christians believed in the idea of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"?

[The Huskar Social Union]

To find Christ, serve Christ, and ultimately reign with Him in Heaven.

On a secular basis? To end hunger, the absence of potable water, and the absence of shelter. To spread to the farthest corners of the galaxy and enslave non-human aliens for our service, fields, and menial chores. We should approach colonizing space as the galaxy's future master. Aliens exist to serve us for the same reason livestock do.

If aliens existed and were sapient, forcing them into bondage would be comparable to any other form of slavery.

Yeah but its part of gods plan you see.

[Senkaku]

To find Christ, serve Christ, and ultimately reign with Him in Heaven.

On a secular basis? To end hunger, the absence of potable water, and the absence of shelter. To spread to the farthest corners of the galaxy and enslave non-human aliens for our service, fields, and menial chores. We should approach colonizing space as the galaxy's future master. Aliens exist to serve us for the same reason livestock do.

If aliens existed and were sapient, forcing them into bondage would be comparable to any other form of slavery.

Trying to enslave aliens would be dangerous and complicated and maybe not even feasible (what the hell is a starfish alien the size of my arm who breathes chlorine and can only communicate by changing color going to be able to help me with)

the best bet is to just wipe them out as soon as we detect them, before they wipe us out first

[Alorgaze]

Even if we had one single goal collectively, there would be deviants holding other beliefs (idiotic or reasonable) and wouldn't want to cooperate with the masses.
Thus, to put it simply, humanity will never have a single goal with everyone on board due to something called free will.
Even if you force everyone into acting a certain way there will always be people who rebel.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Humanity's destiny lies in our inevitable conquest of the stars. It is our God-given right to master the Void and all within it. Does that mean purging some filthy xenos? Hell yes it does!

For the Emperor!