Being Noble
June 19, 2023
"What is the noblest endeavor a person can dedicate their life to?"
A noble endeavor brings to mind thoughts of chivalry, justice and high-minded ideals. To be noble is intrinsically linked to the demonstration of high moral principles. However defining morality is not easy.
Historically, many societies look to religion to guide moral behavior. Most modern religions provide blueprints for morality, offering instructive - if occasionally confusing or self-contradictory - guidelines and rules. Religion is often a package deal, where you give up the freedom (and responsibility - they are forces in tension) of choosing your own moral framework in exchange for a clearly defined set of right and wrongs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but these moral guidelines are the output of a process that is not transparent, and not open to scrutiny. The moral guidelines are not presented as the result of a clearly described process of reason, but of faith, and if there are grey areas, your religion might not provide the tools to guide you.
How can you reason about morality? Is there a reductionist rule that you can use, an axiom that you can build a moral framework on top of? I think there is.
I believe that our concept of morality - and by extension nobility - is inextricably linked to a different concept: consciousness. In particular, the preservation and expansion of human consciousness.
The human consciousness is like to a delicate flame flickering in the midst of an indifferent, unfeeling universe. The more we can protect and nurture this flame, the better. Morality, nobility, and notions of right or wrong are human constructs, without humans they cease to exist. The root of morality should be the preservation of the human consciousness - our very essence, our spirit.
This idea changes the way we look at morality. Rather than a simple judgment of actions as good or evil, it becomes a question: “Does this action increase, or decrease the likelihood of human consciousness persisting into the future?”
As a result, the question, “What is the noblest endeavor a person can dedicate their life to?” evolves into “How can an individual, with their unique talents and strengths, support the continued existence of human consciousness?“.