Chit Chat Philosophy

2 Let us do a thought experiment. Suppose we encounter a being with vastly superior intellect, veiled in cosmic mystery. Could we ever comprehend its motives?

1 That depends on the actual motive.

2 What is the definition of a motive?

1 It is the justification for taking an action.

2 At what point does the justification become too complex for us to comprehend?

1 Most actions that people take can be reduced to a subset of common factors. Survival, pleasure, curiosity, dogma. I expect even a creature veiled in cosmic mystery will still be perpetuating some basal instinct.

2 What makes you think motivations are always so simple?

1 The most complicated example that I can fathom would be war. War is fought at the scale of civilization itself, but the justification for it is always disgustingly simple. Money. Power. Resources. It may take some thought to identify what the motive is for a given war, but I guarantee it always boils down to an intrinsic human instinct.

2 If that creature is not human can we ever really understand it?

1 We frequently understand the motivations of animals which we have observed in nature.

2 Do any of those creatures have a superior intellect to humans?

1 Well, no.

2 If the creature in question is more intelligent than us, would that change things?

1 I do not think intelligence plays much into motivation. Understanding its core values would be far more useful.

2 Earlier you said “money” and “power” were common motivations for war, but “money” and “power” are human constructs. What we take for granted as a basal instinct may – itself – be completely mysterious to creatures from another realm. If our own motivations are so thoroughly embedded in our philosophy, how can we ever understand the motivations of another?

1 Even the pursuit of money could be reduced further into, perhaps, accumulating resources. As logical, thinking creatures we do have the benefit of the mind. Provided our unknowable guest possesses some kind of parallel to humanity, it seems likely we could understand them.

2 Interesting, however, that assumes a level of similarity with humanity. What if no such similarity exists?

1 What kind of sentient creature would have no similarity with humanity?

2 A being of unspeakable qualities. Perhaps The Old One itself. Surely it would have no physical traits that appear human-like. Auditorily, its speech might resemble the sound of grating noise. Its concept of art? Likely a twisted simulacra of reality incorporating senses we can’t even perceive. And the question remains: would we ever be able to fathom it?

1 To something as grotesquely deviant as you describe, well, I cannot say for certain that we would be able to comprehend its motives without fully understanding its history.

2 Suppose we have access to the archives of this elder race. Would that be enough?

1 Even a being as horrific as you suggest must be driven by some core set of values. Values that are likely derived from evolutionary advantages. With enough time and research… I’m still not certain.

2 What kind of attributes about this creature would make it increasingly difficult for us to understand?

1 If this being perceived the world with different senses than a human, we might never be able to fully connect with it. Furthermore, I think if it were vastly more intelligent than us we would struggle to comprehend anything more than basal instinct because we can’t relate to its philosophies.

2 What would it take to comprehend this creature’s philosophy?

1 It’s taken thousands of years to understand our own philosophy. Countless lifetimes of dedicated research would surely bring us closer, but to really – fully – know? I cannot say.

2 And suppose we met this creature in a context without access to its history. It’s lore. What then?

1 Then we would be confronted with an adversary that is utterly unknowable.

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_{Featured image by Antoni Espinosa}