The Most Important Questions

I think it’d be a useful exercise to try to capture the most important questions in the world.

Here’s an initial attempt:

1. If we don’t have free will, how should we build a society in such a way that both accepts this truth yet doesn’t descend into nihilism or other negative philosophies?

2. If we were designed by evolution, and all our goals and sense of meaning come from what it taught us, then how do we transcend that molding to become something independent yet still fulfilled? What are we without our desires that evolution gave us?

3. How does one perfectly balance the tradeoff between the primal and rational parts of being human? Being a man or a woman is inherently primitive. Genders are the appendixes of our psyche. Yet just as with the illusion of free will, we ignore their cries for attention at our peril. What is the proper level of indulgence vs. ignoring of these less evolved versions of ourselves?

4. How are we 1) getting out of this next 100 years without killing ourselves, 2) getting off of Earth before the sun destroys us, 3) finding a new home in the galaxy, 4) finding other life forms to collaborate with, and 5), surviving the heat death of the universe?

I would love to hear more questions of this type that I can add to the list.

Related posts:

1. We’re Seeking Approval From Too Many People

2. Reality and Meaning

3. We’re Heading for Something Ugly in 2020