Ethics of Regifting

Time for my annual regifting post. Here it is:

Regifting and Post-Technological Ethics

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Epicurus on simplicity

1. “Become habituated to a simple rather than a lavish way of life.”

2. “Envy no man.”

3. “Make a practice of the things that bring happiness, for assuredly when we have this we have everything.”

4. “Nothing is sufficient for the person who finds sufficiency too little.”

5. “The most important consequence of self-sufficiency is freedom.”

Even scientific inquiry, which Epicurus engages at length in his (4th century BC) atomic theory of the universe, has the same end as all other forms of inquiry: “mental composure and a sturdy self-reliance.”

“By keeping these most important general principles constantly in mind,” we shall attain “tranquility” and “liberate ourselves from everything that drives other men to the extremes of fear.” At least so says Epicurus.

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A Revolution in Subjectivity: Utopic or Dystopic?

1. The revolution in subjectivity: Our definitions of human identity and human fulfillment need to change. Definitions based on how many resources you can stockpile and call your own are not sustainable as our consumption level hits ecological limits. Either we evolve in this direction or we self-destruct. See my notes on a post-technological ethics for the coming age.
2. The good news: We WILL evolve in this direction, just as any species drifts over time toward conditions of self-preservation.
3. The bad news: Will the drift reach a critical mass in time to turn things around before the tipping point? Possible, but not probable.