I was working on a fictional character who did not use compassion, yet created situations that benefited others. I felt something that disapproved of this character. Was this disapproval the product of biology or culture? I felt that the source of the disapproval was external to myself. I also felt that this source was considerably more knowledgeable than I and somehow knew what was best. Somehow, this mind understood compassion.
A wide variety of religious books claim that goodness originates from a divine source, and there is a common opinion that an individual’s life is without purpose unless they allow this source to guide their life. Why would a divine source care about human values?
Most human values emerge from a combination of two sources. We have inherited a social nature from our primate ancestors. This nature may appear in the form of feelings and motivations. We also share a culture, which is spread from individual to individual through language and imitation. A significant amount of this communication is not always consciously obvious. Notice how music lyrics appeal to feeling, while the same words create a structure that restricts when these feelings may be expressed. By combining nature and culture, humans have created a moral framework. I may be simplifying the story; other environmental factors contribute to an individual’s framework, such as childhood experience.
Imagine a future where humans have discovered other alien social groups that do not have the same moral framework as humans. In this scenario, the human moral framework developed on Earth, but it did not grow anywhere else. Imagine a cosmic intelligence with considerable understanding of alien groups. In a universe where there is no common moral framework, the cosmic mind might not see our framework as important.
Let us consider a different scenario. What if different alien groups could discover circles and triangles, then use them in their engineering? These two groups could develop similar technology. What if certain social strategies worked for more than one alien group? For example, collaboration and organization may be successful in different parts of the universe. These strategies being used by aliens may allow them to develop a moral framework similar to the human moral framework. If this framework is common throughout the universe, a cosmic intelligence would recognize it as important.
The two scenarios are meant to show that the perspective of a framework varies depending on conditions. It does not explain what conditions influenced the mind that disapproves of my ideas. It is unclear whether the mind that disapproved possesses understanding similar to the cosmic mind or if it is limited to understanding Knowledge related to the Earth. Perhaps the belief that something divine agrees with our values is a product of our framework. We are programmed to believe. And the imaginary mind has the values that we imagine it having. Yet a significant amount of religious books, notably the Bible, emphasize the importance of being guided by a divine mind.
An external mind that knows better than you might become necessary when you become too confident in yourself. The world is full of tyrants who think they know everything. Beware of the insane voice in your head that always agrees with you. You should seek the advice of other people. But also don’t be afraid of the advice of compassion. This advice does not just come from inner vision. You can find it outside in other people, in trees, in books, and in everyday activity.