Answering questions is easy; figuring out which questions to work on is the real difficulty. If we as a species spent more time working on what issues we were going to address and less time answering them not only would we find we have even more time to other things, but the quality of the answers we produce would skyrocket. The very process of carefully considering what issues are important and how we feel about them, what our biases and blind spots might be, and how honest and resilient we consider ourselves nearly answers many questions all by itself.
Not everyone’s questions are the same. The relative importance of these questions is itself time and space dependent and connected to every other question that every other sentient being is grappling with today, on May 26th, 1993 or next century. Having said that, let’s just see how universal some of the questions might be.
The following are some of my biggies, at least for here and today. When do the ends justify the means? What is the meaning of life? Are people basically good? What is the hierarchy of the many hats that I wear? What responsibility do I have to help others? What are the current existential threats to me, my family, my nation, my planet? How did the universe begin? How many times has it begun? What is on the other side? Is altruism real? Are there any absolutes?
Touching on just a few of these briefly to spark curiosity and compassion in you as well as me. First, when do the ends justify the means? It has always been very clear that to me this a really important question. I believe that our beliefs in this space inform much of the society that we build. I believe that we need to approach this question without framing it in dangerous frameworks like ethical or moral or even practical. It is a question of how we value each other and truth and destiny and fairness and love and abundance and human goodness and God and so much more. I am loathed to deploy ends-justification. I believe that it nearly always leads to dangerous places. Maybe I fear who I might become? Maybe I fear what society might become? Maybe I believe that there are some absolutes? Maybe I am not at peace? Maybe I don’t respect myself enough, or maybe I fall victim to grandiosity? Is this an important question to you? Do you feel similarly or very differently? Have you ever thought about it? Are you trying to figure out why you are still reading this knowing that this is absolutely meaningless garbage?
What next to consider? Does it matter? Is it all the same anyway? How did we get here? How is that we have never been here before? Have we always been and forever will remain exactly here? Is here real? Is my here the same as you’re here? What question do we really wish we were aware of? Do I love myself and trust myself? Do I love and trust you as well, especially if we have never met?
