If mankind started out without any negative traits that like greed, ego, anger etc., how would it shape our civilization up to this date? Would we have created the perfect utopia or made ourselves extinct long ago? Are our flaws holding us down or are they the reason our society made it to this point?
Without greed, we don’t have a drive to be better and improve our selves. Without ego, we lack a self to care about in the first place. And without anger, we lose a strong emotional response to the unjust treatment of our peers.
Even though you can come up with a million negative things they also bring, at least in moderation, these flaws are probably just as you say the reason our society made it to this point!
The reality is that it is degrees of flaws that evolved to something sustainable. If there was some evolutionary benefit to going murderous angry if say a person looked at you wrong, then that is how we likely would be.
While certainly there are extreme cases in individuals, as you say, these are emotions needed to survive. And the overall level of greed and ego and anger would maintain some level most beneficial to human survival.
The interesting thing about character traits is the mix. Some that we think of virtuous or beneficial become toxic at the extrema. It also depends on the context. You want your aircraft pilot to be unrelentingly fastidious and vigilant but that doesn’t work in a relationship.
I think we could make a much improved society by focusing more attention on health and knowledge rather than on business, war and money. It’s becoming increasingly clear that many people, even superficially successful people, are suffering from some kind of mental disorder. It’s well known that psychopathy is often an advantage in business dealings. We allow our cognitive biases to rule us and our behaviour is evolving at a much slower rate than our technology.
I’m guessing we would still be hunter-gatherers with very Zen Buddhist attitude towards life.
Have you ever seen the movie Logan’s Run? It’s not a bad representation.
