Philosophical Questions: Fairness

[ysabetwordsmith]

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Why do people expect a universe full of randomness to be fair?


1) Cognitive bias. The human brain is designed to perceive patterns, because doing that improves survival odds; but the system is so determined to find patterns that it imagines them where none exist.

2) Life is not fair. The purpose of civilization is to make life more fair.

Comments

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

True in a mathematical sense, but not necessarily in a social sense where you're trying to keep people from starting fights over resources.

There are different ways of looking at what "fair" means too.

Re: Well ...

[warriorsavant]

Which is to say everyone thinks the “fair” thing is for them to get what they want.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Not necessarily. That's a popular perspective but not the only one.

Some people want more fairness across groups. That includes people interested in fairness generally, people who see some benefit even if it's not their personal group getting a direct improvement, and others who are aware that widespread fairness makes a better and safer world for everyone.

So for instance, people think that economic inequality is too wide, and would prefer to see wealth more evenly distributed, though not exactly the same across all levels.

Another example is greenspace in cities, which is unfair in many places. More greenspace would benefit everyone, and for best results it needs to focus on places with the least. Many people are agitating for this, even if they don't live in a neighborhood that lacks trees.

Re: Well ...

[warriorsavant]

Ok. More precisely, everyone wants what they want (to happen). As you say some people feel fair would be for other people to get what they want, but I think for the majority people, it means they get what they want to get. I find often, It depends which side of the table you’re sitting on

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's why it's important to have mixed groups, for a wider perspective; and why it's important to teach things like history, socioeconomics, and psychology. People need to know how not to saw off the branch they're standing on -- which looking at the world today, is knowledge in short supply. That doesn't mean it can't be done.

Re: Well ...

[warriorsavant]

Not entirely sure what that has to do with the subject, but okay.

Re: Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

People think about fairness in different ways. If they are actually thinking about selfishness -- which is common -- then that causes problems. Teaching people to think about what is fair to others also is important to a healthy society. It's better if they know enough to talk about different types of fairness and their uses.

Re: Well ...

[warriorsavant]

We seem to each be just repeating our arguments in different words. Definitely not meeting of minds, but I don't actually expect the world to always agree with me. Good night.