#epistemology #truth #pain #knowledge Created at 231023 # [Anonymous feedback](https://www.admonymous.co/louis030195) # [[Epistemic status]] #shower-thought Last modified date: 231023 Commit: 0 # Related # Unnecessary suffering [[Pain]], in certain contexts, can serve a purpose. Take Elon Musk, for instance. His challenging upbringing might have been a crucial factor in shaping him into the wealthiest individual on Earth. But what about stepping on a nail? Surely, that's not beneficial. Or is it? Perhaps, if you're part of a unique political faction aiming to enhance human foot resilience, it might be. This brings us to an interesting realization: the concept of "usefulness" is relative. It's largely dependent on one's philosophical perspective. Karl Popper, in his work "Objective Knowledge", distinguishes between subjective and objective knowledge. He describes subjective knowledge as the mental experiences or processes that individuals have. On the other hand, objective knowledge is described as the products of these mental processes, which can be contained in a book, stored in a library, or taught in a university. Here is a relevant quote from Popper's work: "When referring to human knowledge, I shall usually have this objective sense of the word 'knowledge' in mind. This allows us to think of knowledge produced by men as analogous to the honey produced by bees: the honey is made by bees, stored by bees, and consumed by bees; and the individual bee which consumes honey will not, in general, consume only the bit it has produced itself: honey is also consumed by the drones which have not produced any at all (not to mention that stored treasure of honey which the bees may lose to bears or beekeepers). It is also interesting to note that, in order to keep up its powers to produce more honey, each working bee has to consume honey, some of it usually produced by other bees." Another example of relative truth can be looking at genes. [[Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene|Richard Dawkins]], in his book "[[Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene|The Selfish Gene]]", describes genes as the fundamental unit of natural selection. He presents the idea that humans are merely vehicles for genes to replicate themselves and thus are selfishly motivated to survive and reproduce regardless of the cost to the individual. Hitler's philosophy was deeply rooted in the idea of racial purity and superiority, in a way he had a similar philosophy than the selfish gene, he wanted to optimise for a specific gene-space, and he was willing to sacrifice millions of individuals to achieve that goal. Hitler philosophy was also based on the idea that resources are limited, and we are in a zero-sum game, which is untrue, technology multiplies resources and creates abundance. This is evident in the way advancements in technology have led to increased productivity, efficiency, and overall wealth. For instance, the advent of agricultural technology has allowed us to produce more food than ever before, effectively debunking the notion of a zero-sum game in terms of resources. In the context of suffering, it's important to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary suffering. Necessary suffering could be seen as the pain or hardship that leads to growth, resilience, or the achievement of a greater goal. Unnecessary suffering, on the other hand, is pain or hardship that serves no purpose or benefit to the individual or society. It's the kind of suffering that could be avoided or mitigated through better choices, systems, or technologies. On the other hand, I personally faced struggles in my life, having a leukemia at 13 might have brought me where I am, who knows? If you have access to [[The multiverse]], let me know!