God. Real. Right.

Scientists have apparently (or non-apparently, as the case may be) taken a big step toward making invisibility a possibility–according to an AP story and a C|Net article out this week.
But putting the technical aspects of a childhood dream aside, living among people who are invisible, or of living invisibly among people, is already an adult nightmare; ethically, that is.
Here’s a smidgen of background on egoism and altruism: People need each other. That fact is the bane and purpose of human existence in the world. It also explains why it is so easy to explain all human behavior, even what looks like altruism, as egoism. Altruism is a sincere (pure, simple) concern for others. Egoism is pure concern for self. While egoism is an essential part of living as a human it is not sufficient to explain genuinely ethical living. The Western world’s claim that everything people do is egoistic is wrongly motivated, wrong-headed, and wrong. Worse yet, if the West’s worldview were correct it would mean either that morals are not real (artificial constructs of society or individual psyches) or that morals are nothing more than a description of the selfishness of those who are approved by whoever stands in judgment–a famished view of ethics at best.
Back to the invisible man: The normal way for people to act Read the rest of this entry »