@SoapAndShampoo - I think the misanthropy comes directly from basically losing again and again and again over the last 30 years. The impression people have is that we are going backward. Liberals are primarily activists who want to provoke change. Yet they haven’t been able to craft a really persuasive inspiring nation-wide populist message since the 60′s. The short shift to optimism when Obama ran was eclipsed almost immediately so cynicism and despair is taking over again and that in turn breeds anger and hatred. But it’s the same with the right, insanely angry after losing even just once.

But maybe what people are really angry at is the sense that the truth isn’t getting out and they are powerless to change things. There’s this feeling that people are being very much deceived.

When I just hear the word “objectivism” I don’t even disagree. I DO believe there are objective truths about right and wrong. It’s just that, the “objectivism” of Ayn Rand goes far beyond that. It’s the idea that certain people know what’s right & wrong much better than anyone else and that they should be in charge and others should bow to their expertise. Further it asserts that the truths of the universe can only be ascertained through pure selfish pursuit of one’s own self interest which is the most moral activity people can engage in. That’s sick to me whether it is liberals or conservatives expressing it.

But other Republicans are “objectivist” in a different sense. Mainly that they see God as principle originator of objective truth. Whether that’s true or not it’s a fundamentally anti-individual sentiment too. People don’t discover objective truths, they are decreed them and they do not change. That bothers me even more than the Randian view.

But anyways as you say we have to focus first on our own houses and lead by example.

@SoapAndShampoo -  Are misanthropic people like that really common and growing? I’ve never heard anyone express that view exactly. I have heard people argue that humanity is destructive to the planet and I’ve even seen some people bitterly angry because of the harm we are causing. But I don’t hear many who express outright hatred for humanity or anywhere close. Mostly people focus on the problems or the specific people at fault and don’t make such absolute views about the judgment of the species.

At least that’s not the position of most of the Liberals I know. I don’t doubt that it exists though. And I actually have seen some get pretty close to that but usually they are just venting out of their anger over some specific thing that angered them. It’s the thing that angered them that really is concerning them, usually something like learning that certain species are becoming extinct because of our actions or suffering enormously as a result of something we’ve done. Especially if it’s a species they find to be beautiful and think they feel an affinity for. But personally I see no reason why that should cause us to hate humanity and wish for its end. I think that’s crazy.

On the other side I’ve heard just as crazy views expressed in passing. Indeed once I was told of a conversation that involved BOTH views. A friend of mine was talking about being in a chat room where they brought up the whole tossing puppies in the lake incident and the conversation turned into a discussion of various species that have become extinct because of human actions.  Then apparently several people in the chat expressed the idea that it just doesn’t matter how many species humanity wipes out. All that matters is that humanity survive. This in turn enraged the people who were concerned about the survival of said other species to the point that they expressed their hatred of humanity and argued that they wished human beings could just disappear.

Both positions I think are completely and utterly crazy. But I don’t really think either was super serious. The one position was expressed out of a desire to avoid that sense of guilt that arises from knowing your actions are, however indirectly hurting thousands of innocent species. The other was a reaction out of anger because they disliked the position that these particular people were expressing. Kids are more likely to express opinions like these and stubbornly stick with them just to sound opinionated. But most people, no matter their political persuasion retain such strong views deep down.  So I have a hard time imagining that this view is really growing.

People ARE afraid though and rightfully so. The more environmentally aware you are the more it must totally seem to you that humanity really probably isn’t going to do anything about the environmental catastrophe that is building until the very last minute and that waiting will be a tragedy of epic proportions for both human and non-human species. In effect saving other species is a part and PARCEL of saving ourselves so the view that we can just let species die is incredibly short sighted even from a human centric perspective.

As for whether or not humanity has a real place in the world, that’s too big a philosophical question to really answer. My own general opinion tends toward the more pragmatic. We ARE here. Whether or not we should is completely irrelevant. we have to deal with the reality that exists.What ought and ought not be is meaningless. Any force powerful enough to wipe out humanity would cause JUST as much harm to all the other species on the planet too, so arguing for the destruction of humanity is equally short sighted childish BS even IF you’re a weirdo that thinks animals are much more important than us (rather than equally as important).

Anyways, Good luck with your exam! I’m glad you have it official. If there’s any way I can help you prepare let me know. I’m sure you’ll do awesome on it.