Community and Active, Unconditional Love

One of the most challenging things about self-disclosure and hospitality is that we have so much fear about our actions being used against us. We've heard horror stories, or we've experienced in our own lives, that sometimes when we share things about ourselves, other people use that information to cause us harm. When we extend hospitality to someone else, sometimes others take advantage. Feeling betrayed is a part of many people's life experience, and this makes trust really difficult.

A community that practices mutual self-disclosure and hospitality addresses some of this threat. If you experience being served by others, it can be easier to serve without fear that others will take advantage of you. If other people are self-disclosing, it can be easier to trust that you won't be betrayed if you share something of yourself. None of this is a guarantee that someone won't take more than they give in a relationship, or betray a confidence out of anxiety. People don't always live in alignment with their deepest values. You and I are included in that. But intentional mutuality helps lessen our fear about being known and serving others.

There is another feature of meaningful, authentic community that figures into this equation, and that is active and unconditional love toward one another. Obviously, this is a mutual thing, too. Active and unconditional love informs why we would choose to know and be known by others -- why we would choose to serve and be served by others. It isn't enough that someone listens to us share something about ourselves, what we hope for is that we'll be understood and accepted. Mutual self-disclosure could still happen in an environment where people heap shame on themselves and one another, and this doesn't really help anybody. What makes a community meaningful is that we have our needs met, and part of what we need is a sense that we are valued and cherished by others. In other words, we need love.

Most of the adoration and value we extend toward other people and receive from others is conditional. We try to earn people's approval, or we make people earn ours. As children, many of us developed a sense of what we had to do or who we had to be in order to earn love and acceptance from others. For some of us, this has meant pretending to be something we're not. We hide our true selves because we believe at some level that who we really are is unacceptable or unlovable, and we show up in a more "worthy" persona that we think will fool people into loving or accepting us. "If they saw who I really am, I'd be rejected, but if they believe the mask I wear, I'll earn love and acceptance."

This impression gets reinforced in communities all the time. As long as you seem to conform to everyone else's beliefs and behaviors, you are given the message that you're acceptable, lovable, righteous, good. But if you veer away from the accepted beliefs and behaviors of the herd, there are consequences. Maybe you are given the message that you're unacceptable. Maybe love is withheld. In many cases, you are no longer treated as an equal participant in that community. In order to get your needs met, you have to do what the community demands. Being valued and loved is contingent upon following the rules -- even if that means pretending to be someone or something you aren't.

Now, healthy communities have boundaries. Behavior that harms people in any way can't be tolerated if a community is to provide safety. Enforcing community boundaries can take a number of forms, though. An anxious reaction to someone violating our boundaries might be to tell them that they are unacceptable -- that the boundary violator is unworthy of love and acceptance. A more intentional response might be to address the offending behavior, so that it becomes a matter of "This behavior is not acceptable" instead of "You are not acceptable." This kind of nuance can be a challenge to master, but it reflects a willingness to distinguish a person from their behavior. People have inherent worth and dignity, and behaviors can change.

It's loving to hold people accountable to a mutually agreed upon set of standards for a community -- a covenant, if you will. Members of a community can decide together, "These are the principles that are going to bind us together, and these are the boundaries that are going to promote us being in alignment with those principles." Then, when someone betrays a confidence or takes advantage of the community's hospitality or violates the community boundaries in some other way, the response can be  more loving toward everyone involved. Instead of a person being unlovable or unacceptable, the issue can clearly be, "This behavior doesn't align with our principles." It's even possible to say, "We love you and care about you, and this behavior isn't compatible with being part of this community."

This really isn't about controlling people's behavior. It's about giving people opportunities to grow into greater emotional maturity. Just about anything a person might do that would violate trust or harm another person is a product of that person's anxiety or emotional immaturity. When our decisions are informed by fears or false beliefs about ourselves or others, we're likely to cause some harm. But we have opportunities to alter our course. We have opportunities to learn and grow and do things differently. We have the potential to clarify our deepest values and guiding principles, and align our actions and beliefs with those values and principles. We have the potential to dismantle our irrational fears and give our word to greater integrity in our lives. We are capable of living into a best possible version of ourselves. Our decision to love others is essentially our willingness to see this same potential, this same capability, in them. So, it isn't about control so much as it is about hope.

At the same time, it's important for people to understand that their behavior has consequences, and that their actions have an effect on other people. None of this is a simple formula. It takes some commitment and some intentional work for a community to consistently focus on people's potential rather than their flaws. Hopefully, a community can establish a sense of active and unconditional love before it becomes necessary to enforce community boundaries. One way this can be done is by responding intentionally to the practices of mutual self-disclosure and mutual hospitality.

Love is apparent when people are accepted as they share who they are. We could respond to self-disclosure by trying to fix people, by judging them, by labeling them, or any number of ways that run contrary to valuing and cherishing a person. When a loving community practices mutual self-disclosure, that self-disclosure is followed by receptivity, acceptance, and validation. There are things that all of us could continue to work on. Validating and accepting where a person is doesn't equate to a declaration that they're done growing. It simply means that they are valued and cherished right where they are in their journey. The reason for growing isn't to gain love and acceptance. The reason for growing is to be more fully alive -- to be more consistently in alignment with a vision of a best possible version of yourself.

Likewise, love is apparent when service is met with gratitude. A community that practices mutual hospitality could come to expect that people will be of service to one another. People's acts of service toward one another may be overlooked or taken for granted if mutual hospitality is habitual for a community. Supplementing this commitment to a mutual sense of welcome with a mutual sense of gratitude and appreciation can foster deeper human connection. When people are willing to express gratitude, even when hospitality is expected, it reinforces a sense of value, care, and love for one another.

Meaningful, authentic community is more than incorporating a set of practices and behaviors into the community's identity. Self-disclosure and hospitality are wonderful, but they aren't enough in and of themselves. We all need to know that we are loved -- that we are cherished and valued. When we don't have this need met by other human beings, we invent sources. We imagine that something outside of ourselves cherishes and values us, even if we don't feel it from other human beings.

Some communities even foster this sense that something supernatural is the source of love. Meaningful, authentic communities recognize the truth that valuing and cherishing people is the responsibility of human beings to one another. We are responsible for expressing love and hope in one another's lives. When we abdicate this human responsibility to something we invent in our imaginations, we rob ourselves and others of full, satisfying human relationship. We miss out on being fully alive and fully human when we pretend that there is some other supernatural source for acceptance, value, and love.

Loving other people isn't safe, and it often isn't easy, but it is the task of human beings in meaningful, authentic community. If we aren't taking this responsibility seriously, we aren't creating authentic community. We're pretending to be less vulnerable and interdependent than we actually are. For this reason, honesty is another key component to meaningful, authentic community. Obviously, we must be honest in our self-disclosure if we expect to be truly known. And as we see here, active and unconditional love requires our honesty in recognizing love as the responsibility of human beings. We'll explore honesty further next week as we continue to consider the essential ingredients to meaningful, authentic community.

John 14: Within You

The second half of John 14 continues the message of comfort, encouragement, and empowerment. In the story, Jesus is aware of his imminent arrest and death sentence. The disciples seem not to have caught on in the narrative, so some of the words of this passage seem intended to prepare them for the events that are about to unfold. Of course, these words were written at least 60 years after the events they describe would have taken place, so the authors must have had a different reason for writing them down. Maybe it was just to tell the story in a way that had a clear dramatic arc.

We see evidence in this passage of the superstitions of the time, but underneath much of the language here, there is a message of personal empowerment. This is primarily in the bits about the Advocate or Holy Spirit. There are also a few turns of phrase here that we might consider coercive. "If you love me, you will...," is a hallmark of an anxious communicator trying not to sound anxious. We might graciously reinterpret those sentences into a clearer definition of what the authors mean by "love." Although it is a wonderfully concise way of saying a great many things, love is also a rather vague word that is subject to interpretation (or misinterpretation). Thus, we might replace it in this context with something more precise, such as, "If you trust the merits of what I have taught you and how you have seen me engage in life, you will follow my example."

The audience in the narrative have traveled with the Exemplar, they have seen him engaging authentically in living with integrity to his deep guiding principles (which were in alignment with the stated guiding principles of at least some expressions of first-century Judaism), and they have heard him explain to them how they might do the same. Still, they consider him to be uniquely qualified to live as he lives, and they are content to be less than he -- less capable, less aware, less human. The narrative is about to take a nasty turn, and the Exemplar is going to be killed for living with integrity to his principles, because this is a scary thing to people who value quiet compliance over bold authenticity. He takes these final moments with his friends to prompt them to see their own ability to live intentionally and with integrity.

The reader already knows the story, presumably. The Jesus character dies, reminding everyone reading that it can be dangerous to live according to clearly defined, deep guiding principles, even though it is the most rewarding way to engage in the fragile art of living. Then, the authors bring the hero back to life, which undercuts the very core of their message. With this supernatural act as part of the narrative, the Jesus character is turned into something beyond what any person can hope to be. Instead of feeling empowered to engage in this life fully, many readers believe themselves to be weak and incapable of doing anything good on their own. Instead of following an example of how to live with integrity, many readers spend their time waiting for a next life that they think has been promised to them. I guess it's a good thing the dead can't be disappointed.

Abundant examples among twenty-first century believers demonstrate the tendency of the overall narrative to convince people that they are weak, broken, incapable, and even worthless. Every day, people express their conviction that they need a supernatural's help to make basic moral and ethical decisions. How can such a person even consider being fully alive with authenticity and integrity? This depiction of humanity as weak, worthless, and incapable is not only a useless and lazy image, it isn't even an accurate impression of what passages like John 14 are intended to express.

The point of this part of the narrative is for the Jesus character to express the capability and power of human individuals to live fully. The promise given, to the disciples in the story and presumably to the reader as well, is that whatever you think of as divinity is within you. There is no reason for anxiety, because you already know how to be intentional. You already know how to be honest, even when it is challenging. You already know how to live with integrity to your deep values. The promised Advocate "abides in you, and will be in you." This is different language for what we might call a deepest, most noble self -- the very human qualities of truth, beauty, and creativity that help us define our principles and allow them to guide our decisions. Human beings are not weak and incapable; they have within them all that they need to live morally, ethically, and purposefully. You have within you all that you need to live morally, ethically, and purposefully.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

"If you really believe that the way of being I've demonstrated to you is the best way to live, take this business about loving one another seriously. You have access to your deepest, most noble self just as I have access to my deepest, most noble self. Pay attention to your deepest values and let them guide you, and you won't be disappointed. Other people are going to think that this is all wrong. They don't understand things that you now know to be true about how to live fully. You aren't responsible for their understanding. You're responsible for your own integrity.

"I'm not going to be here much longer, and yet you will keep seeing things that remind you of me in the world. When you see love and kindness and compassion, you'll be reminded of me. When you see justice and equity being carried out, you'll be reminded of me. When you see people paying attention to their deepest values and living with authenticity and integrity, you'll be reminded of me. I'm not really going anywhere when you look at it like that. And if you live in a way that reflects your deepest, most noble self, other people are going to see my hopes alive in you -- they will see what I care about most, made manifest in your life.

"I say this now, while I'm with you, but you don't really need me to tell you this. You know what your deep values are. Trust them. Trust yourselves. Don't be worried about what other people think you ought to do. Don't be afraid of what will happen. Just live with integrity, and place love as the cornerstone of your life. If you live into a best possible version of yourself, you can be at peace with whatever the outcome is. If you don't yet know the principles that you want to guide your decisions, you can discover them. You are responsible for your lives. You are capable. You are powerful. You are insightful. You don't need someone else to tell you what to do. You just needed someone to show you that it's possible."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

If you want to live fully, you have to connect with yourself. Whatever else you choose to believe in, you have to believe in yourself. This is not to say that you form a set of unrealistic expectations about what you can do. Belief in and of itself will not change reality. Every person has limitations. But if you want to fully inhabit yourself, you have to recognize that you are a capable, whole, powerful, insightful, beautiful, creative human being with inherent worth and dignity. You may have a few things to learn or figure out, and you will definitely make mistakes along the way. The bottom line, though, is that your vision of a best possible version of yourself is worth living into -- that you are worth believing in.

Isaiah 25-26: Being Special

As with many biblical prophecies, there are significant aspects of Isaiah 25-26 that are obviously based on cultural bias, and there are other assertions that are simply not true. In Isaiah 25, for instance, the authors claim that Yahweh was "a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat." By the end of the chapter, there is the snide claim, "The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit," which is rather interesting considering the status of the Moabites as poor, distressed refugees who needed shelter (Is 15:1-16:4). It is somewhat ironic to call the Moabites proud while remaining blind to the inherent pride of considering one's own people to be specially chosen as worthy by the only real deity among a sea of tribal gods.

Beyond that, it is a rather frustrating empty promise to suggest that God will make life easier or smoother for the "righteous" person. Everyone faces difficulties in life, but some of the people who face the most insurmountable problems are also people who go to church every Sunday and do their best to live by what they are taught there. Some "righteous" people have very challenging lives, and some "unrighteous" people would seem to have very easy lives. It is one of the great problems of capitalism that many people who gain wealth via the suffering of others have rather enviable lives. And what does it really mean to be righteous? Contrary to what many Christians have been led to believe, morality is not exclusive to religious people. Atheists and Humanists have abundant reason to behave ethically and morally, and many do. Should we assume that their way is made smooth by God because they are righteous? More likely, the accurate interpretation of "righteousness" as it is used here should be: "people who sincerely believe what we believe."

Some believers will claim that the important symbolic predictions of these chapters have been proven true, not that nations have literally streamed to the "holy city," Jerusalem, to learn from God's wisdom, but that Christianity has spread throughout the world. The same narcissism that characterizes the ancient Israelites' self-identity as a chosen people has now become a self-characterization of many Christians. That Christianity has spread throughout the world is undeniable. However, it is also true that Islam and Buddhism have spread throughout the world. There are Atheists in every nation, too, whether they organize publicly in groups or not. The ethnocentrism of this passage conveniently ignores that those things which are true about its claims regarding Yahweh are true of a great many belief systems.

For instance, it is suggested that, although Yahweh is busy destroying cities in wrath, punishing them for calling on different gods (never mind that only the Israelites were his chosen people, and they weren't exactly creating a righteous society), those who patiently trust Yahweh to come through will be rewarded because Yahweh will eventually act on his will. Whatever might be commended in this assertion might be commended of patiently trusting in anything. If one prays for rain, it doesn't matter to whom one prays; eventually it will rain. When it rains, one is likely to attribute that to whatever god was the focus of one's prayers, but rain happens because of natural processes, not because of supernatural causes. One's perception of why or whence the rain comes does not change the fact that rain is a natural phenomenon that will happen whether anyone prays for it or not. Anyone who survived the warfare to which Isaiah's authors were responding could attribute that survival to their gods, but the more likely explanation would have been luck, or possibly some kind of privileged circumstances.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of these passages that lingers in the minds of believers today is the assumption that God works through human warfare. Armies were the practical means through which Yahweh was supposedly laying waste to cities, after all. There was no supernatural event or even extreme global weather patterns; when the authors of Isaiah say that Yahweh leveled a city, they mean that a foreign army leveled a city. Yahweh gets the credit for military successes. What this also means, however, is that military victors get credit for being Yahweh's instruments. When people go to war, the outcome is not based on the moral standing of the peoples involved in the eyes of a supernatural. When people bomb cities, the death and destruction is not ordained by God. Violence is a human decision, the consequences of which rest squarely on the shoulders of the human beings who made that decision. And violence always has consequences. There is no possibility that all the "evil cities" in the world can be destroyed and everyone left will go streaming to the "righteous cities" that remain, but even if that were a possibility, it wouldn't be because human beings raised armies and went to war.

Biblical prophecies are fraught with hazardous assumptions, and many of those assumptions still infect the minds of some believers. It is one of the problems of believing in supernaturals that people do not stop with mere belief in a supernatural, but must also believe that they have a special relationship with the supernatural -- that they are somehow special, superior to the people around them. Human value is not quantifiable. One person or group of people is not worth more than another. Human beings have value because they are human beings, not because of their special circumstances with regard to wealth, skin color, sexuality, or belief in a supernatural. Human beings are capable of making ethical and moral choices, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof. Human beings are also capable of making unethical and immoral choices, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof. No one is special in that regard, or if you prefer, everyone is equally special in that regard.

That is really the thrust of these chapters of Isaiah, after all. People want reassurance that they will be alright. People want some kind of hope to which they might cling. People want confirmation that they are special and beloved. People want to believe that their city is strong and impervious, because their supernatural protects it. The problem is that the sort of hope and reassurance Isaiah offers is inevitably short-lived, or else it requires a great deal of cognitive dissonance. The promises made did not come to pass, and the interpretation of events does not stand up to scrutiny. If we wish to be honest and we wish to have sane and responsible beliefs, we need something else on which to place our hope. We need a different source of reassurance. While we could simply believe that we have a special elevated status above other human beings because a supernatural said so, this sort of belief does not really serve us if we want to participate in building a better world (or, as some believers might phrase it, if we want to participate in building the kingdom of God).

On what can we hope? Where can we find reassurance in the midst of personal or societal trials? Next week, we'll take a look at one possibility.

Statement of Warrant: All People Have Inherent Value

Over the past year or so, my view on faith has undergone significant development. As I challenged some people’s faith assertions, my belief in the inherent value of all people was frequently brought up as an argument in favor of faith. Since I was unsure that my belief could be demonstrated empirically, I conceded that my claim that all people have inherent worth was a faith-based claim—a belief that was held without evidence. As my criticism of faith continued to develop, I began to question more whether I was willing to maintain a belief without any evidence (or worse, for which there may be counter-evidence). I determined to investigate my claim and see where it led.

What follows is a statement of warrant for the assertion that all people have inherent value. I no longer hold this as a faith-based claim, but as a warranted assertion about the realities of human existence. I also include the moral implication that therefore all people have inherent dignity, since the actions that follow from a belief are perhaps more important than the belief itself. It is possible that this statement of warrant could be better articulated with continued effort, but for the time being, I have resolved the matter to my own personal satisfaction. A word of warning to the reading-averse: It's long.

All people have inherent value.

(1) People exist, and people are living organisms.

(2) Living organisms have biological imperatives required to perpetuate their existence.

(3) Human beings must continue to exist in order for the species to continue to exist.

(4) Therefore, human beings matter to other human beings based on a biologically instilled drive to perpetuate the species.

(5) Human beings are unique among living organisms in their level of awareness and their control over their behavior.

(6) Each person influences the life of at least one other individual (and in most cases, each person influences the lives of many more than one other individual).

(7) The influence that a person has on the lives of others can cause harm or can promote happiness.

(8) Both nature and nurture play a role in the development of human personality and behavior.

(9) If it is considered desirable (moral) to (a) produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, and (b) bring the least harm to the greatest number of people, then it follows that it is desirable for each individual to influence the lives of others in a way that produces the greatest happiness and brings the least harm.

(10) If it is considered desirable (moral) to (a) produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, and (b) bring the least harm to the greatest number of people, then it follows that it is desirable to nurture in others the capacity and willingness to behave in such a way that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people and brings the least harm to the greatest number of people.

People exist as living organisms. I realize that there may be some philosophical disagreement with the concept that people exist, but if you take issue with your own very existence, there isn’t much anyone can say to persuade you. Philosophical giants have demonstrated sufficient warrant to believe that people exist,[1] and I’m not going to rehash all of that here. The fact that people are living organisms is definitional. Life is defined as “an organismic state characterized by the capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction.”[2] It is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for functional activity, and continual change preceding death. An organism is “an individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life.”[3] There should be no disagreement that human beings fall into the category of “existing living organisms.”

Living organisms have biological imperatives required to perpetuate their existence. From bacteria to the most sophisticated animals, there are certain consistently present biological drives that have been documented to influence how likely it is that a species will continue to exist. These are, generally: survival, territorialism, competition, reproduction, improving quality of life, and group forming.[4] Living organisms biologically want to survive. Living organisms biologically inhabit physical space. Living organisms within a species are biologically driven to compete with one another. Living organisms biologically want to reproduce. Living organisms are biologically driven to improve their quality of life. Living organisms are biologically driven to form groups (of two or more). Individual beings that demonstrate these biological imperatives contribute to the perpetuation of the species of which those beings are members.

Some might argue that biological imperatives apply only to the survival of individual members of a species, not to the perpetuation of a species as a whole. After all, that does seem to be what is implied by the concept of survival of the fittest.[5] If this were the case, however, reproduction would not be a biological imperative, since reproduction is not necessary for an individual’s survival. In fact, bearing and caring for young often compromises an individual’s survival, and yet the drive to reproduce is inherent to all organisms. Likewise, if biological imperatives were only natural impulses toward the survival of the individual, we would see much more evidence of cannibalism, or at least of indiscriminate violence within species. If other members of one’s species are eliminated, then the resources one needs for survival are more abundant. It may seem that some people behave in a way that is directed toward individual survival at the expense of the species, but this is not how our biological imperatives developed. Biological imperatives instill in each members of a species the drives that will allow for the perpetuation of the species.

For the purpose of this argument, some of these qualities as they apply to human beings are more significant than others. Of course, those human beings who demonstrate a biological desire to survive will perpetuate the human species most effectively. Human beings are complicated beings, however, and for most individuals, survival involves more complex thoughts and behaviors than, say, survival for an individual walrus or toucan. The important thing is that nature equips human beings with a desire to remain alive. If this were not so, the species would not be able to continue.

Human beings also take up physical space, and thus are biologically required to inhabit a territory. This means different things in different contexts. It is possibly this biological imperative that prompts some individuals to purchase homes that enclose exorbitantly more space that the individuals require, since at some point in our species’ past, controlling greater territory meant more access to food, water, and shelter for oneself and one’s family.[6] Territoriality is not a significant component of the argument that human beings have inherent worth, however. The same can be said of the biological imperative to reproduce. Human beings are biologically compelled to engage in the activities of sexual reproduction, and this naturally-imbued desire persists despite human ability to take steps to ensure that the exercise is not successful. Possessing the insight and wisdom to take preventative measures when one is not yet willing or able to care for a child does not remove the biological drive to engage in reproductive activities. This, in and of itself, does not demonstrate human value, however, except to say that one’s desire to engage in successful reproductive activities can only be satisfied through the participation of another human being. Thus, the biological imperatives of territorialism and reproduction are less significant to this particular argument.

Competition as a biological imperative, however, does offer an interesting dynamic to consider. Organisms do not generally compete with the very fittest specimens within their species; they don’t even seem to have conscious awareness that there could be such a thing as a “fittest specimen.” Organisms more frequently compete with the other members of their species that are readily apparent and present some threat or obstacle. Male lions do not compete with cubs, for instance, although they may destroy the cubs of another male lion. They compete with other mature male lions that represent a threat to dominance or an obstacle to mating.[7] Likewise, although human beings are biologically compelled to compete with other human beings, people generally restrict their competition to individuals within their own limited geographic and/or operational zones. A salesperson might compete with other salespeople across the world, but only within a specific industry. The American kitchen appliance salesperson does not consciously compete with the Ugandan rug merchant; there is very little on which to base such competition. There is not really any physical competition between average human beings and sports celebrities. Our competition is with a small group within the larger species, not with every member of the species.[8]  

The biological imperative of competition in most species leads to the fittest of the species reproducing more effectively that the less fit specimens within the species. This benefits the species as a whole. Without a natural benefit to competition, less adaptive members of a species might reproduce as successfully as more adaptive members, which would threaten the long-term sustainability of the species. As will be explored at greater length further along in this argument, human beings are not like most other animals in that they are capable of analyzing and adjusting their own behavior. Competition among human beings has become convoluted because, for some people, “survival” has become more complicated than merely having sufficient food, water, and shelter for oneself and one’s family. For instance, wealth often implies survival benefit, whether consciously or subconsciously, even though a significant enough disproportionate distribution of wealth may actually threaten the survival of the human species overall.[9] Human beings sometimes create social and economic structures that seem to allow for the “survival” of the individual while jeopardizing the well-being of the species.[10] This is a misapplication of natural drives that, in most organisms, promote the well-being of the species as a whole. Human beings sometimes respond to primitive biological imperatives through sophisticated means beyond the capability of any other organism, yet do so without regard for the species as a whole. Competition, or the biological drive to be the fittest available mate, does not necessarily promote the sustainability of the species at our current level of technological and economic sophistication, because that sophistication is paired with profound emotional immaturity.[11]  

Competition is not biologically about being better than every other member of one’s species. No species could survive that way. What we have taken to calling competition is really a natural drive to be the best version of oneself possible. When a particular animal fails to claim territory or a mate from another member of its species, that animal may just go find some other territory and some other mate. It may be adaptable enough to benefit the perpetuation of the species, but it is simply not fit enough to successfully compete with one particular member of its species. Its biological goal (although most organisms would not consciously be able to frame such a thought) is to be the best specimen it can be—not to be the best specimen theoretically possible.[12] Human beings, as shall be elucidated, have some advantages over other biological organisms. We can recognize that our biological imperative toward competition no longer needs to be focused on the same things that our primitive ancestors had to focus on for survival. We can recognize that the purpose of our natural desire to compete is really a biological invitation to be the best versions of ourselves possible. We can still live well as individuals and benefit the species without being the strongest, wealthiest, or most intelligent specimens theoretically possible.

The idea of competition is also connected to the biological imperative toward improving our quality of life. Members of many species do not make conscious decisions about improving their quality of life. The actions of the most adaptive members instinctively tend in that direction, but this does not mean that they make a conscious decision to move the herd to a more reliable water source, or to kill one of a brood of young so that the others will have ample food as they grow and less competition for it. Human beings can be thoughtful, and consciousness sometimes works against us. We draw conclusions that seem correct without fully understanding the causes of the effects we experience, or even understanding what we want as individuals. Some people may think of their “quality of life” as a new car when one is desired, convenient appliances in the kitchen, private schools, and disposable income for vacations to exotic places. These things may represent quality of life in a consumer culture, but they do not actually produce a higher quality of life in terms of the perpetuation of the species.

The biological imperative toward higher quality of life in every other species reduces stress to the individual and improves health. Stress alone can decrease a being’s physical and emotional health.[13] If an organism is able to live longer and more healthily, then (biologically speaking) that individual will have the opportunity to be of greater benefit to the perpetuation of the species. Human beings have turned the biological imperative toward improved quality of life on its head, creating more stress, and physical and emotional unhealthiness, through the very means we believe to be improvements to our quality of life.[14] Overall, the species does not benefit from many of the things that human beings in consumer cultures believe to improve quality of life, and the individual does not benefit because the pursuit of those things increases stress and limits health. This is disguised by medical advances that artificially extend life and manage physical and mental unwellness, of course, which might be considered to be an improvement to the quality of a stressful life. Many times, though, we are simply thoughtless in our pursuit of distractions to provide convenience and entertainment, and we consider having access to those distractions to be improvements to our lives.

Quality of life is not the same as “standard of living.”[15] Quality of life has to do with maximizing joy, affection, and gratitude; and minimizing anger, anxiety, and sadness.[16] Quality of life involves reducing crime and harm, increasing safety and health. Quality of life is enhanced more effectively by becoming emotionally mature than it is enhanced by becoming wealthy. Poverty seems to play a role in increased stress and decreased safety, and yet above an income of about $75,000 a year, there is no apparent benefit to quality of life.[17] Granted, there are plenty of people in the world living below this rate of income, and in the current state of affairs, it would seem that consistently having more money would improve their quality of life. It is important to recognize, however, that quality of life is not really about possessions and disposable income; it is about safety, health, and genuine happiness.

The term happiness warrants a bit of attention, since it comprises a significant portion of the definition of morality employed in this argument. Simply put, happiness is defined as continuous well-being.[18] Although Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been called into question with regard to its structure, most psychological research confirms the existence of basic universal human needs.[19] Happiness is having those needs met. According to many (including Maslow), those needs include: access to the physiological needs of the body (breathable air, potable water, adequate food, clothing, and shelter from the elements), safety (personal safety, financial security, health, and useful protection against physical impairment), love and a sense of belonging, esteem (self-esteem, respect by others, respect for others, competence, self-confidence, and achievement), and self-actualization (moral integrity, creative outlets, problem solving, and essentially the capacity to be the best version of oneself possible).[20] Happiness results from these needs being met. It may be that the greater the number of needs met, and the greater the confidence in having those needs met, the greater the happiness. Or, perhaps, the greater importance an individual places on the specific needs being met, the greater the happiness. In any case, happiness refers to continuous well-being with regard to having basic universal human needs met.

This is one reason, perhaps, that organisms developed a biological imperative toward group building. Groups can be as small as two members of a species, and can theoretically be as large as an entire species. Human beings are clearly social organisms.[21] Among natural drives, group forming perhaps has the greatest significance in terms of inherent human worth. Since this will be covered at greater length under another point, it suffices here to establish that human social interaction and influence is prompted by a biological imperative that functions to promote the perpetuation of the species. It is also important to note that human beings need other human beings in order to form groups and to improve actual quality of life (and to reproduce), but this does not automatically lead to treating all people with respect and dignity.

Human beings must continue to exist in order for the species to continue to exist. If more needs to be said about this statement, I’m at a loss. Logically, the species cannot exist as an actual reality unless members of the species continue to exist. When the last human being dies, the species will not continue to exist. As we have seen, human beings, like all biological organisms, are naturally imbued with imperatives that promote the perpetuation of the species.

Therefore, human beings matter to other human beings based on a biologically instilled drive to perpetuate the species. When we consider whether something has value or not, some would say that it is necessary to consider an object for that value. Value here is not in terms of a price tag, of course, but rather in terms of being important or beneficial. So, to say that every person has value is not to say that one can place each individual on a continuum and determine a quantitative worth for every member of the species. Rather, to say that every person has value is to say that every individual has importance and can be of potential benefit. The obvious question then is: to whom?

The claim that human beings have value to a higher power is satisfactory for some people. This argument is not the place for discussion of supernaturalism or faith. Pretending to know things that one does not know is not a valid justification for any position. Instead, the conclusions here are intended to be based on evidence and reason, and thus, in order to assert that all human beings have value, they must be considered important or beneficial to something demonstrably congruent with actual reality.

In order for something to have value, whatever is doing the valuing must also have sufficient ability to consciously consider a thing’s importance or potential benefit.[22] Most organisms do not seem to be capable of this level of conscious thought, and thus cannot actually value much of anything.[23] Among those more advanced organisms that seem capable of considering a thing’s importance or potential benefit (some primates and a few other mammals), it is not clear that such organisms have any capacity to evaluate human beings comprehensively or accurately.[24] Although it is perhaps reasonable to suggest that a pet owner has direct importance or benefit to the pet, for instance, it would be difficult to extrapolate from that that human beings are necessary for the continued successful existence of the planet. In fact, the planet might be better off in a purely biological sense if human beings just disappeared one morning.[25]  

The fact is, however, that human beings do currently exist, and our biological imperatives and our capability to act on them suggests that human beings will be in existence for a little while yet. As long as human beings exist as biological organisms, they will manifest the biological imperatives to survive, be the best versions of themselves possible, improve the quality of their lives, and form groups. Since these adaptive behaviors will always be important and beneficial to the perpetuation of the species, it may be said that all human beings have value to the species. However, the species as a whole is not a thinking, reasoning organism, and thus the species is not actually able to value its members. Only the members of the species capable of conscious thought can value something—can consider a thing to be of importance or potential benefit.

Thus, when it is asserted that all human beings have inherent worth, the actual assertion is that all human beings have inherent worth to human beings. As organisms capable of reasoning and capable of analyzing and changing our own behavior, human beings are in a rather unique position among other earth-based organisms. Human beings have the potential to consciously consider the consequences of actions to a far greater extent than other organisms. This is not to say that we always do so successfully, only that the capacity for such conscious thought exists. While every individual human being may not recognize that all people inherently have importance and potential benefit, the aim of this argument is to demonstrate that this is indeed the case. While every individual human being may not consider actions of personal survival (the biological imperatives previously detailed) to have evolved for the perpetuation of the species, that is the actual natural purpose for the biological imperatives with which all adaptive organisms are imbued. Thus, every human being is wired biologically to care about the perpetuation of the species—and to care about what happens to other members of the species.[26] It is therefore natural for human beings to see value in other people, even though we sometimes limit which people we are willing to consider important or potentially beneficial. It is the statement that all human beings have inherent value that perhaps requires more extensive examination.

Human beings are unique among living organisms in their level of awareness and their control over their behavior. It has been mentioned that human beings have some capability that other organisms seem to lack. It is worth mentioning that the ability of human beings to be aware of their behavior and its consequences and the ability of human beings to control, manage, and change their behavior makes this argument significant. If one were to argue that all cottontail rabbits are innately important and beneficial to the cottontail rabbit species, from the standpoint of purely biological perpetuation, one would perhaps be correct. Individual cottontail rabbits (to the best of our knowledge) do not think about such things, and even if they did, it is unclear that they could analyze their behavior and adjust it accordingly to create greater happiness and less harm among the entire cottontail collective. Human beings are different. Human beings are able to do some things that other organisms do not seem to do.

Thomas Suddendorf has suggested that humans are unique among organisms because of two primary traits.[27] First, human beings have the desire and ability to share our thoughts with one another. Second, human beings can think about potential outcomes and consider alternatives better than any other species. Since we can create and combine ideas and complex mental symbols, and since we can think in abstract terms, we are more capable than any other organism of analyzing and managing our beliefs and our behavior. These traits also grant us the capability to evaluate the influence of other people on our behavior and vice versa.

Thus, we should not expect any other being to think about value, importance, and potential benefit in the same way that human beings are capable of thinking. Human beings are the only beings able to ascribe worth because human beings are the only organisms capable of the kind of abstract thinking and idea generation necessary to do such a thing. Since human beings are uniquely capable of analyzing and managing their beliefs and behaviors, human beings are thus also uniquely responsible for analyzing and managing their beliefs and behaviors. While there may be some differences in capability between different individuals, a distinguishing characteristic about human beings is the ability to understand that actions have consequences and that people influence the lives of other people. Personal responsibility is a choice that individuals are able to make. Indeed, personal responsibility is congruent with the biological imperatives to survive, to improve one’s quality of life, and to be the best version of oneself possible.

Each person influences the life of at least one other individual (and in most cases each person influences the lives of many more than one other individual). In addition to potentially contributing to the overall perpetuation of the species, every human being influences the life of at least one other person. Just by virtue of being born and being cared for by a single mother, an infant influences the life of another human being. The only way that a human being could have zero influence on any other person is for that individual to be born in a laboratory and raised by machinery that was pre-programmed to provide the necessary sustenance, and for that person to die without ever interacting with another human being. It might even be necessary for that person’s body never to be discovered by another human being to ensure that such an individual would have no influence on another human being. Even a reclusive individual has some influence on other human beings at some point during the course of a lifetime.

Most human beings are not reclusive, though. Most human beings exist within a familial structure, a larger community of social relationships, a geographic community, and perhaps a collection of professional and academic relationships. In many cultures, human beings are connected to one another in a multitude of seemingly impersonal ways as they purchase food and medicine, hire contractors, visit a dentist, go to movies or nightclubs or live music events, and engage in any number of mundane activities. Even the most fleeting casual connection with another human being can influence a person’s attitudes and actions.[28] 

This influence is sometimes obvious. Within the context of close friendship or familial bonds, it is perhaps easiest to discern how people influence one another. Certain human behaviors and attitudes have been deemed “contagious” by researchers because of the profound influence that individuals have on people who are close to them.[29] We can see direct influence when one person takes the life of or commits some act of violence against another human being; even automobile accidents give us clear evidence that human beings can have dramatic influence on the lives of other people. Nearly every time a person receives an award, there is a list of people the recipient publicly thanks for their positive influence.[30] First responders and other medical professionals save lives every day, and ordinary people donate blood and even organs so that other human beings can live longer.

The influence people have on one another is often more subtle. The laws that a politician votes for or against can have unforeseen consequences in the lives of numerous individuals. How a person interacts with a waiter or store clerk can have ramifications in other interactions both individuals have for the rest of the day, or even longer. A teacher in a classroom may say something that sticks with a student for years, influencing any number of decisions, even if the teacher and student never realize the extent of one statement’s influence. Since we exist in systems with other human beings, other people’s decisions are constantly affecting us.[31] Sometimes our lives benefit from other people’s behavior, and sometimes we are inconvenienced or harmed because of what other people do. Our own behavior has an effect on the systems in which we operate, too. Our decisions can cause harm or promote happiness. 

The influence that a person has on the lives of others can cause harm or can promote happiness. While striving for emotional maturity (or self-differentiation) involves taking responsibility for one’s own beliefs and decisions,[32] it is clear that the behavior of a human being affects other people. A driver who runs a stop sign may not affect anyone else in a particular instance (although some self-inflicted emotional or psychological harm may occur), but a reckless driver will inevitably cause harm to other people, even if that harm goes no further than elevated stress. No amount of self-differentiation can protect a person from a gunshot or a collision with a drunk driver. These are potential negative results of human behavior, but positive results are also apparent.

People experience love, purpose, compassion, and happiness because of the actions of other human beings, too. In honest relationships, people can learn how to live satisfying lives, how to develop partnership and create something beyond the scope of the individual, or how to be vulnerable without feeling weak. Even interactions that are not in the context of an ongoing relationship can have an influence on an individual. A helpful store clerk who goes out of her way might inspire a person to go above and beyond with other people throughout the rest of the day—and this influence may not even be noticed by the clerk or the person she helps. A smile from a stranger can change a person’s perspective, and thus could change an entire series of actions.[33] 

Sincere encouragement can give people the confidence to work diligently toward a desirable goal. Insincere encouragement can keep people on paths of misery and destruction, for themselves and potentially for other people as well.[34] Human beings are influenced by one another. Each person has the power to determine in each moment whether that influence will tend toward happiness or toward harm. Imagine a quality inspector at a factory in a far off country, and imagine that this factory produces an item that you have purchased. The quality inspector can directly influence your level of happiness or harm. If he has been diligent, then you (and everyone else who has ordered a product made in that factory) may have some increased happiness because of that item’s benefits. If the inspector has been lazy, then you (and everyone else who has ordered a product made in that factory) may be subject to harm, if not potential physical harm, then potential emotional harm.[35] You are connected to this distant person without ever realizing or considering it. This individual has some influence in your life.

To be even more realistic, a woman on the other side of the world, in southern Punjab, emerged from an abusive and unjust situation, and she started a school to educate women in order to overcome the levels of abuse and injustice that had become normalized in her society.[36] I will probably never meet this woman, and yet when I read her story or see her interviewed, her actions resonate with me and influence my perspective of the world, and thus she influences my actions in the world. Many people have read or seen this woman’s story, and thus many people have been influenced, even if in some small way, by what this one individual did. A woman who was not in any position of extraordinary power (quite the opposite actually), because of her extraordinary actions, was able to have influence in the lives of many people she will never see face-to-face, in addition to the many people she influences because of her courageous education initiative. No one can predict what the students at her school will do, or what other bold women will do as a result of her example.

This one person’s actions need not be extraordinary. This one person was not equipped with any natural advantages that other people do not have. She had parents who were willing to stand against their prevailing culture, and she had supporters in her community. This need not be extraordinary among human beings. All people are equipped with the capacity to recognize whether their actions are likely to promote happiness in the lives of other people, or whether their actions are likely to bring harm.[37] Surely, there are more nuanced decision in which considerable thought must be given to which action out of all possible actions will bring the least harm or the most happiness to the greatest number of people, but the basic mechanisms to behave morally are intrinsic to all human beings (except perhaps for the less than two percent of people who have psychological disorders that hinder those mechanisms from functioning optimally).[38] 

Even beyond our in-person interactions, then, human beings have the potential to influence an unknown number of people, and that influence can promote greater happiness or greater harm. It is not even clear that we are aware of the number of in-person interactions we have in the course of a given day.[39] If we drive down the road when any other driver is present, we have the potential to influence someone’s life without even realizing it. If we shop at a location where any other shoppers are present, we have the potential to influence someone’s life without even realizing it. There can be little doubt that human beings are innately important and potentially beneficial to other human beings, and there is clear evidence that even the most seemingly insignificant person can have a broad influence.

There is no way to fully calculate how much influence a person may have over the course of a lifetime—and even beyond. Some historic figures are still influencing people’s decisions long after their death.[40] They had personal responsibility for their beliefs and decisions during their lives, just as everyone has. Once decisions have been made, however, one can rarely truly control what happens as a result. This is one reason that it is important to develop an intentional and thoughtful response to the awareness that all human beings influence other human beings, and are thus important and potentially beneficial to individuals and to the human species. Since the influence that people have can either cause harm or can lead to greater happiness, it would seem to be worth being intentional about our beliefs and decisions.

Recognition that human beings have control over their actions is fundamental to the universals of morality that exist throughout human culture.[41] Societies could not survive, for instance, if the arbitrary killing of one’s peers was considered morally appropriate behavior. The concept of ownership universally carries with it the concept that it is not morally appropriate to steal another’s property. Human beings are also creative enough to contrive justifications and excuses for immoral behavior, but this does not change the universals regarding human concepts of right and wrong. Usually, our justifications for immorality involve somehow perceiving the victim of the behavior as Other. It is wrong to kill another person, except that it is justified in time of war to kill enemy soldiers—or even civilians, by the reasoning that some people use. They are not Us; they are Other. The same rules do not apply.

When one acknowledges that human beings need one another, and when one acknowledges that the influence human beings have on one another is potentially beneficial and more extensive than we usually comprehend, matters of morality become much more straightforward. The definition of morality that will be applied in this argument is that moral actions produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people and the least amount of harm for the greatest number of people. Viewed as members of a species, this moral definition applies to human beings across the board. In other words, there is no case in which causing more harm than happiness for the majority of people affected could be considered moral.

Human beings have evolved with universal agreement about matters of basic morality, but people do not always apply moral concepts thoughtfully or diligently, especially when some level of fear is involved in the decision-making process. Before exploring the moral implications of all people having inherent value, then, it is appropriate to consider that natural processes alone are not responsible for human behavior. We can discern naturally that human beings have inherent value, and we also know that human beings are influenced by their culture and environment, in addition to the influences of nature.

Both nature and nurture play a role in the development of human personality and behavior. In an effort to be intentional, it is worth considering that nature plays a certain role in human identity and behavior. There are some things human beings do not directly, consciously control, and there are some aspects of identity and behavior that human beings may never understand completely. This suggests that we should exercise caution in our judgments against others and tolerance where no clear harm is evidenced. Homosexuality is a clear example of this. Over the course of centuries, cultural trends toward acceptance or rejection of homosexual behavior ran the gamut from “capital offense” to “normal behavior in certain contexts” to “psychological disorder,” but those judgments about homosexuality were really more public opinion than scientific assessment. More recently, objective scientific inquiry has produced compelling evidence that nature plays a role in homosexuality.[42] We can invent answers to questions as to why, but we are misguided if we blame or punish or denigrate homosexual individuals, since their identity is naturally derived. Until some actual evidence (as opposed to fear-driven conjecture) arises that indicates that homosexuality is directly harmful to homosexual individuals or the people around them, homosexual people are simply different from heterosexual people, but they are people nonetheless. The same cannot be said of people who commit acts of violence because of a chemical imbalance, for instance, because the actions of those people blatantly cause harm.     Just as it is clear that some aspects of human identity and behavior are driven by nature, we can also clearly see how environment and nurture play a role in the development of identity and behavior.[43] It may not always be easy to know where that line is, but objective examination of the subject has at least shown that both are important. We do not control what nature provides to other people, and even if we were able to do so, making such decisions may not be wise. We do control our own behavior, however, and we can act in such a way that not only portrays the best version of ourselves possible, but also promotes others to mature into the best version of themselves possible.

If it is considered desirable (moral) to (a) produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, and (b) bring the least harm to the greatest number of people, then it follows that it is desirable for each individual to influence the lives of others in a way that produces the greatest happiness and brings the least harm. A well-established definition of morality holds that moral behavior produces happiness and immoral behavior produces harm.[44] Along that continuum, the most desirable moral behavior produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people while simultaneously producing the least harm for the greatest number of people. There may be other definitions of morality that an individual prefers, and one could potentially apply those definitions of morality to this argument and find that the assertions here are equally valid regardless of how morality is defined.

Since natural drives compel human beings toward survival, improving our quality of life, becoming the best versions of ourselves possible, and forming groups; since all human beings influence other human beings and are thus important and potentially beneficial to an unknown number of other human beings; and since human beings can analyze and manage our beliefs and behaviors, it follows that human beings should strive for our beliefs and behaviors to produce the greatest happiness possible for the greatest number of people possible and to produce the least harm to the greatest number of people possible. Since all human beings have the potential to influence other human beings positively, and since human behavior can change, we cannot justifiably exclude any individual from the category of “inherently valuable,” even though it would be convenient to do so. Thus, as far as our own potential to influence the lives of other people, it follows that we should treat all people with dignity and respect.

This does not mean that we must accept the ideas or practices of all people. Many beliefs and practices are harmful to a great many people, and these beliefs and practices should be addressed if we are seeking the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. In addressing harmful beliefs and practices, however, respect can still be shown to the individuals who hold those beliefs and engage in those practices. Indeed, they are often within the subset of people harmed by the beliefs and practices in question.[45] Since we cannot know the extent of an individual’s influence, we should treat all people as valuable members of the species—even when we cannot directly discern what their benefit to the species might potentially be. 

If it is considered desirable (moral) to (a) produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, and (b) bring the least harm to the greatest number of people, then it follows that it is desirable to nurture in others the capacity and willingness to behave in such a way that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people and brings the least harm to the greatest number of people. Our influence extends beyond our own beliefs and decisions, even though we only control our own beliefs and decisions. While it is important for our individual behavior to be governed by a moral response to the inherent value of all people, we also can influence other people toward developing a moral response to the inherent value of all people. Indeed, this influence promotes the greatest happiness for people and prevents harm, since understanding the inherent value of all people and responding morally to that understanding is one facet of maturing into the best version of oneself possible. The more human beings who engage in intentional progression toward the best versions of themselves possible, the more sustainable the entire species becomes.

Thus, based on the definitions articulated here, there can be little doubt that all human beings have importance and offer potential benefit to some other human beings, and thus have value. There can be little argument against the observation that human beings operate in social systems, and the extent and reach of these systems is difficult to determine. Since all human beings influence one another, our interactions with other people can reflect our awareness of every person’s inherent worth, and this intentionality can be said to acknowledge each person’s dignity—worthiness of respect. The inherent worth and dignity of all people is thus naturally and reasonably demonstrated.

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[1] In philosophical circles, there may be a distinction between being and existence, and different categories of existence may be important. For this argument, existence is simply intended to imply that human beings are. See, in particular, Jonathan Dolhenty, “Part Thirteen: The Criterion of Truth,” The Problem of Knowledge: A Brief Introduction to Epistemology, http://archive.is/lk3kD (accessed January 14, 2014), and René Descartes, Principles of Philosophy, translated by Valentine Rodger Miller and Reese P. Miller (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1991). For more on the discussion of existence, also see Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole, Logic, or the Art of Thinking, translated and edited by Jill Vance Buroker (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1996); John Stuart Mill. A System of Logic (Calgary: Theophania, 2012); William of Ockham, Ockham's Theory Of Terms (Book I of the Summa Logicae), translated by Michael J. Loux (South Bend: St Augustine’s, 2011); Plato, The Republic, translated by Desmond Lee (London: Penguin, 2003); Aristotle, The Metaphysics, translated by Hugh Lawson-Tancred (London: Penguin, 1999); Heraclitus, Fragments, translated by Brooks Hexton (London: Penguin Classics, 2003); Terry Eagleton, The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University, 2007); Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas (New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2001); C. J. F. Williams, What is Existence? (Oxford: Oxford University, 1981); Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation, vol. 1, translated and edited by Judith Norman, Alistair Welchman, and Christopher Janaway (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2010).

[2] Merriam-Webster.com, s.v. “Life,” accessed January 14, 2014, http://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/life.

[3] AHDictionary.com, s.v. “Life,” accessed January 14, 2014, http://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search. html?q=organism.

[4] See Alasdair I. Houston and John M. McNamara, Models of Adaptive Behavior: An Approach Based on State, (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1999); Cecie Starr, Ralph Taggart, et al., “Animal Behavior,” Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, 12th edition (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2009), 780–793; Davie M. Buss, and Heidi Greiling, “Adaptive Individual Differences,” Journal of Personality 67, no. 2 (Apr, 1999): 209-243; and David Sohn, “Two Concepts of Adaption: Darwin’s and Psychology’s,” Journal of History of the Behavioral Sciences 12, no. 4 (Oct 1976): 367–375.

[5] Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Biology (Sligo: HardPress, 2013), and Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection of the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (New York: Signet Classics, 2003).

[6] Allen W. Stokes, editor, Territory, (New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold, 1974); Malcolm N. Shaw, “Peoples, Territorialism and Boundaries,” European Journal of International Law 8, no. 3 (Jul 1997): 478–507; Peter H. Klopfer, Habitats and Territories: Study of the Use of Space by Animals (New York: Basic Books, 1969); and Fritz R. Walther, Elizabeth C. Mungall, and Gerald A. Grau, Gazelles and Their Relatives: A Study in Territorial Behavior, Noyes Series in Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservation, and Management (Park Ridge, NJ: William Andrew, 1984).

 [7] Anna-Louise Taylor, “Why Infanticide Can Benefit Animals,” BBC Nature News (21 May 2012). Accessed January 14, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18035811; Craig Packer and Anne E. Pusey, “Cooperation and Competition within Coalitions of Male Lions: Kin Selection or Game Theory?” Nature, 296, no. 5859 (Apr 1982): 740–742.

[8] Mark V. Flinn, David C. Geary, and Carol V. Ward, “Ecological Dominance, Social Competition, and Coalitionary Arms Races: Why Humans Evolved Extraordinary Intelligence,” Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, no. 1 (Jan 2005): 10–46; David M. Buss, “The Evolution of Human Intrasexual Competition: Tactics of Male Attraction,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, no. 4 (Apr 1988): 616–628; Stuart A. West, et al., “Cooperation and the Scale of Competition in Humans,” Current Biology 16, no. 11 (Jun 2006): 1103–1006.

 [9] Richard H. Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, 6^th edition (New York: Pearson, 2013); Neil Brooks and Linda McQuaig, The Trouble with Billionaires (London: Oneworld, 2013); an d Laura Westra and Bill Lawson, editors, Faces of Environmental Racism: Confronting Issues of Global Justice (Studies in Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy), 2^nd edition (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001).

[10] Among common examples, one might include the arsenic levels in wells dug in Bangladesh to provide bacteria-free water (Allan H. Smith, Elena O. Lingas, Mahfuzar Ahman, “Contamination of Drinking-Water by Arsenic in Bangladesh: A Public Health Emergency,” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 78, no. 9 (2000): 1093–1103. Accessed January 14, 2014, http://www.who.int/docstore/bulletin/pdf/2000/issue9/bu0751.pdf), not to mention the numerous chemical agents intended for useful peaceful purposes and repurposed as weapons. See also  Andrew Simms, Ecological Debt: The Health of the Planet and the Wealth of the Nations (London: Pluto, 2005); Robert A. Dahl and Charles E. Lindbloom, Politics, Economics, and Welfare (New Brunswick: Transaction, 1991); Herman E. Daly and Joshua Farley, Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications, 2^nd edition (Washington, DC: Island, 2011).

[11]  In some systems-based models, this is acknowledged by the term “regressive society.” See Kenneth D. Allan, The Social Lens: An Invitation to Social and Sociological Theory, 2^nd edition (Los Angeles: Sage, 2011), and Ona Cohn Bregman and Charles M. White, editors, Bringing Systems Thinking to Life: Expanding the Horizons for Bowen Family Systems Theory (New York: Routledge, 2011).

[12] Robert Axelrod, The Evolution of Cooperation, Revised (New York: Basic Books, 2006); Trevor D. Price and Mark Kirkpatrick, “Evolutionary Stable Range Limits Set by Interspecific Competition,” Proceedings of the Royal Society (Biological Sciences) (Feb 2009). Accessed January 14, 2014. http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/02/21/rspb.2008.1199.full#cited-by; E.A. Herre, et al., “The Evolution of Mutualisms: Exploring the Paths between Conflict and Cooperation,” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 14, Issue 2, no. 1 (Feb 1999): 49–53; J. L. Sachs, “Cooperation Within and Among Species,” Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19, no. 5 (Sep 2006): 1415–1418; and Marcel Cardillo, “Phylogenetic Structure of Mammal Assemblages at Large Geographical Scales: Linking Phylogenetic Community Ecology with Macroecology,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (Biological Sciences) 366 (Aug 2011): 2545–2553. Accessed January 14, 2014. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/366/1577/2545.full.pdf+html.

[13] Suzanne C. Segerstrom and Gregory E. Miller, “Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry,” Psychological Bulletin 130, no. 4 (Jul 2004): 601–630; George S. Everly, Jr., and Jeffrey M. Lating, A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response, 3^rd edition (New York: Springer, 2013), particularly 67–95.

 [14] Meni Koslowsky, Avraham N. Kluger, and Mordechai Reich, Commuting Stress: Causes, Effects, and Methods of Coping (New York: Plenum, 1995); Bruce S. McEwen and Peter J. Gianaros, “Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain Plasticity,” Annual Review of Medicine 62 (Feb 2011): 431–445; Cécilia Cabaniols, et al., “Links between Private Habits, Psychological Stress and Brain Cancer: A Case-Control Pilot Study in France,” Journal of Neuro-Oncology 103, no. 2 (Jun 2011): 307–316; Tarani Chandola, Stress at Work (London: The British Academy, 2010); Juliet Schor, A Sustainable Economy for the Twenty-first Century (New York: Seven Stories, 1998).

[15] Even “standard of living” seems not to have a common definition, but for the purposes of this argument a distinction is being made between “quality of life” as it is defined in the body of the paragraph, and a degree of wealth, luxury, and material comfort, for which the term “standard of living” is being used.

[16] Richard D. Young, “Quality of Life Indicator Systems: Definitions, Methodologies, Uses, and Public Policy Decision Making,” University of South Carolina Institute for Public Service and Policy Research (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2008). Accessed January 14, 2014. http://www.ipspr.sc.edu/publication/Quality%20of%20Life.pdf.

[17] Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, “High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but not Emotional Well-Being,” Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences of the United States of America 107, no. 38 (Sep 2010). Accessed January 14, 2014. http://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489.long#cited-by.

 [18] Immanuel Kant, The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant: Practical Philosophy, edited and translated by Mary J. Gregor (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1996); Sam Harris, The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (New York: Free Press, 2010).

[19] There is much debate about just how many basic human needs exist and what the identities of these needs may be, but the idea that human beings have basic needs is not contested. Louis Tay and Ed Diener, “Needs and Subjective Well-Being Around the World,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101, no. 2(Aug 2011): 354–365; Manfred A. Max-Neef, et al., Human Scale Development: Conception, Application and Further Reflections (New York: Apex, 1989).

 [20] Abraham H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, (Eastford, CT: Martino, 2013); Toward a Psychology of Being, 2^nd edition (New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold, 1968).

[21] Aristotle, The Politics, translated by Carnes Lord (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1985); Matthew D. Lieberman, Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect (New York: Crown, 2013).

[22] Gordon B. Moskowitz and Heidi Grant, editors, The Psychology of Goals (New York: Guilford, 2009); Colin McGinn, “Animal Minds, Animal Morality,” Social Research 62, no. 3 (Fall 1995): 731–747.

[23] Stephen T. Newmyer, Animals, Rights, and Reason: in Plutarch and Modern Ethics (New York: Routledge, 2006); Bert Musschenga and Anton van Harskamp, editors, What Makes Us Moral? On the Capacities and Conditions for Being Moral, Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy 31 (Amsterdam: Springer, 2013).

[24] Geoff Hosey, “Hediger Revisited: How Do Zoo Animals See Us?” Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 16, no. 4 (Sep 2013): 338–359.

[25] Alan Weisman, The World Without Us (New York: Picador, 2007).

[26] It is perhaps for this reason that so many recent studies have determined altruism to be on par with other biological imperatives in human beings. See Sadie Dingfelder, “Altruism: An Accident of Nature?” Monitor on Psychology (Dec 11, 2006). Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec06/altruism.html; Daniel J. Kruger, “Evolution and Altruism,” University of Michigan. Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kruger/; Robert K. Logan, “Altruism and the Origin of Language and Culture,” University of Toronto. Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~logan/AltruismUnivCult.doc; Jorge Moll, et al., “Human Fronto-Mesolimbic Networks Guide Decisions about Charitable Donations,”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Oct 17, 2006). Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0604475103v1; Raymie Stata, “What Is Individualism,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992. Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://rous.redbarn.org/ objectivism/writing/RaymieStata/WhatIsIndividualism.html#EgoismVsAltruism; John Tierney, “The Altruist's Paradox: Should It Hurt To Be Nice?” New York Times (June 18, 2007). Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/18/the-altruists-paradox-should-it-hurt-to-be-nice/; and “Activation of Brain Region Predicts Altruism,” Duke University (Jan 22, 2007). Accessed on January 14, 2014. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070121162756.htm.

[27]  Thomas Suddendorf, The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals (New York: Basic Books, 2013).

[28] Robert B. Lount, Jr., “The Impact of Positive Mood on Trust in Interpersonal and Intergroup Interactions,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 98, no. 3 (Mar 2010): 420–433; Brian C. Gunia, et al. “Contemplation and Conversation: Subtle Influences on Moral Decision Making,” Academy of Management Journal 55, no. 1 (Feb 2012): 13–33; Dustin B. Thoman, et al., “How Students Socially Evaluate Interest: Peer Responsiveness Influences Evaluation and Maintenance of Interest,” Contemporary Educational Psychology 37, no. 4 (Oct 2012): 254–265.

[29] Thomas Sy, Stéphanie Côté, and Richard Saavedra, “The Contagious Leader: Impact of the Leader’s Mood on the Mood of the Group,” Journal of Applied Psychology 90, no. 2 (Mar 2005):295–305; Daniel Grosser, Norman Polansky, and Ronald Lippitt, “A Laboratory Study of Behavioral Contagion,” Human Relations 4 (1951):115–142; Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On (New York: Simon&Schuster, 2013).

[30] See for instance Rebecca Rolfe’s project on the Academy Awards at http://www.rebeccarolfe.com/projects/thanktheacademy/sections/network.html (Accessed January 14, 2014).

[31] Philip J. Runkel and Joseph E. McGrath, Research on Human Behavior: A Systematic Guide to Method (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972); Paul Watzlawick, Janet Beavin Bavelas, and Don D. Jackson, Pragmatics of Human Communication: A Study of Interactional Patterns, Pathologies and Paradoxes (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011); and Ralph E. Anderson and Irl Carter, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 5^th edition (Piscataway, NJ: Transaction, 1999).

[32] Carolyn Saarni, The Development of Emotional Competence, Guilford Series on Social and Emotional Development, Claire B. Kopp and Steven R. Asher, editors (New York: Guilford, 1999); Vermont Center for Family Studies, “What Are the Eight Interlocking Concepts of Bowen Family Systems Theory?” Accessed January 14, 2014. http://www.vermontcenterforfamilystudies.org/bowen_family_systems_theory/eight_concepts_of_bowen_theory/.

[33] Millicent H. Abel and Malcolm Abel, “The Effects of a Sales Clerk’s Smile on Consumer Perceptions and Behaviors,” American Journal of Psychological Research 3, no.1 (Apr 2007): 17–28; J. O’Doherty, et al. “Beauty in a Smile: The Role of Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex in Facial Attractiveness,” Neuropsychologia 41, no. 2 (Jan 2003): 147–155; Marianne Sonnby–Borgström, “Automatic Mimicry Reactions as Related to Differences in Emotional Empathy,” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 43, no. 5 (Dec 2002): 433–443.

[34] George P. Barker and Sandra Graham S, “Developmental Study of Praise and Blame as Attributional Cues,” Journal of Educational Psychology 79, no. 1 (Mar 1987): 62-66; Jennifer Henderlong Corpus, Christin M. Ogle, and Kelly E. Love-Geiger, “The Effects of Social-Comparison Versus Mastery Praise on Children's Intrinsic Motivation,” Motivation and Emotion 30, no. 4 (Dec 2006): 333-343; Jennifer Henderlong and Mark R. Lepper, “The Effects of Praise on Children’s Intrinsic Motivation: A Review and Synthesis,” Psychological Bulletin 128, no.5 (Sep 2002): 774-795; Wulf-Uwe Meyer, “Paradoxical Effects of Praise and Criticism on Perceived Ability,” European Review of Social Psychology 3 (1992): 259–283; Claudia M. Mueller and Carol S. Dweck, “Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children’s Motivation and Performance,” Journal for Personality and Social Psychology 75, no. 1 (Jul 1998): 33-52; Farideh Salili and Kit-Tai Hau, “The Effects of Teachers’ Evaluative Feedback on Chinese Students’ Perceptions of Ability: A Cultural and Situational Analysis,” Educational Studies 20 no. 2 (1994): 223-236.

 [35] Legally, in the United States at least, this might be considered negligent infliction of emotional distress, and there would most likely be no possible legal action for a disappointing purchase. I am considering here the potential for increased distrust, anxiety, and anger as a result of the inspector’s negligence to be emotional harm, even though this may not fit a precise legal definition of actionable harm.

[36] The story of Mukhtar Mai (and many others) can be found in Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (New York: Vintage, 2009), 70–79. Also see http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ for more information about related projects. (Accessed January 14, 2014).

[37] Albert Bandura, “Toward a Psychology of Human Agency,” Perspectives on Psychological Science 1, no. 2 (Jun 2006): 164–180; Eliot Turiel, The Culture of Morality: Social Development, Context, and Conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2002).

[38] Zina Lee and Randall T. Salekin, “Psychopathy in a Noninstitutional Sample: Differences in Primary and Secondary Subtypes,” Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment 1, no. 3 (2010): 153–169; American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IV-TR (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), 704.

[39] Damiano Florillo and Fabio Sabatini, “Quality and quantity: The Role of Social Interactions in Self-Reported Individual Health,” Social Science & Medicine 73, no. 11 (Dec 2011): 1644–1652; J. S. House, D. Umberson, and K. R. Landis, “Structures and Processes of Social Support,” Annual Review of Sociology 14 (1988): 293–318.

[40] These may well-known figures like Constantine, Martin Luther King, Jr., or former heads of state, or these may be figures within an individual’s personal history—deceased ancestors or even parents whose decisions determine some aspects of their descendents lives.

[41] Richard T. Kinnier, Jerry L. Kernes, and Therese M. Dautheribes, “A Short List of Universal Moral Values,” Counseling and Values 45 (Oct 2000): 4–16; Liane Young and Rebecca Saxe, “Moral Universals and Individual Differences,” Emotion Review 3, no. 3 (Jul 2011): 323–324; Richard A. Shweder, et al., “The ‘Big Three’ of Morality (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) and the ‘Big Three’ Explanations of Suffering,” Morality + Health, edited by Allan M. Brandt and Paul Rozin (New York: Routledge, 1997), 119–172.

[42] Kenneth B. Ashley, “The Science on Sexual Orientation: A Review of the Recent Literature,” Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health 17, no. 2 (Apr 2013): 175–182.

[43] Alice H. Eagly and Wendy Wood, “The Nature-Nurture Debates: 25 Years of Challenges in Understanding the Psychology of Gender,” Perspectives on Psychological Science 8, no. 3 (May 2013): 340–357; Gordon T. Harold, et al., “Biological and Rearing Mother Influences on Child ADHD Symptoms: Revisiting the Developmental Interface between Nature and Nurture,” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 54, no. 10 (Oct 2013): 1038–1046.

[44] Aristotle, The Eudemian Ethics, translated by Anthony Kenny (Oxford: Oxford University, 2011); Augustine of Hippo, On the Trinity, translated by Arthur W. Haddan, edited by Paul A. Boer Sr., and William G. T. Shedd (Veritatis Splendor, 2012); Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (New York: Benzinger Bros., 1948); David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, edited by Eric Steinberg (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1983); Francis Hutcheson, An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (Chestnut Hill, MA: Adamant, 2005); William Paley, The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (University Park, IL: Liberty Fund, 2002); Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (Mineloa, NY: Dover, 2007); John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, second edition (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001); Hastings Rashdall, The Theory of Good and Evil: A Treatise on Moral Philosophy (Charleston: BiblioLife, 2009); Sam Harris, The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (New York: Free Press, 2010).

[45] Joel Feinberg, Harm to Self: The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law (Oxford: Oxford University, 1986); National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, Self-Harm: The Short-Term Physical and Psychological Management and Secondary Prevention of Self-Harm in Primary and Secondary Care, National Clinical Practice Guideline Number 16 (London: British Psychological Society and The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004); Mark Cresswell and Zulfia Karimova, “Self-Harm and Medicine’s Moral Code: A Historical Perspective, 1950–2000,” Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry 12, no. 2 (2010): 158–175.