The Inside Track on Firefox Development.

July 1, 2006

Justification

Why do we do what we do?

We always do things for a reason, but do we ever stop to ask ourselves how good our reasoning is?

Are we doing things simply because �we can�?

I was talking to Leslie about this recently. She said that doing things simply because you could was a pretty bad reason to do anything. I�ve been thinking about that one for the past few weeks, chewing on it. I thought of things I�ve done in the past� I thought of things I was happy with and things I wasn�t so proud of� things in the latter category had usually been done in part because I thought I could get away with them. I�d been feeling a bit of guilt about a bunch of those lately, and I couldn�t quite put my finger on why (other than the fact that they were bad things to do)� but this sort of sums it up.

�Because I can� is one of the most destructive reasons to do anything� I think it�s by that logic that the world is in the state it�s in now. War, poverty, mean-spiritedness, a whole lot.

A lot of what we do are things that we find enjoyable. That�s cool. I like potato chips. I experiment with different kinds because I enjoy the different tastes and qualities. We need to think though about the consequences of our actions on other people, though. Does our enjoyment result in someone else�s misery? (Or somewhere in between in the spectrum of happiness) What makes our enjoyment so valuable that it�s worth depriving someone else? If the answer is not satisfactory, then we�re really doing it �because we can�.

We need to consider the consequences of our actions carefully. We need to also think about whether or not we truly believe in the reasons we tell our conscience for why we do things. Are they real reasons, or just excuses? Just catch phrases that are convenient ways to allow us to keep thinking that we�re good people?

How many times do you need to say �I�m doing this to help people� or, �I�m doing my part to keep the Internet open� before you really believe it? Or is everything we do really just all for ourselves? I really hope not. For the sake of humanity�

A little story�

We recently traded Leslie�s Hybrid Civic in on a new Infiniti M45. We hated the Civic. It drove like crap� it�s not so much that it was slow (it was) � mostly it lacked comfort and decent handling (both of which don�t contribute much to poor fuel economy � at least not as much as a big honkin� V8 does). The M gets about 15mpg at the best of times (almost exclusively city driving). I never really thought about it in those terms before signing the papers. It�s pretty bad. The car is exceptionally enjoyable, but what�s the cost? I got the tires replaced on my bicycle recently. I�ve ridden it to work a couple of times since, and I need to make more of a habit of it. I need the exercise.

Posted by ben at July 1, 2006 9:38 PM

Comments

Philosophical.
I do things to amuse myself.
Things that may not even make difference to this world. Like this comment, it may not make any difference to you. But I am satisfied that I had somt thoughts after reading your post and commented. Did I kill some one by comments. No. Simply used the most valuable thing available to me, the time. 3nj0y 7h3 1if3.

Posted by: kumar at July 2, 2006 1:45 AM

Awesome Ben.very well-written.

Posted by: Adnan Siddiqi at July 2, 2006 1:56 AM

Reminds me of "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country" (One of the best Star Trek Movies), when the president of the Federation said (if I remember correctly) "Let us redefine progress. Just because something can be done does not mean that it must be done".

Posted by: Maimon Mons at July 2, 2006 5:17 AM

If you're worried about the environmental impact you could always buy a Utility TerraPass to offset the 20,000lbs or so it's likely emitting every year.

(use the code "friends" for a 10% discount)

http://terrapass.com/products.car.php

Posted by: julian at July 2, 2006 7:22 AM

It's tricky. Ultimately, every act of helping others is based on a selfish desire (to get the feeling of being a "good" person, to make sure your neighbor has enough security that he doesn't need to rob you, or whatever). You could argue that "living for others is sneaky suicide", or that wars, poverty, and famine are as much the result of individuals making self-destructive choices as of selfish choices. You need to love/help yourself before you can love/help others, and so on.

The only way to resolve the conflict is to realize that it's not a conflict at all. The idea that it's a zero-sum game; that helping others and helping ourselves are incompatible, is a lie. We are all part of the same body, and to help others you have to help yourself, and to help yourself, you have to help others.

Posted by: Joshua Allen at July 2, 2006 7:44 AM

Did you ever consider getting a Prius? It isn't very sporty but it is at least comfortable.

Or you could move up to the city and take the shuttle every day ;-)

Posted by: Erik Arvidsson at July 2, 2006 9:28 AM

Erik - not really... the answer is because I'm extraordinarily fussy. I wish someone would make a sport-luxury hybrid like a fusion between the practicality of the Prius, the luxury of the Lexus GS450h and the sport of a BMW.

More details: http://www.bengoodger.com/2006/07/the_perfect_car.html

Posted by: Ben at July 2, 2006 7:11 PM

Julian - awesome idea! I'll look into it tonight.

Thanks,

-Ben

Posted by: Ben at July 2, 2006 7:35 PM

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