Do We All Have A Responsibility To Make The World A Better Place?

Nomenclature

@JulesKorngold

Others believe that we are free to do whatever we want and that we do not have any responsibility to others.

The problem with that view is that it eventually leads to the end of the species. Long after our lifetimes of course, but successive generations with this attitude can only lead to the end of humanity. So I guess the question really comes down to whether there is any moral obligation to help the human race survive over the long term.

Barnardot

@JulesKorngold ;we should focus on our own lives and on taking care of our own families.

I think that when we do that then we are better able to think out side the circle and help make the world better. its like the analergy when your on an airplain then when its going to go down then if you think your being helpful by putting masks on other people then you wont last and you wont be much help but if you put your own mask on first then you can help a hole heap of people. The same thing in the rest of your life is if your going to think that helping others and the planet comes first then your going to get real slopy your self then the quality of what you give is going to be slopy and your not going to be much help. Just look at those slopy hippies with there unclean cloths and there horrible hair and there lazy ways. They think there helping the planet but in realty hugging trees and kissing wales and sticking themselves to the floor does nothing because the dum nuts cant even look after them selfs.

MayCaesar

Nobody has an inherent responsibility to do anything. In principle, nothing stops you from, say, walking around murdering everyone until you get shot.

Responsibility arises when an individual accepts a certain set of values and starts pursuing them. Responsibility then equates the necessity of certain actions in order to facilitate achievement of those values. For instance, if love is one of your central values and you choose to pursue it, then you have the responsibility to work on finding a love partner and making the relationship work. Avoiding this responsibility would be not doing it, or doing it in a half-assed way, or doing it in a way that provides instant gratification, but results in a long-term failure.

Is the world being a better place of high value to you, high enough that you are willing to put most of your other values aside and work towards it? In that case you have a responsibility to do so. That responsibility can only come from your personal values, it cannot be put on you by god, society, parents or anyone else.