"The future ain't what it used to be."

The Ethics of Time Travel

Pacram

Timekeeper
I would like to share my views and opinions on the ethics of time travel and whether ultimately it is a goal humanity should aspire to achieve. To do this I have constructed a pros and cons table, my main goal of this thread is to get a debate rolling based on the ethical values and principles of Time Travel. I am curious as to people's ideas as I predict they will be quite measurably different.

Pros
* Unlocks ultimate knowledge explaining how life was up to the present
* Completely maps out all possible scientific discoveries for humankind
* Great teaching mechanism for students
* Ability to correct all mistakes and events that we desire, such as the holocaust
* Shortens the length of time between great scientific breakthroughs
* offers a view into the future and issues that will shape the future

Cons
* Creates a sluggish lazy civilization, this would occur because human kind ultimately knows everything and needs not try as their path is mapped out
* The rich hoard such time travel devices and shape the world to their views
* Political groups use these devices to manipulate the world and create a dystopia in which they see fit
* Quality of life and human existence is rendered non existent
* The prices of use of such machines would no doubly be exorbitantly high. This would create a finer line between economic classes and possibly lead to a rebellion between groups
* The country which creates the first time machine is theoretically holding a ticking time bomb, other countries if found out about such a discovery would fight with that country ultimately leading to a world war. This could end up with the destruction of the human race. ( Theoretically if the time machine was used and the future of human kind was witnessed this path should be seen, if not it could lead to speculation about a multiple reality theory)
* The affects of using the machine to traverse back into humanities past could alter the future of life for every being on earth. The judgement for such a change to be made would come down to a small radical group most likely, this group would not be acting in interest of humanity. Such changes for humanity cannot be made by singulars, this would be unethical, the choice comes down to the global populace.
* Our travel into the past could completely remove our future making human kind or even planet earth objects that never existed
* The effects of time travel could not only change the lives of the humans on earth but change trillions of possible lives across the universe
* A recession or economical crash could occur sending humanity into another dark age, possibly worse than the Wall Street crash in 1921
* The answers to all have been found and humans have no desire to continue on
* The future is seen and it is quite horrific, this would be similar to telling a person up they are going to die and when, mass panic would set in and humanity would become uncivil to say the least.

As you could imagine the list could quite literally extend for a fair few pages, I've summed up m major concerns and issues within this topic. I would now like to hear the ideas from users of the forum.
 
Pacram,

Your preparedness is impressive this time.
However, your use of universals, which I have emboldened,
reflects your propensity for overstatement in the quote below:
Pros
* Unlocks ultimate knowledge explaining how life was up to the present
* Completely maps out all possible scientific discoveries for humankind
* Great teaching mechanism for students
* Ability to correct all mistakes and events that we desire, such as the holocaust
* Shortens the length of time between great scientific breakthroughs
* offers a view into the future and issues that will shape the future
In regard to the sentence fragment underlined above,
I recently stated my belief God alone can make good of bad
(He borrows human hands toward that end).
Similarly, the reason I do not fret about the cons herein:
While God is infinitely good, Satan is not infinitely evil.

Peace be with you.
 
DELETED : Pacram’s mention of Catholicism.

Faith in a benevolent God not only affords me peace
but lets me to joyously be humble. Foremost, to be
purposeful, I must believe good will prevail. Nothing
else really matters.

I was Catholic until the anti-pope, the first to 'retire'
(be retired) in 600 years, revealed his true master
by promoting global taxation* one yule season. Did his
retirement rid the Church of infiltration by the satanic
NWO? A miracle pends.

That is to say that, while I remain spiritual, I am no
longer religious. Yet, neither am I any less grateful for
the catechism, teachings in wisdom. Beyond that I'd
have sooner had Christ rid us forevermore of
the money changers against whom he once raged,
Cleansing of the Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ecclesiastes is as timeless today as when the book was
written.

I, in this world of opposites, choose to take what is
good and reject the rest as sheer folly--
vanity.

*CARITAS IN VERITATE
"Caritas in veritate" - Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI
After feigning that the wealthy won’t control redistribution via
carbon taxes, his unholiness claimed “[...]What is also needed,
though, is a worldwide redistribution of energy resources, so that
countries lacking those resources can have access to them.” To
believe those so "lacking" thereby stand to gain, is to lack a brain.
 
Faith in a benevolent God not only affords me peace
but blesses me to joyously be humble. Foremost, to be
purposeful, I must believe good will prevail. Nothing
else really matters.

I was Catholic until the anti-pope, the first to 'retire'
(be retired) in 600 years, revealed his true master
by promoting global taxation* one yule season. Did his
retirement rid the Church of infiltration by the satanic
NWO? A miracle pends.

That is to say that, while I remain spiritual, I am no
longer religious. Yet, neither am I any less grateful for
the catechism, teachings in wisdom. Beyond that I'd
have sooner had Christ rid us forevermore of
the money changers against whom he once raged,
Cleansing of the Temple - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ecclesiastes is as timeless today as when the book was
written.

I, in this world of opposites, choose to take what is
good and reject the rest as sheer folly--
vanity.

*CARITAS IN VERITATE
"Caritas in veritate" - Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI
After feigning that the wealthy won’t control redistribution via
carbon taxes, his unholiness claimed “[...]What is also needed,
though, is a worldwide redistribution of energy resources, so that
countries lacking those resources can have access to them.” To
believe those so "lacking" thereby stand to gain, is to lack a brain.

Can someone please explain this to me in plain English?
 
DELETED : Pacram’s exaltation of man.
Pacram,

Man, absurdly egotistical, is mostly just pathetic.
How else can he deny his spirit inspiration, and
expect to "completely map[...] out all possible
scientific discoveries for humankind"?

My kind? I, though fond of discovery, do not
worship science. It alone neither defines me nor,
much less, human potential.

What is ultimate knowledge to one whose life is
but a blink of an eye in eternity? Hasn't the culture
of death dampened your delight in discovery? Why
else would you view it more in terms of cons than
pros?
 
Pacram,

Man, absurdly egotistical, is mostly just pathetic.
How else can he deny his spirit inspiration, and
expect to "completely map[...] out all possible
scientific discoveries for humankind"?

My kind? I, though fond of discovery, do not
worship science. It alone neither defines my nor,
much less, the whole of human potential.

What is ultimate knowledge to one whose life is
but a blink of an eye in eternity? Hasn't the culture
of death dampened your delight in discovery? Why
else would you view it more in terms of cons than
pros?

No seriously, what the hell are talking about?
 
Can someone please explain this to me in plain English?
This discussion went from faith to global taxation.
Have you not heard of the IMF? Do you not know
that the Fed is neither governmental nor accountable?
Interconnected, the latter will rob us with inflation
until the other is in position to enslave the planet by
means of extortion.
 
This discussion went from faith to global taxation.
Have you not heard of the IMF? Do you not know
that the Fed is neither governmental nor accountable?
Interconnected, the latter will rob us with inflation
until the other is in position to enslave the planet by
means of extortion.

So it's all a Jewish Illuminati conspiracy to steal our money? That's basically what I'm getting out of your statement.
 
No seriously, what the hell are talking about?
I was addressing Pacram.

He first brought up economical woes.

He claims to have faith in humanity--
in the scientific community,
which is highest paid to apply themselves
and all discoveries toward weaponry.
Otherwise, he would not forebode:
"The future is seen and it is quite horrific."

I, on the other hand, believe life
is for more than living nightmares.
Existence is layered.
Where spirit soars,
evil cannot go.

There is where I hope to meet time travelers.
 
So it's all a Jewish Illuminati conspiracy to steal our money? That's basically what I'm getting out of your statement.
It's about world dominion by a few charlatans
with a knack for getting their puppets in positions of power.

Now that monopolies are multinational conglomerations,
corporatists can push evil agendas 24/7.
But, as what goes around comes around,
it will back fire on them eventually.
By then, at least, better folks will finally be free.
 
DELETED : Pacram’s sincere feelings.

Most people, who do not wish to believe in God,
do not want to live in fear of judgment.
It is a matter of motivation.
I am more motivated by love than fear*.
So, as it is mostly a matter of our striving to be as patient
and loving, kind, as possible toward one another,
it is easier to serve good than to be ruled by evil.

I believe you a good person,
but, with so much wickedness in the world,
there is temptation at every turn
to lead one astray.

I continue to pray,
"May the Lord be with you."

Peace.

*
"Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
But it's not always that clear"--
Morcheeba - "Fear And Love" | Listen on Youtube and get on Itunes
 
Pros
* Unlocks ultimate knowledge explaining how life was up to the present
Agreed
* Completely maps out all possible scientific discoveries for humankind
Agreed
* Great teaching mechanism for students
Probably not - see your #1 above. There's really nothing left to teach.
* Ability to correct all mistakes and events that we desire, such as the holocaust
Correct what? The events lay in the time traveler's affective past (past light cone). Any changes change the present "recollection" of history. How would anyone know what to change? Anyone with the technology at any time (and that means forever), can always go back and "change the changes." Remember, not everyone agreed that the holocaust was bad. Most certainly not the Nazi's and likewise the Stalinists. Who decides what are the mistakes?

Last, something horrible happened in the past. Someone goes back and "fixes" it. OK. Now ask yourself, if the fix is in, how is it that someone remembered the horrible event? It didn't happen. "The fix" is the memory brought forward by history.
* Shortens the length of time between great scientific breakthroughs
There would be no breakthroughs. There would be nothing to discover. With a time machine all knowledge is available at all points in history.
* offers a view into the future and issues that will shape the future
It doesn't. It offers the opportunity to constantly change history at will. The term "history" would probably never be a term used in any lexicon.

Cons
* Creates a sluggish lazy civilization, this would occur because human kind ultimately knows everything and needs not try as their path is mapped out
They wouldn't be lazy. Lazy implies work to be done but left undone. There would be no work to do.
* The rich hoard such time travel devices and shape the world to their views
What "rich people"? Everyone would have complete knowledge of all possible technologies. There would be no economy because economics is dependent on markets; markets depend to some extent on uncertainty. The time travel society would only know the present. The past is subject to change on a whim by anyone at any time. And how does anyone hoard the technology? From their POV it has always been there and always will be there. It has forever to find its way into everyone's hands. Everyone means everyone who exists, will exist and has existed. It's a time machine!
* Political groups use these devices to manipulate the world and create a dystopia in which they see fit
Frankly, why would they bother? Someone else can always undo whatever they manipulated.
* Quality of life and human existence is rendered non existent
Probably
* The prices of use of such machines would no doubly be exorbitantly high. This would create a finer line between economic classes and possibly lead to a rebellion between groups
Probably not. It would be a common piece of technology given that it had forever to find its way into public hands (not to mention that in certain scenarios the time machine can self create itself ad infinitum).
* The country which creates the first time machine is theoretically holding a ticking time bomb, other countries if found out.. [snip]
Who would bother to "invent" something that has always existed and always will exist? It's a time machine! It can pop into existence any time and any place.
* The affects of using the machine to traverse back into humanities past could alter the future of life for every being on earth [snip]
It would alter all of history - but no one would be aware of it. It happened in the past. Your recollection of past events would be...well...nonexistent. History as we view the term would not exist.
* Our travel into the past could completely remove our future making human kind or even planet earth objects that never existed
No. The laws of physics won't change because some society has time machines.
* The effects of time travel could not only change the lives of the humans on earth but change trillions of possible lives across the universe
Maybe.
* A recession or economical crash could occur sending humanity into another dark age, possibly worse than the Wall Street crash in 1921
Not likely. They have time machines! They can pack up and leave.
* The answers to all have been found and humans have no desire to continue on
Ehhh. Probably not. Life with time machines would be the norm, not the exception.
* The future is seen and it is quite horrific, this would be similar to telling a person up they are going to die and when, mass panic would set in and humanity would become uncivil to say the least.
Why would they see it as horrible? They can change it. Anyone can change it - at any time past or future. They have time machines!

Your analysis is pretty typical of what we've seen here over the years. We have a time travel related forum but when people analyze the situation they seem to forget that in the scenario the people under analysis have time machines! If we're going to look at a scenario it's probably helpful to fully account for what it means to have a time machine and how such a society's view of reality is greatly altered from ours. They would not view the world through our eyes. Their view of logic wouldn't even come close to our view. The first thing for us to toss out is the idea of "altering history." History for us is something that we know about the past. It is fixed and it effects the present in a way that logically flows from those events. If the past is mutable, and not only mutable but mutable at will and an infinite number of times, it means that memory of the past is irrelevant - probably non-existent. But certainly not important. Who would bother to trust a memory when they know that it is always changing?
 
Space travel would be far greater journey than traveling into the past to change what you see today.
Regards 0/
 
Most people, who do not wish to believe in God,
do not want to live in fear of judgment.
It is a matter of motivation.
I am more motivated by love than fear*.
So, as it is mostly a matter of our striving to be as patient
and loving, kind, as possible toward one another,
it is easier to serve good than to be ruled by evil.

I believe you a good person,
but, with so much wickedness in the world,
there is temptation at every turn
to lead one astray.

I continue to pray,
"May the Lord be with you."

Peace.

*
"Fear can stop you loving
Love can stop your fear
Fear can stop you loving
But it's not always that clear"--
Morcheeba - "Fear And Love" | Listen on Youtube and get on Itunes
Here is my rebuttal, I do not believe in god because it provides false hope. I find great solace In knowing that their is no god and knowing that there is no plan for humans or even any organic, by sheer happen stance we exist in this wonderful universe. Doesn't it excite you knowing there is so much mystery, so much chance for anything. I like thinking that life is not planned and that nothing is certain, knowing a god existed i would not cope, Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

>>The Premiere Online Debate Website | Debate.org

Please take your argument here. You're annoying us pseudoscientists with your religion/anti-religion bullcrap. This is a forum on time travel.
 
>>The Premiere Online Debate Website | Debate.org

Please take your argument here. You're annoying us pseudoscientists with your religion/anti-religion bullcrap. This is a forum on time travel.

I didn't bother to look at the above URL.
Go where you will, I'll do as I please.
Pacram started this thread.
He, in a separate discussion,
invited me to comment herein, i.e.
I wrote,
"[...]I look forward to reading your posts."
He replied,
"In that case head over to my " Ethics" thread."
Other communications overlapped with this one.
Pardon us.
No one forced you to follow our conversation.
You could have politely ignored our exchange.
Yet, you interrupted it before Pacram
had a chance to reply.
Then, before awaiting an answer from me,
you posted again, which,
because I was answering your posts successively,
gave the erroneous impression of my being short with you.
No offense was intended on my part, whereas your rudeness
confirms an observation previously made by me at this forum.

All,
Again, one unauthorized to dictate whether or not others
may mention God, in effect, tries to play Him.
 
It's alright, I just didn't want to come across as a preacher with close minded views. Trot I respect your opinion, after all as the others stated this thread was designed to be very controversial hence the title.
 
Pacram et al,

Were it the first time Troy had purposely been disruptive,
I'd sooner forget it. Apparently, he was angry after his
having failed to hijack "Willing to be a Guinea Pig."
After his having similarly been fractious therein, next he,
in #27, wrote
"I don't understand why people think early time travel
experiments will involve sending humans through[,]"
Willing to be a guinea pig | Page 2 | Time Travel Institute
i.e. Troy tried to steer participants to his pet thread.
Time Travel With Computer Data/Early Time Travel Technology (Speculation Thread) | Time Travel Institute
*Shrug*
I viewed the topic incidental, because my time travel
has been per chance (unplanned and by no known
mechanism). Besides, who was to stop Tesla from nearly
electrocuting himself in his attempts to time travel?

All,

More on the intended topic:
My sole interest in places otherworldly
is owing to my desire to transcend evil.
 
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