Why We Always Think We're Doing the Right Thing

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On my analysis, everyone always intends at least what they think is good. And when they do something bad, it's either because they were mistaken about what is good or couldn't make themselves do it. I think goodness and truth are analogous in that respect.

If you intend something, you think it is good, you have judged it and think there are good reasons to do it. You would never honestly do something that is bad.

Likewise, if you believe something, you think it is true, you have reasons to believe it. You would never honestly believe something that is false.

In both cases, you might be incorrect. But to intend the good is to intend correctly, and to intend something not good is to be mistaken in your intent, to intend erroneously.

And likewise, to believe the truth is to believe correctly, and to believe something not true is to be mistaken in your belief, to believe erroneously.

As fallible humans, we could always err, and ideally, you would not want that to happen. I think in the future, through advancements in technology, we should engineer ourselves to listen to reason, and eventually completely eliminate the ability to error.

In the hypothetical better world discussed above, it's okay for some people to be temporarily weak and ignorant, so long as there are stronger and wiser people around to have their backs and those of the potential victims of such weakness and ignorance.

Every helpless little loser baby starts out weak and ignorant, but it's okay because they're surrounded by strong and wise people who take care of them, including protecting them from each other, and from themselves, not only from the outside world. Then those babies grow stronger and wiser and need less and less to be checked and cared for by the strong and wise, but instead become the strong and wise source doing the checking and caring-for of newer helpless losers.