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Survival of the smartest: Brains over brawn, why? (moral question)
Hello, fellow TED users,
First of all, I would like you to look upon this exposition more as a philosophical moral exercise than anything else. As you can expect, this is not in any shape or form a claim in favor of physical abuse or any other kind of abuse, for that matter.
We live in a society where people who take advantage of other people by means of their superior natural strength are rightly considered bullies (except in sports, of course). On the other hand, people who do the same by means of their innate intelligence are considered winners in virtually every possible circumstance. For instance, in the ruthless business world (among many others). Is it right to use this innate advantage to make mincemeat of less intelligent competitors, crush their hopes and destroy their lives? Why is this behavior not even frowned upon?
Some could say that in order to success in life or in business in particular, it's also required to work very hard, that a high IQ is simply not enough. Yet, a similar effort is made by the muscular guy in the gym. Consequently, level of effort doesn't seem to be the key to understand the difference in perceived morality.
Some others could say that strong people can success in sports and smart people in business and therefore, they should stick to what they excel in. Very well, but then we find that in every single sport or physical job, it's morally acceptable to use our intelligence to our advantage (even in weight-lifting, where a wise workout planning is vital), while in white-collar professions, it's unacceptable to use our physical strength to defeat our competition. So, appropriate field of work is not likely to be the key either.
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Fritzie Reisner 100+
Luis Javier Salvador 30+
But the fact remains that intelligence enjoys a higher moral regard in our society than all other attributes. It seems as if when your get outsmarted, you don't have the right to complain (except when deceit is involved.)
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Is it what you value most in people, for example?
Luis Javier Salvador 30+
You don't receive the same accolades either if you take advantage of your natural good looks, to give you another example.
It seems as if intelligence ranks highest in the morality scale (when it comes to competition.)
Mary M. 50+
Probably words like...."cunning, sly, savvy, shrewd, clever, astute etc....." would be, imho, better word choice.
To bring in a quote: "Wise they are for doing bad, but for doing good they actually have no knowledge" book of Jeremiah chapter 4 verse 22.
I believe wisdom, the highest form of intelligence (smartness), allows the bearer to live and enjoy life without competing or bringing harm to others. On the contrary......they help their fellow human.
Having said that, I do agree that some employ their IQ.....for badness......I imagine these are the individuals you, and the whole world for that matter, refer to as "intelligent". Man that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.