"Playing God"

I recently beat Deus Ex Human Revolution, which deals a lot with the idea of "Playing God", and while playing it I had a huge realization about the nature of that phrase.

To preface this, I usually don't like the phrase "Playing God". I think it's a stupid, catch-all accusation against science any time it supposedly "goes too far". You hear it so often that it eventually loses all meaning and becomes invisible.

However, I realize now that people have been constantly misusing that phrase for years. "Playing God" has nothing to do with science, or technology, or anything that you usually see it applied to. It's this:

When a person (or small group of like-minded people) unilaterally makes a decision for everyone else in the world without giving them a say in it... that is what "Playing God" truly is.

edited 29th Mar '12 2:00:49 AM by LanceOmikron

That somehow seems to imply that God does unilaterally make decisions for everyone in the world without anybody else having a say in it, and that if it is Him that's OK. Some may or may not agree with this; but it is at least theologically controversial — that's not really what I believe of God, for example, and plenty of people would say that if it is wrong for a man to exert tyranny upon another then it is at least as wrong for a hypothetical perfect entity to do the same.

I would rather give a positive spin to the term. Humans are not playing God: humans are playing gods, that is, gods who like to play, made in the image of the One True Playing God who made Heaven and Earth as His friends and companions in the eternal Game of Reality.

edited 29th Mar '12 2:30:41 AM by Carciofus

Hmm, lemme see if I can refine this further. (WARNING: NOVEL-LENGTH POST INCOMING)

I don't think it'd be okay for a literal god to make unilateral decisions. The way I see it, the people who do claim that it's okay for god to dictate what humans do probably only say that because the supposed decisions of god that they believe in line up perfectly with their own beliefs.

It's just that over time, with god having been built up to be an all-knowing and all-powerful perfect being, I think it's sort of assumed that only a god would have the authority required to make such far-reaching decisions.

However, if an actual god appeared and started trying to tell humans what to do, I have no doubt that they'd rebel. Because, more than anything, humans HATE being meddled with. There are plenty of stories where this situation actually happens. For example, Fire Emblem Tellius and Digimon Savers.

(*Thinks about it some more*)

Ah! How about this:

In lots of stories where gods exist and literally create the world, the world tends to be very chaotic right after its birth, and it actually does need the absolute guidance of god in order to survive. When the world manages to stabilize, the god takes a break and goes away for a while, leaving the world to its own devices. But when the god returns, more often then not, they find that the world is doing just fine without them, and even did some things that the god didn't intend. When the god tries to make decisions for the world at this point, the world rejects them, showing that the god isn't needed any longer.

This even kind of has a parallel in our own world. Back when human knowledge was much more limited, we didn't have any idea of how fire, weather, day and night, disease, death, etc. actually worked. We were surrounded by questions that we weren't able to answer, so folks came up with mythology and religion to fill in the blanks. Back then, the unilateral decisions that "gods" made weren't all that bad, because they provided structure in a world that had very little.

Over time, however, humans found other ways to answer questions and gain knowledge. We found that teamwork and group consensus is a perfectly viable and in many ways superior way to make decisions for the betterment of society, as opposed to following decisions made by "gods". In today's world, belief in a higher being is completely optional.

As such, someone making a unilateral decision for the world without giving anyone else a say in it (even if they are a literal god) tends to be frowned upon because, quite simply, that way of doing things is outdated. The human race has outgrown the need for it.

On a much, MUCH smaller scale, it's kind of like the relationship between a parent and a child. The parent makes all the decisions for the child at first, because the child has no idea what to do or how to care for itself. Over time, though, the child gains more knowledge and skills, and eventually matures into an adult who can make their own choices. Sometimes the parents try to maintain control over their offspring, but can't, since the child no longer has a need for the strict guidance that they once required.

So when I say "Playing God" in the context of someone making unilateral decisions, I guess I really mean "Playing God in a World That No Longer Needs God". Or something like that. >_>

I'm not sure how much sense that all made, but hopefully someone can take something away from it. ^_^

edited 29th Mar '12 6:31:34 AM by LanceOmikron

Er, guys, that's nice and all, but I don't see how discussions about whether or not a god should oversee the universeare really relevant here. Either you believe in a religion, and then usually your deity of choice is head honcho, no question asked, or you don't, and then there's no point in questionning whether in inexistant god should be overseeing the universe. Regarding the sentence, to me it means "you are playing with powers that are way over your head, and you cannot see the consequences of your acts". I don't see how the religious iconography is out of place: Even you you are an atheist, using the term god in opposition to a human, as to fully underline how much over your head you are in is pretty valid, even as a reference to mythology.

edited 29th Mar '12 8:38:37 AM by Sable

Unless you belive a god, and that God Is Evil. In which case you REALLY don't wwant someone playing god...

edited 29th Mar '12 9:55:07 AM by Qeise

I never got the fear of people "playing god" and I don't see For Science! as an inherently flawed reason to do things.

maybe I'm weird.

Don't play at being a god if you can't deal with the consequences.

like what, angry creations? sure, you still take precautions, I don't get the sudden gravitas.

if you're doing something new, breaking new ground, you always play it safe, and if it's got known hazards, you prepare for them. mistakes happen, but can usually easily be avoided by thinking carefully about the situation.

No, the primary consequence of playing God is getting stabbed with a rusty pitchfork.

usually by fools who don't understand the scope and value of your work. a good scientist always invests in body armor.

Body armor slows you down like a gold-carrying conquistador. Then the torch carriers catch you.

not the stuff you'd need for a pitchfork :/

but in any case. yeah, I still don't get why the Plebes get to dictate policy.

Because everybody's too afraid of !!SCIENCE!! being done to them to come live in a technocracy.