The Two Most Dangerous Worldviews

The massive global population of people who think and act in one or both of these modes is putting all life on Earth in a literal existential crisis.

There are many viewpoints and ideologies in the world, but most can be reduced and classified into just a few rudimentary proto-ideologies, if you will. The following two may be the most dangerous. They are both essentially theological in reasoning, as their adherents have no data to prove them true, nor do they attempt to gather such data, instead relying on intuition and “inherited wisdom”. Many people holding these worldviews (often the same people believe both, as they are not mutually exclusive) do so subconsciously, unless they are part of an organized group with a specific ideology or theology that rests on their assumptions, as follows:

1. The Earth will come to an end soon:

This worldview has been dubbed Apocalypticism, Eschatology, and Millennialism, and the people who strongly hold to it are said to be in a Doomsday cult. These “Earth-enders” aren’t worried about the normal thoughts and activities that go along with maintaining a healthy planet, since, according to them, it will all disappear soon, no matter what we do. This, they say, is our destiny, because it is written in holy scripture (several major religions hold this position). Such believers are unlikely to vote for making any sacrifice to protect the Earth, such as stopping global warming, mass extinction, ocean acidification, deforestation, desertification, and overpopulation, because they view it as a pointless sacrifice for a nonexistent future.

2. Earth’s ecology cannot be destroyed by mere humans:

In this worldview, named here as bioindestructivism, adherents overtly or subconsciously believe that only a powerful deity, such as God, Allah, or Shiva, has the ability to extinguish all or most life on Earth. Despite presently living through the Sixth Mass Extinction Event—which scientists overwhelmingly pin the blame for on humanity—believers insist—often despite their creationist leanings—that species naturally emerge and go extinct on a regular basis via evolution, thus humans have little responsibility in causing it or preventing it. Of course, this flies in the face of virtually eyeball-evidence of a massive reduction in absolute numbers and diversity of myriad species, including megafauna such as rhinoceros that evolved over millions of years, ergo, nothing equivalent will emerge spontaneously as believers in bioindestructivism blindly posit.

Conclusion:

It’s easy to see how a large global following for either of these worldviews leads toward a dying Earth. Many people believe both—the Earth will end soon and humans are too insignificant to affect the cycle of life—and it’s hubris to think otherwise, they say. On the other hand, if they are wrong—and of course they are—and the death spiral is fast and sudden enough, humanity could not stop it, and a progressively deader Earth could even lose its atmosphere like Mars, or poison it like Venus, until all that is left is a dead planet—nay, Universe. Clearly, it’s time these worldviews be retired immediately if humanity wants itself and a vibrant, lively planet to continue.