purpose, is the only force in the known universe that can propagate itself, that
can spread its intelligence and generate greater and greater levels of
organization throughout the cosmos. Kant believed that without rationality,
the universe would be a waste, in vain, and without purpose. Without
intelligence, and the freedom to exercise that intelligence, we might as well
all be a bunch of rocks. Rocks don’t change. They don’t conceive of values,
systems, or organizations. They don’t alter, improve, or create. They’re just
there.
But consciousness—consciousness can reorganize the universe, and that
reorganization can add upon itself exponentially. Consciousness is able to
take a problem, a system of a certain amount of complexity, and conceive and
generate greater complexity. In a thousand years, we went from twiddling
sticks in a small cave to designing entire digital realms connecting the minds
of billions. In another thousand, we could easily be among the stars, reshaping
the planets and space/time itself. Each individual action may not matter in the
grand scheme of things, but the preservation and promotion of rational
consciousness overall matters more than anything.
Kant argued that the most fundamental moral duty is the preservation and
growth of consciousness, both in ourselves and in others. He called this
principle of always putting consciousness first “the Formula of Humanity,”
and it kind of explains . . . well, like, everything, ever. It explains our basic
moral intuitions. It explains the classic concept of virtue.^34 It explains how to
act in our day-to-day lives without relying on some imagined vision of hope.
It explains how to not be an asshole.
And, as if that weren’t enough, it explains all of it in a single sentence.
The Formula of Humanity states, “Act that you use humanity, whether in your
own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end,
never merely as a means.”^35
That’s it. The Formula of Humanity is the single principle that pulls
people out of adolescent bargaining and into adult virtue.^36
See, the problem with hope is that it is fundamentally transactional—it is
a bargain between one’s current actions for some imagined, pleasant future.
Don’t eat this, and you’ll go to heaven. Don’t kill that person, or you’ll get in
trouble. Work hard and save your money, because that will make you happy.
To transcend the transactional realm of hope, one must act
unconditionally. You must love someone without expecting anything in
return; otherwise it’s not truly love. You must respect someone without
expecting anything in return; otherwise you don’t truly respect him. You must
speak honestly without expecting a pat on the back or a high-five or a gold