Mars and the Problem of Pain
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:31 am
I promised a couple people in another thread to talk a bit about the problem of evil/pain. I've always thought the Latter-day Saint view on God makes this problem much easier to handle. I'd like to think my thoughts are a new way to look at an old problem (although I've used this analogy elsewhere), so hopefully it isn't too much of a disappointment.
There was much talk about sending humans to Mars a few years ago. It has died down a bit, but various countries are still prepping for that possibility. There was a fair amount of discussion on various technical challenges of such a trip, but a particularly fascinating problem that doesn't get quite as much discussion is the human problem. The round trip to Mars and back is roughly 2-3 years. Most of that time will be mind-numbingly boring. Think about the longest road trip you've ever taken, preferably with kids in the back seat. Now imagine extending that road trip to one year, with some of the astronauts taking the role of the backseat kid incessantly asking, "Are we there yet?" and other astronauts playing the role of the older brother that constantly pesters everyone.
The assumption is that NASA will have to hire more psychologist than they have ever needed to support a Mars mission. You can train an astronaut to be physically fit and mentally adept, but what do you do if they are a mental breakdown waiting to happen. Well, you can test that also. Most countries who are serious about a trip to Mars are supporting at least one Mars simulator. These are those little buildings out in the desert where people sit in close quarters for many months or sometimes longer than a year. Yes, they walk around the desert in full suits periodically to test operating procedures, but everyone knows one of the major tests is psychological in nature. When do people break down? What are the warning signs? How many times does Bill with the crooked teeth have to "borrow" Sally's toothbrush before she goes ballistic. Just kidding. That isn't an actual test they conduct . . . as far as I know.
The only problem with these simulators is that every person in the simulator knows it isn't real. They know that in most cases rescue is just minutes away. I know this is taking a couple steps into science fiction, but what if their memories were altered so they actually thought they were on Mars? That would make for an extremely realistic test. Of course, you would have to get the astronaut's consent beforehand, but at the end, not only would you know if the astronauts could handle a real trip, they would gain some real skills and endurance for such a trip.
Back to the original topic. The problem of pain or evil in a very loose nutshell says that if God were to exist and had sufficient power to reduce pain or combat evil and does not, then all else being equal, he cannot be benevolent, meaning he must not care about us. Well, in Latter-day Saint Theology all other things are not equal. This life is not an end, but a means to an end. God is trying to help us become like him in every sense of the word. This life is very much like a God simulation. We have been given a bunch of power to practice with. For example, there are a bunch of relatively helpless beings running around our houses all day long that wouldn't be able to withstand our wills, at least I have a bunch of them running around my house. This isn't really the thread to walk through all the similarities of a God simulator and a Mars simulator. The point is that there are some restrictions in place based on the objective of the simulation. A simulation is used when someone is trying to gain new skills or knowledge. They are placed in a controlled environment where they are shielded from some of the dangers of the real environment for either their own protection or the protection of others. Pilots train in flight simulators before they actually get in a real plane with passengers. Surgeons train on cadavers before cutting into living people.
If I were to go to boot camp, I would probably suffer quite a bit. If my Mom came with me and intervened by yelling at anyone who was causing me difficulties, I suspect I would not be prepared for combat.
God can't just intervene all the time here, because that would defeat the purpose of the simulation. We are here to gain the skills needed in a semi-protected location before we become a god ourselves and face the full force of evil and pain that the Universe apparently can throw at us. I used to think this argument was a slam dunk, but it isn't quite that easy. There is some pain and evil that just seems completely pointless or especially bad, like debilitating birth defects or serial killers or something along those lines. Yes, we must have some pain and evil in this world or we won't be able to face the Universe later. But really? Some things just seem like twisting the knife. I don't know if I have an answer. It must either be because the worst pain and evil we encounter here is still only a small portion of what a god would need to face, or the potential for us to really mess up things as a god is big enough that we need to be certain we can resist the worst situations without loosing it and throwing lightning bolts. I can only really ever speculate on that. I personally like to think that God didn't create evil or pain, he is just slowly exposing us to evil and pain in measured doses so we can eventually handle it. This analogy doesn't demand this view. You could consider God the creator of the evil and pain found in the simulation, and then we are back to square one.
Anyway, this isn't perfect by any means, but it helps me.
There was much talk about sending humans to Mars a few years ago. It has died down a bit, but various countries are still prepping for that possibility. There was a fair amount of discussion on various technical challenges of such a trip, but a particularly fascinating problem that doesn't get quite as much discussion is the human problem. The round trip to Mars and back is roughly 2-3 years. Most of that time will be mind-numbingly boring. Think about the longest road trip you've ever taken, preferably with kids in the back seat. Now imagine extending that road trip to one year, with some of the astronauts taking the role of the backseat kid incessantly asking, "Are we there yet?" and other astronauts playing the role of the older brother that constantly pesters everyone.
The assumption is that NASA will have to hire more psychologist than they have ever needed to support a Mars mission. You can train an astronaut to be physically fit and mentally adept, but what do you do if they are a mental breakdown waiting to happen. Well, you can test that also. Most countries who are serious about a trip to Mars are supporting at least one Mars simulator. These are those little buildings out in the desert where people sit in close quarters for many months or sometimes longer than a year. Yes, they walk around the desert in full suits periodically to test operating procedures, but everyone knows one of the major tests is psychological in nature. When do people break down? What are the warning signs? How many times does Bill with the crooked teeth have to "borrow" Sally's toothbrush before she goes ballistic. Just kidding. That isn't an actual test they conduct . . . as far as I know.
The only problem with these simulators is that every person in the simulator knows it isn't real. They know that in most cases rescue is just minutes away. I know this is taking a couple steps into science fiction, but what if their memories were altered so they actually thought they were on Mars? That would make for an extremely realistic test. Of course, you would have to get the astronaut's consent beforehand, but at the end, not only would you know if the astronauts could handle a real trip, they would gain some real skills and endurance for such a trip.
Back to the original topic. The problem of pain or evil in a very loose nutshell says that if God were to exist and had sufficient power to reduce pain or combat evil and does not, then all else being equal, he cannot be benevolent, meaning he must not care about us. Well, in Latter-day Saint Theology all other things are not equal. This life is not an end, but a means to an end. God is trying to help us become like him in every sense of the word. This life is very much like a God simulation. We have been given a bunch of power to practice with. For example, there are a bunch of relatively helpless beings running around our houses all day long that wouldn't be able to withstand our wills, at least I have a bunch of them running around my house. This isn't really the thread to walk through all the similarities of a God simulator and a Mars simulator. The point is that there are some restrictions in place based on the objective of the simulation. A simulation is used when someone is trying to gain new skills or knowledge. They are placed in a controlled environment where they are shielded from some of the dangers of the real environment for either their own protection or the protection of others. Pilots train in flight simulators before they actually get in a real plane with passengers. Surgeons train on cadavers before cutting into living people.
If I were to go to boot camp, I would probably suffer quite a bit. If my Mom came with me and intervened by yelling at anyone who was causing me difficulties, I suspect I would not be prepared for combat.
God can't just intervene all the time here, because that would defeat the purpose of the simulation. We are here to gain the skills needed in a semi-protected location before we become a god ourselves and face the full force of evil and pain that the Universe apparently can throw at us. I used to think this argument was a slam dunk, but it isn't quite that easy. There is some pain and evil that just seems completely pointless or especially bad, like debilitating birth defects or serial killers or something along those lines. Yes, we must have some pain and evil in this world or we won't be able to face the Universe later. But really? Some things just seem like twisting the knife. I don't know if I have an answer. It must either be because the worst pain and evil we encounter here is still only a small portion of what a god would need to face, or the potential for us to really mess up things as a god is big enough that we need to be certain we can resist the worst situations without loosing it and throwing lightning bolts. I can only really ever speculate on that. I personally like to think that God didn't create evil or pain, he is just slowly exposing us to evil and pain in measured doses so we can eventually handle it. This analogy doesn't demand this view. You could consider God the creator of the evil and pain found in the simulation, and then we are back to square one.
Anyway, this isn't perfect by any means, but it helps me.