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Undoubtedly, the universe is a harsh place for biological life. If you're experiencing this reality firsthand, you know exactly what I mean. Even if your life is currently a pleasant rollercoaster, all you need is the bravery to step into darker spaces and look around—you’ll see war victims, diseases (yes, even in small children), brutality in wildlife, factory farming, hunger, accidents, crime, and so much more. And as you and your loved ones continue to age, you will inevitably face the harsh realities of disases and death sooner or later. At some point, you might ask (as I did): “Why is it this way?” and “Is there really someone or something to blame?” While the answers lie in science and our understanding of evolution, many popular yet misleading “answers” persist. In this article, I aim to debunk some of them.

Consider some of these common beliefs: “It's our fault. We wage war and poison the world in many ways, leading to more diseases. Humans intentionally make bad choices that result in suffering for many beings. Suffering in wildlife and animals don’t matter; it’s just nature—they are just food.”

Well,

First, for the record, no one invented, for example, cancer through modern-day bad choices. The oldest known case of cancer in ancient humans was found in an Egyptian mummy dating back to around 1500 BCE. With that out of the way, let’s delve into the notion of “bad people with bad intentional choices.”

Defining some terms

For this context, let’s define an “intentional bad choice” as an action that causes suffering to another being. This can be done directly, or indirectly, such as when someone damages the environment, leading to eventual suffering for other beings. Conversely, a “good choice” is one that prevents suffering or actively improves the lives of others.

The Complexity of Intentional Choices

Why does a person make a bad intentional choice? How does intentional choosing really work? What drives someone to pick one direction over another in their mind? You might be surprised at how difficult it is to answer these questions rationally.

We could ask, “Why make bad choices?” just as easily as we could ask, “Why make good choices?” Both questions are valid. Ultimately, as direct and brutal as it might sound, motivation boils down to personal and group benefits and rewards. For instance, Christians, who are taught to be men of good deeds, are motivated by the prospect of paradise and eternal life if they are good, or eternal suffering in hell if they are bad. So, in the end, even for them, it’s also about benefits and rewards.

Factors Influencing Choices

Several factors contribute to the choices we make:

• Our survival mechanisms: Our body-mind system is fundamentally an apparatus designed for survival. When you strip away the layers of complexity in our behaviors, most of what we do, at its core, is geared towards enhancing our chances of survival—both individually and as a group. Take sex, for example. It's the most obvious manifestation of this drive; our hormones influence our brains and decisions, pushing us toward a 'choice' of procreation. While we’ve evolved to enjoy it in various ways—whether for pleasure or even business—its primary biological function remains the continuation of the species. Consider your love of food. Eating is essential for survival, so it’s no surprise that it brings us immense pleasure. Or think about your curiosity and choice to explore new places. This trait has been crucial to human survival, helping us adapt to new environments and discover resources. Even the thrill-seekers among us—those who choose to engage in life-threatening activities like parachute jumping—are driven by survival instincts. What they often crave is not the danger itself, but the rewarding rush that comes from surviving it (well, unless you are a pro and can chill while jumping). Walt Disney, the visionary behind Disneyland, once mentioned that the true appeal of roller coasters lies in the moment after the ride is over—when the fear subsides, and people feel the exhilarating relief of having survived, ready to enjoy the beauty around them. Some may argue that our system is more than just a survival machine, and indeed, human behavior is multifaceted. However, when you delve deeply into biology, neuroscience, and logic, you’ll find that most or all of our choices for actions, at their core, are chained to this fundamental drive for survival (I will explore this in greater detail in my upcoming mini-book). Because of that, I could actually stop here, but since this claim needs more context and I don't have empirical evidence for it, let's explore some Subcategories.
• Empathy: Empathy plays a significant role in our choices. When we have strong empathy for others, we can mirror their suffering or joy, which often compels us to make good choices because it feels as if it’s happening to us. I call it a physical choice influencer because it operates through our brain’s mirror neurons. On the other hand, individuals with impaired empathy (broken mirror neurons), such as psychopaths and sociopaths, lack this capacity and are thus more prone to harmful actions—bad choices. Empathy is also a survival mechanism because it helps us understand and connect with others, fostering cooperation and social bonds that increase our chances of survival as a group. 
• Programming: Our programming—what we have been taught through life by parents, friends, and experiences—conditions us a lot in making choices, even when we are not aware of it, because it runs in the subconscious.
• Emotions and Feelings: Day-to-day decisions are driven by our emotions, even if we are not always aware of it. These impulses often guide us in one direction or another.
• Religions: Religious beliefs strongly influence the choices of many people.
• Gut Feeling: This esoteric term is actually a mix of unconscious emotions, empathy, and programming. I have seen people doing terrible things based on their gut feeling, so it's not always this magical "good choice" that stems from mystical sources.
• Rational Choices: Lastly, there are rational choices, based on logic and reasoning. Information and knowledge play a big role here. Sometimes you cannot make a good or bad choice if you don’t know what you are actually doing or what the consequences will be.

Given all these factors, it’s clear that 'choices' are heavily shaped by our survival mechanisms, personal or group benefits and rewards, mental conditioning, emotional impulses, and more rarely, by pure rational reasoning. So, considering this, do you still think everyone has the power—or even the reason—to make consistently good intentional choices?

Causality ruling choices?

Most scientists would argue that we have no real choice or free will at all—that everything is just cause and effect, with the universe merely playing out its inevitable game. This perspective reflects our current limited understanding of consciousness. I, however, believe that we do have conscious choice at some level, but we rarely use it because we believe we're already making conscious choices. As a result, we don’t actively pursue real choices, instead operating on autopilot under its conditioning. And this is why humanity cannot be entirely blamed for its bad choices and their consequences—it’s the system/universe we’ve evolved in. As harsh as it may sound, we are like faulty programming that needs constant upgrades and fixes.

Take wildlife, for example. Does a lion have the choice not to harm its prey? No, it would die of hunger, and some ecological balance would be lost. The lion doesn’t even have the cognitive capacity, motivation, or resources to go plant-based. The brutality of nature—animals feeding on each other—has always existed, and humans were no exception in earlier ages (now we just pay others to do it, even when we have a * 'choice' not to). We are also animals, but our brains have evolved into complex analytical machines, giving us the illusion and concept of consistent conscious choices. 

Addressing Accountability

At this point, someone might argue, 'So you’re saying a murderer isn’t to blame for their crimes?' If a person has impaired mirror neurons, then yes, that is a disability, and they should be isolated for the safety of others, treated like any other mentally ill individual. If their neurons are functioning properly, their bad choices might stem from programming, overwhelming emotions, and so on. Such a person should also be isolated to prevent further harm, and the public should be made aware that bad deeds have consequences—a tool for preventing potential future crimes. But these are simply practical steps to ensure a safer future. Blaming and feeling anger toward this person? Rationally, it makes no sense.

The Potential for a real Conscious Choice

As I mentioned earlier, I do believe in actual conscious choice, but it requires a great deal of awareness. This involves recognizing all the factors at play—empathy, programming, emotions, and impulses—and observing them from a detached perspective. In this moment of awareness, you have the potential to initiate a truly free, conscious, and rational choice. Well.. it may turn out that this is still just another level of cause and effect, but at least it would come from a far less conditioned and impulsive place.

But what if this conscious choice is bad, evil, or destructive? This is where your knowledge of the universe and your unlimited view play a crucial role. Pursuing these qualities leads to a simple yet profound principle, the Golden Rule: 'Treat others as you would like to be treated' or 'Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.' An even broader view might suggest: 'Do not take away the freedom of others unless you are prepared to give up your own.' Failing to live by this rule robs others of their freedom, good life, and experiences, and eventually, this will boomerang back to you. Or we could say that respecting others' freedom is respecting your own—this is the effect of our beautiful coexistence.

And this is not just my esoteric opinion; scientific literature supports this view. Studies published in journals such as SpringerLink and PLOS ONE demonstrate that respecting others' freedom is not just a personal virtue but a necessary practice for maintaining the well-being of the entire group or society. When individuals fail to uphold ethical standards, it creates a ripple effect, leading to collective harm and the erosion of social cohesion, which ultimately affects everyone, including the individual who initiated the misbehavior.

Now you might say, 'But what if I kick a dog, nobody sees it, and then I die?' Well, if you believe in the power of science and an unlimited future, eventually, this will come back to you. Karma, life after death, and judges in Eden do not really exist yet—with no real evidence, they remain esoteric concepts—but these ideas might be brought into existence by future civilizations (and it would make a lot of sense to do so), who could be truly free and unbound by time and other limitations. 

Unintentional Choices

Accidental bad choices or those made due to a simple lack of life skills fall into the category where blaming individuals is misplaced. It’s entirely the system/universe we live in doing its work, and these choices occur on a large scale every day.

In Summary

In the end, our “choices” are often not as free as we think. They are driven by a complex interplay of factors, many of which are beyond our conscious control. Understanding this can help us become more compassionate, both toward others and ourselves, as we navigate the challenges of life. It also prompts us to identify and, if necessary, assign blame to the true source of most suffering and horror: the system/universe in which we live, with its relentless cause and effect. It's up to us to acknowledge this truth and work to fix the system, adopting a broader perspective for a better future, where everyone has the opportunity to receive second chances and thrive.

* The vegan and plant-based nutrition movement is growing, with increasing research and evidence suggesting that such nutrition can be better for the world overall, especially in terms of animal welfare and ethics. However, do we really have the choice to switch? Addiction to the taste of meat, traditions, lack of knowledge about plant-based nutrition, and fear of change often make the choice for us. As a result, 98% of the world continues to eat meat daily, contributing to the early death of all farmed animals and the horrific lives endured by those in factory farms. While we might justify this by viewing animals as lesser beings, science has already proven that they are sentient, experiencing emotions much like we do. It’s no surprise that most humans have a natural empathy for animals and would not enjoy witnessing their slaughter.