While pondering problems humanity faces it occurs to me that many are a direct result of the action of Man, or have anthropogenic causes (ab homine). In contrast, we are clearly not responsible for the causes of other problems. Yet others may be in an intermediate category, perhaps naturally caused, but exacerbated by us. I
How can you describe in one word a problem that is caused by ourselves? Although the word is a noun and not a verb, it would be a kind of reflexive problem? I think that if we had noun cases in English, it would be the noun problem in the causative case. There are no
What are the greatest problems that we face? What are their causes?
We live in different spaces and have diverse experiences which influence our understanding of our surroundings. Unsurprisingly we are unlikely to agree on which global issues are of paramount importance. While some of those we prioritise may appear distinct on the surface, many may have shared underlying factors, suggesting that addressing the root causes might be more productive than addressing individual issues in isolation.
I have searched this question on-line and encountered several organisations with interesting problem lists. World Economic Forum has a list of the top ten risks that we face in 2024. Development Aid has a list has a list of their own. Time had a list for 2024 that was more USA centric. The United Nations has a list they aspire to work on. 8,000 Hours (a career advice organisation focused on social impact) have their list of problems which they prioritise because they are unusually large in scale, unduly neglected, and solvable. In order to cover the greatest problems we face, I will examine some of those featured in these lists in later posts.
Problems can be divided into two categories: those caused by oneself, or in this case by human actions (which I call anobis) and those that occur in nature independently of us (termed abalia). When humans are the source of a problem – like wars, poverty, or social inequality – we generally have greater potential to solve it, since we are responsible for the conditions that led to it. This principle is reflected in the challenges highlighted by 8,000 Hours – their listed problems are predominantly human-caused and therefore potentially solvable through human intervention. In contrast, problems that arise independently of humans, like certain natural phenomena, have varying degrees of solvability – some we can address despite not causing them, perhaps through science and technology, while others may remain beyond our control.
This What? theme will most likely also involve quite a bit about human behaviour, which may also come under the Who? theme.
Aside from what problems we face, this theme explores how we understand these problems, and why at times we fail to solve them. Ideas on how we may solve them should be in the How? theme.
I begin with an examination of the greatest problems we face.