Discussion: One large Galactic Civilization

Hey there, just thought of the subject after I started playing Mass Effect 2 recently. On a side note that game (and its predecessor as well) are both awesome games. Highly recommended.
But the subject I'm speaking of, is a large inter-species civilization spanning across a galaxy. And while the game is purely fiction, the way the story is built is strangely appealing.

In the story mentioned, there exists many different species who have gotten off their planets when finding old super-advanced tech somewhere in space, which boosts their technological advancement by several multitudes. Once exploring space, we humans met the same fate and are coincidentally "welcomed" by a galactic civilization.
Here exists most things one would find on earth; Prejudice, racism, greed, etc., but between humans and 'asari' instead of colored skin.
Travel occurs now not between cities, but between planets and solar systems by large machines called mass-relays and faster-than-light propulsion systems created by lowering the mass with a discovery known as "element zero". (Not to go too far into the story, but the element reacts to current whereas positive and negative current adds and lowers mass from nearby objects when manipulated)
Overview of the story can be found here

Now what I'm thinking is; Why wouldn't this be the next step in evolution? Everything seems to fit in our current steps. Back a couple of hundred years ago continents were left unexplored, and old civilizations found other 'races' they wouldn't call human if they had the words for it, and travel wasn't done between two opposite parts of the planet in a day.

So what do you think, do you think this is where we're heading?

Mass effect 2 is a fun game.

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reply to post by wdkirk


It is indeed! However that's not really what I was getting at :p

A great game; I've already beat it twice

The more interesting aspects of the idea I found was the idea that it is illegal to activate Mass-effect Relays that lead to unknown places in fear it could lead to contact with hostile species.

The one idea that always bugs me in science fiction is the idea that other species and civilizations, no matter how far advanced they are, are always shown as having the same problems and conflicts that we have today.

I honestly think that if there is some kind of galactic civilization in our galaxy, it is one of pure benevolence; obviously, if they were any kind of threat, they could have easily detected us by now and done what they will. (assuming they are hundreds- if not millions of years more advanced than we are).

I know that this is the direction that we are heading in- the vast majority of people on this planet wish to live in peace in harmony- so much so that they will do anything, or believe and follow anyone, that promises them that world. Hence manipulation, wars, and the same cycle of destruction we have been dealing with forever.

reply to post by Monts


But disagreements always occur, don't they? Once we got up there, I bet humanity would ruffle some feathers by expanding, eating resources like gluttons and borrowing tech from other species.
If there's a democratic ruling, people could fight over the elections etc.

I just don't see how being more technologically advanced would solve these problems before or after they occur, assuming these other species have the same social behavior as us.

It's because IMO the perspective or mental framework needed to develop certain "technologies" has to evolve as much as the technical skill...
We're just starting to aprehend the spooky interactions that our models allow, and the reason it's taking us so long is because we still have a "particulate" framework of reference where notions as me-the_rest_of_the_universe, things as isolated objects, concioussness as a byproduct of chemical reactions, etc prevail. So when someone speaks of a reality framework where stuff is not only a "state" but all of them together and matter as we know is a pas-de-deux between energy and information, our tiny medieval brains start to hurt.
That's why i think that any culture able to harness a (qualitative) superior technology, is one that has evolved beyond the cruelty and greed that arises in a society where every member sees himself as a "free individual" (which taken to the extreme is utterly ridiculous) and (more important) a society that is organized in a poverty generating way (so making scarcity of resources the main axis of interaction)
I know my response is somewhat "entangled", but that's what happen when you mix, ats, galactic civilizations and massive ammounts of alcohol
Cheers from long down south earth

[edit on 6/2/2010 by drakus]

Originally posted by drakus
It's because IMO the perspective or mental framework needed to develop certain "technologies" has to evolve as much as the technical skill...

No it doesnt, havent you heard of a thing called "stealing"?

The idea of a galactic civilization of many species is interesting I suppose, but I dont really believe in it. Why? Because I believe that such an alliance of worlds would be beaten down ny more organized single factions. For example if there's just one planet with self sufficient machines out there capable of space travel, they'll expand far, far, FAR faster than a humanoid species spending half its time waging war with itself. I call it the "Borg Scenario"

[edit on 6-2-2010 by merka]

Alien species would likely have very different psychologies than humans. They would also have different physiological needs. I imagine it would be very difficult to create any sort of meaningful federation. And...why bother? "Federations" are really only necessary to deal with external threats. Would we be facing some kind of invasion from another galaxy? Its kind of hard to imagine something on that scale taking place.

I could conceive of mutually beneficial trade or shifting alliances to fend off mutual enemies on a "local" level.

Originally posted by merka

Originally posted by drakus
It's because IMO the perspective or mental framework needed to develop certain "technologies" has to evolve as much as the technical skill...

No it doesnt, havent you heard of a thing called "stealing"?

The idea of a galactic civilization of many species is interesting I suppose, but I dont really believe in it. Why? Because I believe that such an alliance of worlds would be beaten down ny more organized single factions. For example if there's just one planet with self sufficient machines out there capable of space travel, they'll expand far, far, FAR faster than a humanoid species spending half its time waging war with itself. I call it the "Borg Scenario"

[edit on 6-2-2010 by merka]

But what i'm saying is that the next step in technology goes beyond the mechanical advance we are used to, it's not just "better" machines, i think the next step involves a shift in conciousness, a dialectic shift of paradigm of sorts (in the Hegelian sense) and for that shift to happen a new cosmology will be needed, as well as a new cosmovision, and those two are not the same, that subtlety (or whatever) is what i think marks the difference...
Something along the buddhist paradigm (the real one, not the treehuger one) would explain it better.

reply to post by drakus


Something along the lines of a technological way of altering our conscious thinking? That sounds like an idea I would have a hard time accepting, if it was to come during my lifetime

And to whoever said aliens would have different mindsets from humans; Maybe the only reason we've come as far as we have as an "intelligent" species rely solely upon our greed/curiosity etc.? I would like to believe that a civilization would need some sort of drive to advance in order to get as far as to take part of such a galactic empire, and thus not be too different from us.
Of course there would be differences, but perhaps just very slight ones.