This one was an interesting clash of styles. I think both Ash and I see the value of trying to understand the world around us. We both really enjoy philosophy and both have a podcast designed to talk about deep, life topics (his is called Frame of Reference). However, Ash is a naturally optimistic person (vs. me who loves to play the cynic). He looks at the world and acknowledges there is still suffering but really we are living in the best of possible times. Most metrics around human progress (mortality rate, people living in poverty, violence, etc.) have improved pretty dramatically.

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It goes beyond just metrics though, Ash just feels lucky to be alive. He recognizes he kind of hit the "genetic lottery" living in North America, not living in poverty, not suffering from disease, etc. That is why I think his value of "quality of life" made sense for him. He sees so much of the positives in the world and appreciates that he has the freedom to enjoy his life in whatever way he chooses. If anything, he thinks the negativity in the world today is because most people don't realize how good we have it. Most of us still function with a scarcity mindset and are worried about lifting others up because it might bring us down. 

Although I don't completely disagree with a lot of this, it doesn't necessarily make me optimistic. I believe we are all inherently selfish to some degree and human history is more relevant to show us how ugly we can be (rather than showing us how far we've come). Even in today's modern world, with many metrics showing progress, there is still so much suffering and hatred. I worry that if we're too optimistic it becomes more of a blindfold than anything else. It allows us to feel good about the world when there are so many people in pain.

Ash and I spent most of the show genuinely trying to understand why we see the world differently. Sometimes it is as if two people are just on different frequencies and might never see things the same way. But I still believe there is a ton of value in trying. I tend to think both of us are right and wrong. Life is too complex to say it is good or bad. Those are human terms we try to apply to something we can never truly understand. Life isn't good or bad, life is just life.