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You Might Be Libertarian if you are analytical in your political beliefs
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<blockquote data-quote="zubenelgenubi" data-source="post: 3477386" data-attributes="member: 63706"><p>I'm not really hooked on the beetle thing. It's just a good short hand to refer to the underlying concepts it tries to describe. The problem is, we can't get around those concepts. In Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (at least the movie, never read the book) the most powerful weapon in the universe causes the person you shoot it at to see things from your point of view. Until we have something like that, we need to be aware that other people see things differently and respect that they have come to their conclusions in a thoughtful manner (even if that is not always true). Meaning we need to take everyone on an individual basis, rather than lump them in with others. We humans have the capacity and tendancy to rationalize mistreating others because of the labels we assign to them. </p><p></p><p>The method by which we come as close to understanding as possible is through rational discourse, which was the original purpose behind the forums in Ancient Greece. These electronic forums are merely the modern manifestation of the ancient ones. If we come to each round of discourse with the understanding that we can't ever truly understand whomever we may be debating, and that they can never truly understand us, we can remove some of the emotional baggage that may create even more obstacles to approaching understanding.</p><p></p><p>Now, if you want to discuss solipsism, we can take it a step further and say that not only can we never truly understand one another, but, from each individual perspective, we can't ever really know that anyone else truly exists. Descartes used the phrase Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. If it's not me thinking the thoughts I have, then who is it? The beetle experiment demonstrates that we can't ever really know that other people are even thinking, so we can't know they really exist. You might say that thoughts are expressed through words and actions, and that proves the other people think. But, that argument is based entirely on the assumption that reality is as you perceive it. It is easily demonstrated that our ability to perceive is faulty, and our memories created from perception are faulty. So how can I ever know anything for sure, beyond that I exist? </p><p></p><p>We are left with having to be satisfied with knowing that reality may not be what we think it is, and that almost everything we think we know is based on assumptions. If we can accept this, it makes it easier not to lock ourselves into one set of ideas so that we can be free to pursue the ever elusive truth.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="zubenelgenubi, post: 3477386, member: 63706"] I'm not really hooked on the beetle thing. It's just a good short hand to refer to the underlying concepts it tries to describe. The problem is, we can't get around those concepts. In Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (at least the movie, never read the book) the most powerful weapon in the universe causes the person you shoot it at to see things from your point of view. Until we have something like that, we need to be aware that other people see things differently and respect that they have come to their conclusions in a thoughtful manner (even if that is not always true). Meaning we need to take everyone on an individual basis, rather than lump them in with others. We humans have the capacity and tendancy to rationalize mistreating others because of the labels we assign to them. The method by which we come as close to understanding as possible is through rational discourse, which was the original purpose behind the forums in Ancient Greece. These electronic forums are merely the modern manifestation of the ancient ones. If we come to each round of discourse with the understanding that we can't ever truly understand whomever we may be debating, and that they can never truly understand us, we can remove some of the emotional baggage that may create even more obstacles to approaching understanding. Now, if you want to discuss solipsism, we can take it a step further and say that not only can we never truly understand one another, but, from each individual perspective, we can't ever really know that anyone else truly exists. Descartes used the phrase Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. If it's not me thinking the thoughts I have, then who is it? The beetle experiment demonstrates that we can't ever really know that other people are even thinking, so we can't know they really exist. You might say that thoughts are expressed through words and actions, and that proves the other people think. But, that argument is based entirely on the assumption that reality is as you perceive it. It is easily demonstrated that our ability to perceive is faulty, and our memories created from perception are faulty. So how can I ever know anything for sure, beyond that I exist? We are left with having to be satisfied with knowing that reality may not be what we think it is, and that almost everything we think we know is based on assumptions. If we can accept this, it makes it easier not to lock ourselves into one set of ideas so that we can be free to pursue the ever elusive truth. [/QUOTE]
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