Philosophic Stuff

[niko2pico]

I'm mostly creating this board for our dear leader. I understand that this thread will only occasionally see use but I think that the forum will be better for its presence.

The purpose of this thread is to post musings about life, the universe, such and such, so that as a community we can examine it, and put it through the Socratic process.
As such a certain level of maturity is demanded from this board.

[VonGentlemen]

I believe that all Kenyans are really briefcases.
People just think that they are Kenyans because so few people are willing to believe that a briefcase can run.

[niko2pico]

I believe that all Kenyans are really briefcases.
People just think that they are Kenyans because so few people are willing to believe that a briefcase can run.

holy shit he may just be right

[Dreamaniaccomic]

I believe that all Kenyans are really briefcases.
People just think that they are Kenyans because so few people are willing to believe that a briefcase can run.

holy shit he may just be right

*hands VonGentlemen a logical fallacy* I believe you just dropped this.

Mostly unrelated: Mind Games. They involve playing with an opponents head, infuriating them or drawing out some other reaction. They can take many forms, including barraging an opponent with 'rules' that are implied to be set in stone in order to 'win' an argument, acting illogically or irratically, etc. One of the easist ways to gain an advantage in said games is to ignore any invented rules- effectively, cheat. After all, the battlefield of rhetoric and thought has no need for boundries. It's similar to playing Calvinball, except one also has the ability to erase and ignore rules the opponent has declared.

Random train of thought.

[niko2pico]

rules exist by human nature. Certain guidelines are necessary due to the fact that some structure is required for society and all it's aspects.

[VonGentlemen]

To some extent.
But what I find interesting is that Nigerians and Briefcases share so many details in common

Both Are:
~Made In poor countries
~Made by poor teenagers
~Used to carry stolen money
~Often involved in scamming crime
~Backstabbing YOUR MOTHER
~The 11th class
~Black

[niko2pico]

Your right philosophically they have the same functional state as nigerians and as is shown in the way functional states affect mental states this proves that they have the same mental function as a nigerian

[XIVcaliber]

Is it me, or is this conversation getting less and less politically correct?

[ApparentlyTsundere]

Is it me, or is this conversation getting less and less politically correct?

It's andre and niko, we should be happy that they're not raping and pillaging a nearby village.


(Of kenyans.)

[niko2pico]

If we did that then we'd be Nigerians

[ApparentlyTsundere]

Ffffff, careful, the government is watching you.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

*kicks down the door*
[cliche]Right then, time to lay down the law. [/cliche]
Nico, I respect your intention with starting this thread. I honestly liked the idea and despite some initial misgivings from others I was willing to let it stick around.
However, currently the conversation would be far more suited to Off Topic.
In a thread devoted to philosophy, I'd like to approach the subject without a satiric/parodic edge. I don't mind, nay, encourage you to (gently) mock the pretentiousness of such an endeavor in Off Topic, but in the thread itself, please halt the racial stereotyping and briefcases, thankyouverymuch.

[ApparentlyTsundere]

*kicks down the door*
[cliche]Right then, time to lay down the law. [/cliche]
Nico, I respect your intention with starting this thread. I honestly liked the idea and despite some initial misgivings from others I was willing to let it stick around.
However, currently the conversation would be far more suited to Off Topic.
In a thread devoted to philosophy, I'd like to approach the subject without a satiric/parodic edge. I don't mind, nay, encourage you to (gently) mock the pretentiousness of such an endeavor in Off Topic, but in the thread itself, please halt the racial stereotyping and briefcases, thankyouverymuch.

Though not exactly politically correct, It's all in good fun, they're just jokes, if we need to balance things out we can make fun of the higher middle class.

[XIVcaliber]

...*orz-pose*

[ApparentlyTsundere]

Fffff, OTL's with elliot.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

Is your mind a prison or the gate to glorious freedom?
What about the minds of others?
Is the development of intelligence behind the cause of boredom and mankind's neverending quest to avoid it (Generally by not thinking too much)? Is it also the cure?
If you met yourself, would you shake your hand, punch your face, or gawk at yourself in shock/awe/horror/lust?
When someone asks, "Who cares?" whose job is it to answer, "I do!"?
It's absurdly easy to become desentisized in todays world. Can one willingly avoid becoming numb to horror despite exposure? Furthermore, can they retain their sanity while doing so?
Isn't looking at 'The Big Picture' pointless? It's based entirely on the future after all, and neither the future nor the past exist. There is only the here and now, until someone can prove the existence of both the future and the past in more then an almost entirely mental way.
Do you worry about morality?

[niko2pico]

Is your mind a prison or the gate to glorious freedom?
What about the minds of others?
Is the development of intelligence behind the cause of boredom and mankind's never ending quest to avoid it (Generally by not thinking too much)? Is it also the cure?
If you met yourself, would you shake your hand, punch your face, or gawk at yourself in shock/awe/horror/lust?
When someone asks, "Who cares?" whose job is it to answer, "I do!"?
It's absurdly easy to become desensitized in today's world. Can one willingly avoid becoming numb to horror despite exposure? Furthermore, can they retain their sanity while doing so?
Isn't looking at 'The Big Picture' pointless? It's based entirely on the future after all, and neither the future nor the past exist. There is only the here and now, until someone can prove the existence of both the future and the past in more then an almost entirely mental way.
Do you worry about morality?

Is your mind a prison or a gate to glorious freedom or a prison? It's a prison, a glorious free prison. The freedom the mind provides is always limited by what it can comprehend, by what it can think, and as hard as any of us try to open the corners of our mind to all the ideas out there we can't. To open your mind would encompass not the acceptance or tolerance of everything, not the acceptance and will to listen to all ideas. No to remove all walls from your mind requires knowledge, knowledge beyond what a person can even imagine, you must know everything to remove the walls. To remove all the walls from our mind is feat so epic in scale that to succeed in it is an accomplishment that would pull the achiever out of the pantheon of men, he/she/it would be a messiah, Buddha, God. To remove all the walls from your mind is to comprehend the future, to realize the implications of how each choice effects all choices that follow and thus how to use your own actions to obtain control, the right words can control another person's choices, undermine their will, make them your slave, you need only know the right combination of what to say and do, the right actions dictate the future future. And thus it is that our minds are a prison of our own building, a prison like no other. A prison who's very design is built upon the hope that the inhabitants never find the walls, built upon the hope that the many wonders in the prison yard will keep the prisoner distracted for 80 or so years. A glorious prison, one that is built by ourselves, for ourselves, to protect ourselves, from ourselves. (thank you for that question Jake. I smell IB paper idea.)

Intelligence is both the cause and the cure. The understanding of concepts makes one jaded, but the attempt at understanding is what occupies ones time and leaves one satisfied, and in the end once the concept is understood jaded again. One of the many unending cycles of the human spirit.

I hope to never meet myself, for if I did I would truly have to come face to face with my flaws, and maybe with the fact I hate myself. I suppose that I would be good friends with myself, our similarities would cause our differences, and in turn lead to an unending debate between us about everything, presence of me with myself would change both me and myself into different people.

The question of "Who cares?" bears a simple answer, "I do!" must be called out by anyone who sincerely does.

It is absurdly easy to become desensitized. I have to think about this one for a bit I'll get back to you on this

For the big picture question see my first answer. Oh and there is now past, there are only actions and their present implications

Do I worry about Morality? Always Jake, every single minute, of every hour, of every day. I believe every action and choice, even inaction or anything that I do that i don't mean to, bears a consequence. All my choices, all my actions, right down to typing these words, I believe, bear implications, and I worry about how they affect others.

[ApparentlyTsundere]

as much as I would love to contribute to this thread, I think all that covers it.

[Dreamaniaccomic]

After talking to Niko at school today, I feel I should clarify my moral philosophy.
1st Law: Nothing is absolute, universal, or definite, including all of these laws. The world turns. This too shall change.
2nd Law: The ends do not justify the means, but the greater good is still important. It simply has the same level of importance as immediate, short-term good.
3rd Law: The balance between good and evil exists without your help. "Providing contrast," is not a legitamite excuse for bad behavior.
4th Law: Your life does not need to be absolutely dedicated to charity. Improving your own life is as good an act as improving someone elses, as long as you don't drag others down so that you may rise.
5th Law: Honesty and humility are important. Humility allows you to accept the honesty of others, and honesty allows you to remind others of the importance of humility.
6th Law: You reap what you sow, so plant kindness, generosity, and joy. There will be weeds, and not all of the seeds will sprout, but the one's that do are worth the effort.
7th Law: Desentization cripples your empathy. Do not allow yourself to be conditioned to atrocities; when a million deaths seems like a statistic, remember that a million is a multitude of individual and tragic deaths.
8th Law: Concentrate on the now, for it is all that exists. The past has been destroyed and recreated into the now, and since the future doesn't exist yet it isn't worth worrying too much about.

[niko2pico]

After talking to Niko at school today, I feel I should clarify my moral philosophy.
1st Law: Nothing is absolute, universal, or definite, including all of these laws. The world turns. This too shall change.
2nd Law: The ends do not justify the means, but the greater good is still important. It simply has the same level of importance as immediate, short-term good.
3rd Law: The balance between good and evil exists without your help. "Providing contrast," is not a legitamite excuse for bad behavior.
4th Law: Your life does not need to be absolutely dedicated to charity. Improving your own life is as good an act as improving someone elses, as long as you don't drag others down so that you may rise.
5th Law: Honesty and humility are important. Humility allows you to accept the honesty of others, and honesty allows you to remind others of the importance of humility.
6th Law: You reap what you sow, so plant kindness, generosity, and joy. There will be weeds, and not all of the seeds will sprout, but the one's that do are worth the effort.
7th Law: Desentization cripples your empathy. Do not allow yourself to be conditioned to atrocities; when a million deaths seems like a statistic, remember that a million is a multitude of individual and tragic deaths.
8th Law: Concentrate on the now, for it is all that exists. The past has been destroyed and recreated into the now, and since the future doesn't exist yet it isn't worth worrying too much about.

1st: And thus it is that all these laws should be disregarded because as you admit they aren't absolute, and also based upon a completely arbitrary method
2nd: So then do means justify ends? I can't agree with this one because the long term is the most important part of doing good. Simply put "You give a man a fish, he's fed for a day, you teach a man to fish, he's fed for a lifetime." Naturally there are means that are not to be allowed, but still many times horrible action can be justified by the outcome.
3rd: Never said it was an excuse for wrongs, just a reason why all life has value even wretched life
4th: Given. but also isn't the very act of raising one self the lowering another just by virtue of the fact that you are raising yourself. Just as if someone were to move up in a race from 5th to 3rd place, then the old places would be lowered simply by him raising himself. All life is like this analogy.
5th: Lies often protect more people than the truth. The truth can hurt.
6th: You reap what you sow. But often times the seeds of generosity and kindness can look a lot like the seeds of hate and other negatives and vice versa. Just sow what you think is best, for that is all you can do
7th: Death is a part of life. I fear the deaths of those close to me to a degree that I can't even really fathom. That being said, none have enough tears to shed one for every life lost, many only have enough for those they love. I admire the strength you had during your tragedy Jake, you contended with something that haunts my deepest nightmares. In that respect you are a much stronger man than I.
8th: The now exists only on the instant, concentrate on the next now, for that is what the now effects. To focus only on the now would be inaction.