Without evil there'd be no good ...

[Rum]

'In short you're crazy' requires a mod intervention?

[RuleBritannia]

It is a constant amusement to me that meta-physicians seem to forget that EGO drives them ... If you want to argue someone into submission go pick on a racist or a fundie the heat and angst displayed by so called deep thinkers makes me think that they should think a little more and argue a little less ....


TRY Thinking about what PLAY NICE means !

Wait, who's the meta-physician?

[Tigger]

'In short you're crazy' requires a mod intervention?

Pre-empts nastiness. If it nips unnecessary drama in the bud, why not?

[LaMont Cranston]

Tigger and Rum, I've already said on other threads that my self-analysis, based on talking to a number of professionals in the field, is that I'm probably a functional psychopath. All things considered, I'd rather be a psychopath than not. However, if somebody wants to say something preventitive to somebody who thinks I'm crazy, that's fine by me.

[LaMont Cranston]

RuleBritannia, I had the same question for Feck.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

It is a constant amusement to me that meta-physicians seem to forget that EGO drives them ... If you want to argue someone into submission go pick on a racist or a fundie the heat and angst displayed by so called deep thinkers makes me think that they should think a little more and argue a little less ....


TRY Thinking about what PLAY NICE means !

Wait, who's the meta-physician?

Quite clearly the physician that heals himself.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Tigger and Rum, I've already said on other threads that my self-analysis, based on talking to a number of professionals in the field, is that I'm probably a functional psychopath. All things considered, I'd rather be a psychopath than not. However, if somebody wants to say something preventitive to somebody who thinks I'm crazy, that's fine by me.

It just reinforces my theory that you don't have to be crazy to post here, but it helps. But do remember that being crazy is not an excuse for failing to play nice.

[Tigger]

Tigger and Rum, I've already said on other threads that my self-analysis, based on talking to a number of professionals in the field, is that I'm probably a functional psychopath. All things considered, I'd rather be a psychopath than not. However, if somebody wants to say something preventitive to somebody who thinks I'm crazy, that's fine by me.

It just reinforces my theory that you don't have to be crazy to post here, but it helps. But do remember that being crazy is not an excuse for failing to play nice.

Subtle lizard is subtle.

[Surendra Darathy]

'In short you're crazy' requires a mod intervention?

Pre-empts nastiness. If it nips unnecessary drama in the bud, why not?

I thought we were getting somewhere "beyond good and evil", here. Perhaps we need Comte de Saint-Germain to put that one on "ice".

[FedUpWithFaith]

'In short you're crazy' requires a mod intervention?

Pre-empts nastiness. If it nips unnecessary drama in the bud, why not?

We don't need nannies Tigger figuring out what we might say next. Put away your itchy trigger finger.

[LaMont Cranston]

OK, now that we've established that some of us are crazies...and at least some of us admit it...does anybody want to get back to the thread topic? Is there anybody out there, crazy or sane, who can actually prove that something (i.e. good and evil) is or is not a false dichotomy?

[Surendra Darathy]

OK, now that we've established that some of us are crazies...and at least some of us admit it...does anybody want to get back to the thread topic? Is there anybody out there, crazy or sane, who can actually prove that something (i.e. good and evil) is or is not a false dichotomy?

Here's a suggestion: Give an unambiguous definition for "false dichotomy", and then show that assuming good and evil do not constitute a false dichotomy leads to a contradiction. As a preliminary exercise, define "good" and "evil" in such a way that they are not the result of a plebiscite.

Hint: "heads" and "tails" is a false dichotomy because it is possible for a tossed coin to land on its edge and balance there. This is physics, and not philosophy. Electron spin is not a false dichotomy, because it is defined binary.

[LaMont Cranston]

Surendra, From all I can tell, you are something of a rigid thinker, but there are holes in the arguments you set forth. Perhaps the biggest hole is that, so far, neither you nor anybody else can demonstrate that you can differentiate between subjective experience and objective reality with absolute certainty. Some people like to talk about these things as if they can, but, when put to the test, the best they can come up with is probabilities.

Here's a suggestion: Demonstrate with absolute certainty that you can differentiate between that which is subjective and that which is objective. Rigid thinkers seem to think that things must be "either/or," but, much of the time, it's not like that in real life. In the realm of the metaphysical, such things as theism, atheism, the scientific method, democracy, etc. may be pure things, but in the real world that we all inhabit, these things come in gradations and are subject to probabilities and unintended consequences.

Whether or not some people want to admit it, we function with both metaphysical concepts and things that we perceive as material. In the non-material realm, good and evil may exist as pure concepts, true dichotomies, but the way they play out in the real world is with such gradient ideas as good, better, best and bad, worse, worst. If you know of any way to get around this and to eliminate it from the way that you actually live your life, please let us hear about it as soon as possible.

Dude, we live our lives in what we perceive to be a real world, a place in which we most definitely make judgements. Many of these things for most of us are not that hard to figure out, and plebiscites exist because there is considerable agreement (yes, I know it's not unanimous) about these things. If it's up to you, would you rather spend the rest of your life in jail or out of jail? For most of us, it's an easy decision...it's good to be out of jail, and it's bad to have your ass in jail. From that point, we can consider better and best and worse and worst. It's really not all that hard to do for supposedly rational, large-brained beings such as us.

If we factor in the possibility of the coin landing on its edge and balancing there, heads and tails is a false dichotomy. However, as large brained beings who exist in a world we perceive as real, we can factor in such things as probabilities and unintended consequences. This is a description of the world in which you, I and others exist and live our lives. That world includes physics, philosophy, chemistry, biology, emotions, interactions with other beings and a multitude of other possibilities for experiences. In your life, who is the person who places value and makes judgements about those experiences, including the one you are having right now?

HINT: You do...

[Tigger]

'In short you're crazy' requires a mod intervention?

Pre-empts nastiness. If it nips unnecessary drama in the bud, why not?

We don't need nannies Tigger figuring out what we might say next. Put away your itchy trigger finger.

You haven't yet seen my itchy Tigger finger

[RuleBritannia]

OK, now that we've established that some of us are crazies...and at least some of us admit it...does anybody want to get back to the thread topic? Is there anybody out there, crazy or sane, who can actually prove that something (i.e. good and evil) is or is not a false dichotomy?

Here's a suggestion: Give an unambiguous definition for "false dichotomy", and then show that assuming good and evil do not constitute a false dichotomy leads to a contradiction. As a preliminary exercise, define "good" and "evil" in such a way that they are not the result of a plebiscite.

Hint: "heads" and "tails" is a false dichotomy because it is possible for a tossed coin to land on its edge and balance there. This is physics, and not philosophy. Electron spin is not a false dichotomy, because it is defined binary.

I disagree that heads or tails is a false dichotomy, yes the coin can land on its edge, but if it does you flip it again, because heads and tails are the only valid finishing positions.