[ionia23]

Originally posted by pyro-manic
As for reading, good on yer. I'd offer one bit of advice - try to read over the whole spectrum of politics - if you limit yourself to left- or right-wing writers, you'll get a horribly distorted picture.

Contrary to popular belief, my political views are a construct of both the left and right, mixed with my own choices.

[Kazan]

Religion/supernatural beliefs/spirituality - all the same thing, the face of irrationality

[ionia23]

Originally posted by Kazan
Religion/supernatural beliefs/spirituality - all the same thing, the face of irrationality

The face of irrationality....mmmkay, I get it.

[pyro-manic]

Originally posted by Kazan
pryo-maniac: i know that truth

Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?

you are only as important as you make yourself - ie you are only important if you do some lasting good for the species.  

Absolutely. That's my goal. If I didn't have that, I might as well jump off a bridge.

Religion is a very poor means of dealing, like almost every other coping mechanism.  They need to get some backbone, act like a mature human being and face reality

I'm inclined to agree, but most people aren't mentally strong enough to do that. People have been told for thousands of years that they have a pre-destined purpose, that they should aim to get to heaven/paradise/whatever, and it's practically impossible to reverse a belief system that has been around pretty much since the dawn of civilisation. It's so deeply ingrained it'll take centuries to change it. We need to change people's ideals from "I will lead a good life so that I can go to heaven when I die" to "I will lead a good life so that those who come after me may also lead good lives". That is the major problem - the shift away from basically selfish motivation to a basically un-selfish aim.

As for irrationality, people are generally irrational beings. Otherwise we'd just be robots.

Gank: Reading the Bible is top of my list of things to do at the moment, after i get my exams out of the way (about 6 weeks till they're over). Also the Qu'ran and some Asian scripture. I'll have to get back to you on that.

ionia: Excellent. Making your own choices is the best way to go.  Just be careful when reading political stuff, 'cos the chances are the writer has a hefty bias one way or the other.

[Kazan]

pyro: i can deal with it.. it doesn't really bother me at all


Irrationality _does_ have it's place, ie emotion is appropraite at times - but not when determing 'matters of factuality'

[castor]

Just remember that every person on this planet do have an irrational side.
Denying that would be foolishness - a blind spot in your self-knowledge.

It's just the question of whether to make an effort to actively manage that part, or to let it roam freely.

[pyro-manic]

Originally posted by Kazan
pyro: i can deal with it.. it doesn't really bother me at all


Irrationality _does_ have it's place, ie emotion is appropraite at times - but not when determing 'matters of factuality'

Heheh - that's a whole 'nother debate right there....

That's cool that you don't mind - it's just that most people probably would mind, and couldn't cope with it. It's the "not minding" that will let people use their potential to the fullest. That's the really tricky part.

[an0n]

Just because God says it's right doesn't mean it's right.

To quote:

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Who's to say God is right in the first place? He answers to no-one so his beliefs are based simply on his random choosing.

Think of it this way: In 1939, in Germany, Hitler was God. He said the Jews deserved to die, so the Jews (any many other ethnic and social groups BTW) died. He said conquering Poland was a good idea, so they conquered Poland and it went great. Then someone came along who Hitler DID answer to and all of a sudden everything he believed in was wrong.

[an0n]

Originally posted by Kazan
you are only as important as you make yourself - ie you are only important if you do some lasting good for the species.

Uh, no.

Aside from the fact that wiping out the entire population of the Earth would be bad and still important, you're totally ignoring the butterfly effect.

I may not wipe out a continent, but my actions will lead to countless others which will be both amazingly good and terrifyingly bad.

Staying alive is the only really important thing any being can do.

[Kazan]

SIGNIFICANTLY important

[an0n]

You read what I posted, right?

[Ghostavo]

A single stone can change the future... but to do so it must exist.

[Kazan]

an0n: yes... i know what you mean.. but i was ignoring mass murderers and such for the sake that isn't the kind of importance you want to have

[an0n]

So? Does the fact that it's undesirable mean it's somehow less relevant?

[Kazan]

to the conversation, YES

[an0n]

So does that opinion apply to the act of genocide then?

[Kazan]

*sighs* we weren't talking about negative thinks as valid options of how to make yourself important

yes they make you important, but not in the good way so we weren't dealing with them in the conversastion

give it a rest

[Jiggyhound]

to take this back abit, how soon do you reckon a shooting war will begin between christian and muslim fundementalists?

[an0n]

A week, if I can get this damn detonator working.

[ionia23]

Originally posted by Jiggyhound
to take this back abit, how soon do you reckon a shooting war will begin between christian and muslim fundementalists?

9/13/2001 in Phoenix, Arizona.  Of course, the person killed wasn't Muslim, but Sikh.