Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Lapierre  Absolutely. But educated guesses. You're welcome to correct them if they're wrong.
Completely without emotion? If so, how would someone learn what's right or wrong in a way that doesn't cripple their ability to interact with other people (as in those whose ability to experience a full range of emotion is disabled by brain damage)?
Not in those words. But the implication is clear in the words you did use. I'll highlight a few phrases to make it clearer:
Those are all damning statements. And while my caricature of the connotations of your words was admittedly exaggerated, it's not much of a stretch.
Indeed I did, but not only my thoughts, but the verbally expressed thoughts of others. Your words suited the framework that many other similar words and matching meanings have built. Perhaps your understanding is different to those that have come before you, but so far you haven't shown that that's the case.
This is a very different statement from "you should not feel guilty". However it's the interpretation I responded to when I said you do kinda have a point. I then pointed out why that advice is inconsistent with the statements that "guilt serves no productive purpose to someone who's not run by ego" and "you should not feel guilty".
Ahh, a different situation than when your actions lead to guilt. In this case your entrenched, mostly unconscious belief that underage girls should not be seen as sexually appealing is in conflict with your belief that that attraction is natural and therefore not a bad thing. But in this situation your guilt can still highlight the beliefs which may need to change. And thankfully it's not true that this example is impossible to avoid. A focus on and experience of more acceptable forms of sexual stimulation would be likely to reduce the appeal of underage girls. Maybe not completely, but at least enough to further reduce the guilt you feel because of any lingering attraction, and though it hopefully isn't relevant, it could also reduce any small chance of acting on the attraction in a way that could hurt someone. And if the guilt continues to bother you there is always the option of professional help, the acceptance of which is in no way a confirmation that there's anything mentally wrong with you. |
You can pick apart every word, distort it, convoluted it, distract from it... essentially argue... or you can try to understand by asking what people mean instead of accusing. You can have in the forefront of your mind "I'm going to prove I'm right." or "I want to learn from this communication." Examine your phrasing as an outside observer. While doing so, don't be thinking, "Where can I prove him wrong." Instead, try thinking, "How can I understand what he's seeing."