Quote:
Originally Posted by this is fun  That's good for you. But I've seen situations where people should have told someone to mind their own business.
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I cannot list every possible situation, but let's say if I saw someone putting at risk/hurting themselves or others: if a friend was depressed I'd try to help, if someone close had a gambling problem I'd try to bring the subject up with them, problems with alcohol/drugs/violence etc. On the other hand, if they told me they wanted to plant a tree in the middle of their living room I'd say okay  |
Why would you say okay?
You use "hurting themselves or others" as a criteria, but even "hurt" may be subjective depending on the beliefs of that person. Returning to the smoking problem; you know a person hurts himself (and others) in the process of smoking, yet he/she may think that it's his own business/decision/etc.
So, even if you try to mind your own business, you use your own definition, your own criteria of when or when not to mind other peoples' business. And you probably couldn't do otherwise since you need some point of reference in order to make decisions regarding your interaction with other people - and that in turn does depend on your beliefs... and the information you have.
What makes you think that the tree in the living room won't hurt anyone?
(Being extreme for examples' sake) The roots of the tree could jeopardize the architectural foundations of the building and increase the risk of it collapsing and killing everyone under the rubble, including you if you're living in the same building. Your friend who wants to plant the tree (or wants to keep smoking) may not know all that information...
One of my reference beliefs is that, since we're all human and live in a big society, we're also all
interrelated: The decisions of one person may have consequences on the decisions and behavior of another person.
OK, so one tree may not be enough to collapse the building. But since he planted it, and he's oh so confident and everyone admires him (
), everyone else in the building wants to plant a tree as well and follow his example!
One persons' actions and words can serve as an example to other people.
e.g. If a few people base their decision to become promiscuous on asymmetric information (e.g. "All humans are born promiscuous."), some might follow them, then many will follow them, and in little time it becomes a social trend... and thereby increase the profit of pharmaceutical companies producing drugs against STDs
state health expenditures, your income tax... but on top of everything, it reduces your chances to find a faithful partner
Whatever happens in society affects you and depends on what its components do. Its' components are other individuals and... you.