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Originally Posted by SmartAlx  Sure it does. Showing you just won't do any good. It's a waste of my time. And me not complying is not evidence that I am wrong. |
You expect that it will "do any good" to write a massive post in response to me, but you think it's a waste of your time to actually back up your own claim?
I think that speaks for itself. It doesn't say you're wrong, I agree. But that's all. You have said nothing.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx Gravity isn't obvious? |
The point of science is that things are more than merely obvious. They are tested and seen to bear out their obviousness with actual, repeatable data with independent verification. When you look at something, do you immediately perceive its atomic structure? Do you know the melting point of any old piece of metal?
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx They just want to be in the choir blissfully ignorant that their preacher is a conman. From the way you are talking it's clear that you are no different than anyone else I've been talking to. Your mind is made up and you won't change it. You've been so deceived and brainwashed that you can not see what is right in front of your face. You won't believe any proof I provide you. |
What proof? How could I believe your proof when it hasn't been presented?
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx No I'm not. And if I am actually you, if we are the same "oneness" then why am I arguing with you? Why are you arguing with me? Why don't we believe the same thing. No one's been able to explain that one. If we are all the same consciousness and you try not to manifest conflict, why is there so much of it in the world? |
Oh, I am definitely trying to create conflict in the world. Definitely. But you aren't arguing against me anymore anyways. We must be in harmony or something. I'm not doing very good, am I.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx So you recognize that there is a conflict between our desire to be selfless and our tendency to be selfish. And your answer to that problem is to give up our desire to be selfless? To embrace our selfishness? To be even more selfish??? |
I pointed out in another thread you started that selflessness is essentially non-existence. Maybe you prefer to be meaningless. Me, I make the world better and I don't pretend that I'm a saint because I do.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx That doesn't make sense. It's just giving up! It's laziness. It's denying the progress that came from selflessness. |
No, it's understanding that progress from a different perspective.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx Did you believe it was ridiculous before or after the 6 years began? |
Yes.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx Did you go into your study in the search of real knowledge or was it a pursuit of finding something to back up your preconceived notion? |
Actually, I was trying to figure out what the word "love" meant. I got through about four drafts during those six years. The nature of self just happened to be one of the many things I needed to figure out as part of the groundwork. It ended up being an integral part of my definition.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx That's not science. That's pseudo-science. |
When I said that my claim was not backed up by science, maybe you should have given it some thought:
I AM NOT DOING SCIENCE. Neither are you.
This is philosophy. Or, if you prefer, theology.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx I've studied this question (about why we want to be selfless but so often aren't) before too. The answer is original sin. |
Sure. And let's rephrase "original sin" to mean "small-mindedness". Usually, to be small-minded is simply a synonym for "selfish", but it also throws in phrases like "constrained in thought", "inconsiderate", or "narrow focus in lieu of the big picture".
It means that most people don't think about others (constrained in thought). They do not consider them (they're inconsiderate). They ignore them because they're self-centered and concerned more about themselves than others.
What's the natural opposite of this? Magnamity. Generosity. Kindness. Mi casa es su casa. What's mine is yours. Who needs property? We share, because we are brothers, because I will be sad if you are without something you want, and you will be sad if I am lacking. You need some help, sure, everyone pitches in. Who owns this? Everyone does. It's ours. Who owns this piece of land? No one. It's just land.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx We are meant to be wholy selfless. |
I think I understand our disagreement now. You worship this word, "selfless", as if it were God himself. I am not attached to words.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx Sure they wanted fame and fortune too. But look at Tesla. I think his desire was more altruistic than Edison. His dream was to provide free energy to all of mankind. He was more altruistic than Edison. |
Yes, but it was also just as much a love of discovery, fulfilling a joy that was in himself. Isn't that selfish? I think so. It was self-serving. That his selfishness was paired with a dream to raise up all of humanity doesn't surprise me: that's what made him admirable. But I think trying to reconcile those two concepts would be more difficult for you.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx Just imagine a world full of psychopaths! I don't mean a world full of mass murderers. I mean a world full of clinically psychopathic people. What a disaster that would be. But that is precisely the world you are advocating. |
Your grasp of logical argument amuses me. Here's the fallacy you're using now:
Appeal to fear - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I do not expect people to be logicians, but I dislike it when people who run on with dozens of fallacies laced together start whining about their opponents' lack of logic. It's hypocritical, and it doesn't help anything.
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx I've never heard it put that way before, an actual genetic mutation. I'm pretty sure that scientists believe that selfishness came first and altruism developed later as a result of peer bonding. |
There are thousands of cases of apparent altruism in animals. Look it up. You'll definitely find a lot of literature out there studying this phenomenon. Maybe while you're working on that, you could also find me one of those experiments showing how science backs you up, hey?
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Originally Posted by SmartAlx I can understand why you would get that from what I wrote, but it's missing the point. I made a different point but was also putting it into words a selfish person can understand so they can the benefit from a selfish perspective. |
If they did, then they wouldn't become more selfless, would they?
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There's a bit more to my post, but I've run out of space.