A philisophical question.

Started by Merlyn, April 21, 2009, 10:53:20 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Merlyn

After much boredom, and deep reflective thinking.  I ended up coming up with one question, which I will now pose to all of you.

Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

MHaji

I second that, and I must ask, why is there such vanity?
Vanity, inanity - enough to choke a manatee!
Ons and offs, in song form.

-

AUCUUCUACGAACGUGAAGCUGACACUCAUAUUAGUCCCAUGAUGGAA

Silk

Because as a rule of thumb, people will allways be in the wrong in anothers eyes.

Humanity is a computer with outdated anti-virus software

Humanity is a victim of abnormal normality

Everything is right in someones eyes

Anymore?

Merlyn

Perhaps more, like...

Everyone always wants what others have.

People don't always want what they get and don't always get what they want.

And people want to have something more than what is there reality.
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

Merlyn

I meant insanity as a general broad term to define any sort of crazy non-logical behavior, I suppose. 

This question, or statement as it could be looked at, came to me after looking at some of the 'new beliefs' of my ex-girlfriend.  And then intern thinking of past ex's who were rather insane... but anyway... I then realized it could in fact be applied to just about everything.  And so I stuck it up, wanting to see what other people would have to say to either agree, comment, argue, or just in general discuss my concluding line.
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

The Overlord

Quote from: Merlyn on April 22, 2009, 01:51:03 PM
This question, or statement as it could be looked at, came to me after looking at some of the 'new beliefs' of my ex-girlfriend. 


Let me guess...she 'found god' and/or was 'reborn' and finally saw that she was 'living in sin.'


Or....she found a girlfriend?

Merlyn

Close... became a Jehovas Witness,which was what beliefs I was looking at.  I just wonder if she's gonna raise her 2yr as one.

*Note* I'm not trying to  make this become religious.
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

Inkidu

Humanity is as it always was, and as it will always be.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

The Overlord


I've no desire to steer it off that direction either, but I was just curious, being as I know what 'new beliefs' usually entails.

It is interesting, however, that Jehovah Witness should pop up in a thread on insanity...  ::)

Oniya

I'll be honest - I thought you were quoting song lyrics. It's got a decent beat, and it even rhymes.


-------Why must all of human-i-ty
be consumed by such insan-i-ty?   O8)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Merlyn

XD Yeah, I was surprised that I came up with it.  But then again I am a bit of a singer so...
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

The Overlord

Yeah but, back on topic...


We do spend much of our time creating and then mopping up insanity.




We spend our time standing for one political party or another, when none of it even matters a hundred miles above the surface of this rock we live on.

We spend our time adhering to and arguing over religions that we'll never be able to prove we're in the right until we're dead, and maybe not even then.

We actually care what Britney Spears is doing with her career.

We consider rednecks in spandex pretending to beat the hell out of each other in a wrestling ring entertainment.

We continue to defile the planet we're living on, often for a few extra dollars, in the misguided belief that we can do it all our lives: A vitally bottomless existence in a closed system. That's as easy as 2+2.



Let's face it, our resume and application to the Galactic Federation of species has come back in the mail, and goes something like this-

'Dear inhabitants of Planet Earth, your resume has been reviewed and we regret to inform you your application to join the civilized species of the known universe has been summarily rejected. Try again next century.'

kylie

Yes, check your definition of insanity. 

It often seems to come down to different systems of reasoning, to me.  We reason according to various rules or only accept certain types of examples as important.  Others may differ.

Please consider this an example.  (See, not totally hijacking!  ::))   

Quote from: The Overlord on April 23, 2009, 01:46:24 AM
We spend our time standing for one political party or another, when none of it even matters a hundred miles above the surface of this rock we live on.

It may be logically true that what happens on the planet is insignificant from a "cosmic" perspective.  Provided some sentience around, someplace, actually has the means to hold and appreciate such a perspective.  I'm not convinced we have any sort of capacity to judge where we fit in the cosmos, but I will humor you here.

I don't see any Galactic Federation coming to your rescue, awesome though such might be.  You're anticipating a Federation that would support your chosen virtues, and not one that might eat us all for lunch.  That is presuming they don't neglect or destroy us due to the sheer "cosmic" insignificance of Earth (which you have argued is a given).  It's not at all clear that simply rendering our habits sustainable, would somehow make Earth worth having in the grand scheme of the "cosmos" or of some grand Federation capable of traversing it all.

Even if such a perspective really exists, is it reasonable for us to worry about the fate of the universe when we have so little control over it?  What happens on this planet, however, we have at least a slice of observable interrelationship with.   

Thus you mention environmental issues.  And a bunch of social issues (Britney, etc.) that, while perhaps more paltry to you, have lots of implications for how we are organized and what we value.  Including whether or not we value the environment over several other social goods.

In short, I could say it's being rather insane to presume that some set of values is going to apply to any interstellar power capable of monitoring and intervening in the future of numerous worlds such as ours.  We have no evidence they exist, nor that they are environmentalists as we define them, nor that Earth is cosmically worth saving.  Overlord, on the other hand, may feel that in response to our social problems, it is eminently sane to suggest that powers capable of interstellar travel "must" be built on eco-friendly principles.


     

Inkidu

Quote from: The Overlord on April 23, 2009, 01:46:24 AM
Yeah but, back on topic...


We do spend much of our time creating and then mopping up insanity.




We spend our time standing for one political party or another, when none of it even matters a hundred miles above the surface of this rock we live on.

We spend our time adhering to and arguing over religions that we'll never be able to prove we're in the right until we're dead, and maybe not even then.

We actually care what Britney Spears is doing with her career.

We consider rednecks in spandex pretending to beat the hell out of each other in a wrestling ring entertainment.

We continue to defile the planet we're living on, often for a few extra dollars, in the misguided belief that we can do it all our lives: A vitally bottomless existence in a closed system. That's as easy as 2+2.



Let's face it, our resume and application to the Galactic Federation of species has come back in the mail, and goes something like this-

'Dear inhabitants of Planet Earth, your resume has been reviewed and we regret to inform you your application to join the civilized species of the known universe has been summarily rejected. Try again next century.'
We wait till blizzards, we drive up a snowed-in mountain. We spend thousands of dollars on strange equipment, then we pay someone obscene amounts of money to shove a hook up our ass and drag us up the mountain and we slide down it till dark, we run out of money, we break something, or we die.

Nothing is purely logical. Especially where entertainment is concerned because it's an emotional reaction not a rational one.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Rhapsody

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-- Albert Einstein
|| Games I Play||
Not Available for RP
|| O&O || Requests ||  A&A ||
Current Posting Speed: 1-2 times per week

Come to me, just in a dream. Come on and rescue me.
Yes, I know. I can be wrong. Maybe I'm too headstrong.

consortium11

Quote from: Merlyn on April 22, 2009, 01:51:03 PM
I meant insanity as a general broad term to define any sort of crazy non-logical behavior, I suppose. 

Does being non-logical necessarily mean insane though?

The Overlord

Quote from: consortium11 on April 26, 2009, 03:01:11 PM
Does being non-logical necessarily mean insane though?

I believe the clinical definitions of insanity imply you’re not entirely in control of your faculties. One can certainly be methodical and deliberate in their pursuit of non-logic.


It was sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison who said “The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.”

Andy

Quote from: Oniya on November 15, 2012, 09:32:19 PM
Remember:  Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to Hell in such a way that they thank you for the vacation tip.

Andys Creations: http://www.f-list.net/c/nullah%20mighthoof/

The Overlord

Quote from: Andy on April 26, 2009, 04:19:19 PM
Whats wrong with insanity?

Probably nothing, so long as you don't use it as an excuse in court for sticking your neighbors in your freezer.

Andy

I only use it as a exscuse for yelling in public areas.
Quote from: Oniya on November 15, 2012, 09:32:19 PM
Remember:  Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to Hell in such a way that they thank you for the vacation tip.

Andys Creations: http://www.f-list.net/c/nullah%20mighthoof/

The Overlord

Quote from: Andy on April 26, 2009, 04:59:06 PM
I only use it as a exscuse for yelling in public areas.

Which really shouldn't be a crime, unless you're yelling fire and there isn't any.

Mnemaxa

There is a cure for it.  Zen Buddhists have been practicing it for years.  Taoists try to practice it, but they tend to be even less sane seeming than ordinary people. 

And a lot of it stems from, to quote from a movie most people hate, "a series of chemical reactions designed to override the human capacity for reason."

We are not a reasonable species, because of our capacity to reason.

The Well of my Dreams is Poisoned; I draw off the Poison, which becomes the Ink of my Authorship, the Paint upon my Brush.

Merlyn

OO OO a lobotomy would be a great cure now that I think about it... even though that isn't what you're talking about.
Check here if you care why I haven't been around.
Why must all of humanity be consumed by such insanity?

"I know not with what weapons world war three will be fought with, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.

Ons and Offs

Neferus Andolini

In response to your question of why humanity is so consumed by it's own insanity, I beg you to first look at the reality that humanity exists within.

Physics tells us that your body is made up of 99.99% empty space, with 0.01% being molecules.. and that molecules are made up of 99.99% empty space, with 0.01% being atoms.. and that atoms are the same thing.

Physics also tells us that the same is true for the chair that you are currently sitting in...

To be sane.. To completely understand the nature of the universe that we exist in would certainly cause you to immediately cease to exist. And so the reason our species is completely insane is that otherwise we'd all just be random particles.

Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.

tesseractive

Quote from: Merlyn on April 22, 2009, 01:51:03 PM
I meant insanity as a general broad term to define any sort of crazy non-logical behavior, I suppose. 

People aren't logical -- people are animals built on emotions and instincts that developed the ability to use reason on occasions when the situation demanded it. And it's a good thing, too -- if you took a purely logical stance toward life, you would sit wherever you were trying to define suitable premises for your syllogisms until you starved to death or forgot to keep breathing.

Quote
Close... became a Jehovas Witness,which was what beliefs I was looking at.

The world is a place that is difficult to explain, and the things that happen in it are even more difficult to explain sometimes. Why do things happen the way they do?

A proper scientific stance would be to have no opinion, because there's little reproducible evidence that there is a greater being that makes things happen and also little reproducible evidence that everything in the universe happens for no reason, driven only by chance and the initial state of the universe.

Reserving judgement is all fine and well, but that's not a useful stance to take when you suffer tragedies in your life -- the death of family members, losing your house because you can't pay your mortgage, a hundred other things. Most people believe that things happen for a reason, not because of some dice the universe rolled a long time ago. And as soon as you start believing things happen for a reason, you're more than halfway to believing in a religion. Then it's just a question of which one makes the most sense to you.

It's not insanity at all. It's simply eight billion people, all trying to make sense of their lives as they work their way through them.
~ Tessa ~

We are never not what we are, but we are never not becoming what we will be.