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ppw

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  1. Like
    ppw got a reaction from JASKN in Overcoming choice paralysis   
    I really shouldn't be the one to give you advice, because I seem to have a variant of the same issue, but try to think over this: Even if you don't make a choice ... you've still made one.
  2. Like
    ppw reacted to Nicky in The bad guy won. The fight continues.   
    An example of religious totalitarianism is Iran, or the Dark Ages. Calling Romney a religious fascist is much greater hyperbole than even calling the Tea Party socialists. Romney wants religiously motivated government control in a couple of areas (all of which can easily be circumvented by simply traveling out of the state, not even the country - since even the very unlikely overturning of Roe v. Wade would only result in a few states limiting abortion), while Obama wants near-full control of all Americans' work, more than half of all their earnings, full control over their health care, etc. , and he's proven that there's no escape from him anywhere on this planet (by enforcing his fascism all the way into Switzerland).

    But, I'm sure, logic will fall on deaf ears, and Kate will continue proving the evil ways of everyone but the political Left with her endless stream of fallacious arguments and plain arbitrary assertions, and consider herself the smartest, most modern and open minded person on here, for doing it. She's every freshly brainwashed, liberal college graduate I've ever met.
  3. Like
    ppw got a reaction from mdegges in Objectivism FAQ App   
    Here's a couple of examples off the top of my head:

    1) Ayn Rand was against government handouts, but took Medicare, what's up with that?
    2) Why does Objectivism reject religion?
    3) Why is 'force' bad in Objectivism?
    4) Why does Objectivism advocate capitalism?
    5) Isn't selfishness a bad thing?
    6) If the government is the source of all problems today, why not get rid of it altogether?
    7) Objectivism is a cult, isn't it?
    8) Didn't Ayn Rand love capitalism because she hated Russia so much while she lived there?
    9) Doesn't accepting Objectivism's ideas turn you into a mindless follower of Ayn Rand, a Randroid?
    10) Why did Ayn Rand boot her best student Nathaniel Branden out of her circle?
    11) Why isn't Objectivism taken seriously in academia?
    12) Why is charity not a virtue in Objectivism?
    13) How does Objectivism differentiate selfishness from narcissism or being self-absorbed?
    14) Why does Objectivism view Immanuel Kant as a villain?
    15) How did Ayn Rand conceive of love?
    16) According to the morality of Objectivism, was it proper for the United States to get involved in World War II / Vietnam / Iraq ?
    17) What does it mean for 'existence to exist'?
    18) I have never seen a John Galt in real life, doesn't that mean Objectivism is too idealistic to be realistic?
    19) I think the philosophy of Objectivism is divorced from reality, a giant castle in the clouds. Can you prove me wrong?
    20) If I accepted Objectivism, I feel that my individuality would be destroyed. Why is that?
    21) Doesn't Ayn Rand's fascination with William Edward Hickman mean her philosophy was deranged?

    etc.
  4. Like
    ppw got a reaction from softwareNerd in Objectivism FAQ App   
    Here's a couple of examples off the top of my head:

    1) Ayn Rand was against government handouts, but took Medicare, what's up with that?
    2) Why does Objectivism reject religion?
    3) Why is 'force' bad in Objectivism?
    4) Why does Objectivism advocate capitalism?
    5) Isn't selfishness a bad thing?
    6) If the government is the source of all problems today, why not get rid of it altogether?
    7) Objectivism is a cult, isn't it?
    8) Didn't Ayn Rand love capitalism because she hated Russia so much while she lived there?
    9) Doesn't accepting Objectivism's ideas turn you into a mindless follower of Ayn Rand, a Randroid?
    10) Why did Ayn Rand boot her best student Nathaniel Branden out of her circle?
    11) Why isn't Objectivism taken seriously in academia?
    12) Why is charity not a virtue in Objectivism?
    13) How does Objectivism differentiate selfishness from narcissism or being self-absorbed?
    14) Why does Objectivism view Immanuel Kant as a villain?
    15) How did Ayn Rand conceive of love?
    16) According to the morality of Objectivism, was it proper for the United States to get involved in World War II / Vietnam / Iraq ?
    17) What does it mean for 'existence to exist'?
    18) I have never seen a John Galt in real life, doesn't that mean Objectivism is too idealistic to be realistic?
    19) I think the philosophy of Objectivism is divorced from reality, a giant castle in the clouds. Can you prove me wrong?
    20) If I accepted Objectivism, I feel that my individuality would be destroyed. Why is that?
    21) Doesn't Ayn Rand's fascination with William Edward Hickman mean her philosophy was deranged?

    etc.
  5. Like
    ppw got a reaction from mdegges in Ever wanted to push people to D2 from D1 like Ra's al Ghul tried?   
    Getting pleasure out of seeing others frustrated isn't exactly a sign of a rational mind.
  6. Like
    ppw got a reaction from Tabernac in "Unfair to be white" campaign begins   
    This is its logical extreme, but such "anti-racism" to any degree is still racism.
  7. Like
    ppw reacted to Mister A in Painbody Energy Field?   
    I've read Tolle's literature before and imho there is some sense hidden under the neo-mystical hokum, especially if you are familiar with existentialism and Eastern thought.

    The Pain-Body is the accumulated frustation caused by the disparity between reality and the ego's expectations; the more unhealthy and irrational the ego, the wider the disparity. If this frustration is left to fester, there is the danger of identifying with the negative sentiment for various lengths of time. When this identification occurs, there is a strong tendency to reinforce it by placing yourself in self-defeating situations that accrue more negative sentiment (as a victim or aggressor, the goal is the same). This state is short-circuited and placed back into dormancy when you become conscious of the potential harm to yourself. But some people are so entrenched in the identification that any attempt to focus consciousness is disrupted by automatized evasion; a perfect example in fiction is James Taggart.
  8. Like
    ppw reacted to Grames in The Illusion of Free Will   
    This is what David Kelley identifies as the demand for diaphanousness, that consciousness needs to grasp reality directly without any of that nasty dirty matter as a means. The trend in philosophy from Kant up through the twentieth century has been that because the brain is made of that nasty dirty matter then it could not grasp reality. Your position is a pre-Kantian regression to religious idealism, an Augustinian or Platonist abhorrence of matter. You are obsolete by three centuries and counting.
  9. Like
    ppw reacted to Eiuol in The Value Of Small Talk   
    The vibe I'm getting here is that you feel trapped in your own motivations in life because you cannot be "truly" independent. To get by, you *have to* make consessions to other people in terms of small talk and other social relationships - or at least, that's how it appears to you. Wading through, day after day, yet no one really provides much value. At the same time, your boss is asking you to do things, or else you'll be fired. I don't know your context; I don't know if it is truly as bad as you say it is. Then again, some jobs *are* this miserable. But are you really trapped? If your job causes misery, and the people around you too, why do you stick around? Get a new job. Develop your own job. Take some drastic change in your life. To stick with the current negative, narcissistic route - everyone is stupid, they all want to hold me down, anything that prevents me from acting on a whim is a violation to freedom - is not going to get you anywhere. Take new jobs, make new choices, pursue what you are in the power to control. Extreme negativity will come out of keeping up with a bland, boring job. Of course freedom seems delusional, given that you keep choosing to go into the same miserable job, day after day. You admit to being a narcissist before, so you may very well still be working out of that mindset.

    Careful not to just throw up your hands and assume other people are so terrible around you. Are there any qualities you like in those around you? Can you make something out of your job that's valuable, and up morale of your workplace? Is there anything exciting about what you do?
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