Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

JeffS

Regulars
  • Posts

    512
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    JeffS got a reaction from Easy Truth in Existents and entities   
    Okay, I think I get it now.

    Is this a correct understanding:

    To directly perceive something is to see it and/or touch it in its entirety and without altering Man's perceptual faculties (without giving him special perceptive powers beyond his natural perceptive abilities).
    All entities are existents, but not all existents are entities. Some entities can be perceived directly - they can be seen and/or touched in their entirety without altering Man's perceptual faculties; these entities are referred to as "primary entities." Some entities require altering Man's perceptual faculties (e.g. to see the microscopic, to see the very far away, etc.), but in order to gain knowledge of these entities we must first understand the entities perceivable to the unaided senses. Classifying entities in this way helps us understand the way we form concepts.
  2. Like
    JeffS got a reaction from mdegges in I Fantasize About Other Women   
    I think your emotions are telling you something is wrong, and you should listen. Analyzing why you feel this way is the first step. Let me put on my psychologist's hat.

    You clearly don't love this woman to the degree necessary for a lasting and comitted relationship. You're asking for the impossible... you're asking for a contradiction. You can't have both a loving, lasting, committed relationship, and a relationship marked by you being ready to skip out and be uncommitted.

    When I was 6, 7, 8, and 9 I charmed the pants off my girl school friends - literally. In middle school I was continually in the principal's office for "inappropriate touching" (hey, they started it!). In high school I was voted the biggest flirt. In college I had a string of girlfriends - none serious. When I met my wife, it took a breakup, me moving out of state, and a couple ridiculous flings to realize I wanted to be with her forever. I value her. It's not the sex (which you seem to be a little fixated on), it's not her personality, it's not her brains, it's not her drive, it's not one thing about her. It's her. It's everything about her.

    Do I fantasize about other women? Well, who doesn't like to have sex with attractive people? Would I ever act on those impulses? Of course not. Do I flirt with other women? Never. See, choosing to have sex with or flirt with another woman would necessitate a recognition of a failure - it would mean that I failed to rationally understand my feelings for my wife. It would mean my values are out of wack and I don't understand myself. Things I pride myself on understanding and not denying.

    Do yourself and her a favor - move on.
  3. Downvote
    JeffS got a reaction from Grames in If it comes down to Obama vs. Romney...   
    I agree with that logic, too. And I agree that it may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. (to mix metaphors) I think it would be a good thing to have it all come crashing down. People don't seem to get that communism doesn't work, socialism doesn't work, socialism-lite doesn't work, a mixed economy doesn't work, and crony capitalism doesn't work. They need to be slapped in the face with consequences of their choices. The faster it falls apart, the quicker we can get to rebuilding it.
  4. Like
    JeffS got a reaction from Xall in If it comes down to Obama vs. Romney...   
    I agree with that logic, too. And I agree that it may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. (to mix metaphors) I think it would be a good thing to have it all come crashing down. People don't seem to get that communism doesn't work, socialism doesn't work, socialism-lite doesn't work, a mixed economy doesn't work, and crony capitalism doesn't work. They need to be slapped in the face with consequences of their choices. The faster it falls apart, the quicker we can get to rebuilding it.
  5. Like
    JeffS got a reaction from IchorFigure in If it comes down to Obama vs. Romney...   
    I agree with that logic, too. And I agree that it may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. (to mix metaphors) I think it would be a good thing to have it all come crashing down. People don't seem to get that communism doesn't work, socialism doesn't work, socialism-lite doesn't work, a mixed economy doesn't work, and crony capitalism doesn't work. They need to be slapped in the face with consequences of their choices. The faster it falls apart, the quicker we can get to rebuilding it.
  6. Downvote
    JeffS got a reaction from 0096 2251 2110 8105 in questions for Stephen Hawking   
    If you're traveling at the speed of light, and you turn your headlights on, what happens?
  7. Like
    JeffS got a reaction from dream_weaver in Question about instinct and intuition?   
    Malcolm Gladwell explores this in his book Blink. You should read it. The short story is that we actually take in a fantastic amount of information with our senses. Our higher brains are able to process this information even when we don't particularly focus on that information. He provides several examples of this, here is one:

    Several years ago, a sculpture was presented to a museum for purchase. The sculpture was reputed to be a Michaelangelo. The museum had numerous art specialists examine the sculpture for authenticity. To a one, each expert said they could find nothing to indicate the sculpture was not a Michealangelo, but they didn't feel right about it. None of them thought it was a Michaelangelo, but they could not point to any piece of data which led them to believe so. In other words, their "gut" told them it was a fake. The museum went ahead and bought the piece. It was later proved to be a fake. A very, very good fake with a minor flaw.

    These experts had trained themselves to recognize the genuine and the fake. They knew which data points to a fake or a genuine. Just because this data isn't glaring doesn't mean that it's not there. The brain, and the sense organs which provide it with data, are amazing organs - capable of doing far more than we give them credit for.

    When someone says, "My gut just doesn't feel right about this," they're really saying, "I have picked up a data point which I'm not quite able to process conciously right now." The appropriate response is to find out more about that data point and to analyze it rationally, not to simply go with it and pretend it's a form of knowledge.
×
×
  • Create New...