Average

The US is already savagely cruel and exceedingly brutal in my book and has been for a long time. One look at the CIA and it’s track record should be e...

I don’t think so.

The practice I’m condemning is the destruction of innocent life and not the punishment of the guilty.

I wish you would clearly state your precise meaning when you use words like barbarizing because historically concepts like civilization and barbarism ...

If you know anything about the 13th amendment then you know that slavery is acceptable under the constitution as a form of punishment.

Do you mean the basic human dignity of the serial killer?

I apologize because I was under the opposite impression. I do think that I’m using the words in precisely the way you outlined. Meaning that I use the...

Interesting. I’m not sure that we disagree. I never said that feeling a certain way is illegitimate. But I maintain that the truth is the sweetest thi...

Of course this isn’t what I’m advocating. But let’s discuss the question in hypothetical terms. If it could be proven that no one would be wrongfully ...

I don’t have as much faith as you do in statistics. I believe that things like courts and prisons are actually weapons in the hands of a ruling class....

I would argue that this only constrains what the state does in front of everyone but not what it does in secret.

What do you mean exactly by “in the other direction”?

The state doesn’t need permission to do anything. Historically It does whatever it wants. As far as false accusations, false convictions and abuses of...

I agree

Plato thought that “Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance“

I’d rather be told the tragic truth in such a situation than a a comforting lie. To me it is lies that are bitter but I understand your position and I...

I’m on board with torturing them mercilessly. Not because I’m some kind of sadist but because I think it would help deter others from engaging in simi...

At what point does suffering become “gratuitous”? Or what is necessary for suffering to be “gratuitous”? I’m assuming you mean uncalled for; lacking g...

Would you consider it evil if those “others” were serial killers? I personally don’t think that it would be evil. Maybe you mean innocent people thoug...

Could you refer me to a specific dialogue?

I think that his criticism is what I have in mind when I mention sophistry.

I think what we’re basically discussing is whether or not sophistry is misinformation, disinformation, or both. I think that it is probably both.

It would depend on the product. If you’re advertising a product that will destroy someone’s life and you either don’t care or aren’t aware then I woul...

LoL

I’m apologize if I misinterpreted your words. It just seems like the problem is that people are being divided and not that they are divided. When you ...

Maybe the example of some unscrupulous politicians and their political campaigns might illustrate my notion better.

I don’t think that these things are necessarily mutually exclusive.

I don’t think that these things are necessarily mutually exclusive.

Could you give me an example?

I’ll do my best Tom. I’d like to start off with what I said at the beginning when I characterized sophistry As an art of persuasion which is separated...

You have my undivided attention if you’d like to delineate sophistry from choreographed lies and propaganda used to convince people of things which ar...

He also said: Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few r...

I think I’m more sympathetic to the Machiavellian position on the question of incredulity. He said: Men are so simple, and governed so absolutely by t...

Lol

I tried to give the example of the nazis but if I’m being honest the multi billion dollar industries you mentioned are good examples in my opinion. Ed...

lol yup

The truth is never bitter my friend. It is the sweetest thing there is.

What metric or criterion do you use to detect evil? I’m just curious. I personally think that words like evil can be used by people to refer to whatev...

I think what he said is at least part of the reason “solidarity” is not only difficult but is also sometimes undesirable.

I thought you might have something like what Machiavelli had in mind. He said: For this can be said of men in general: that they are ungrateful, fickl...

I think that division is part of the whole divide and conquer strategy. Blaming the victims doesn’t seem like the right decision.

What reason is there to suspect that this might be the case?

What do you have in mind when you mention human nature? I’m not trying to score intellectual points, I’m just curious.

What metric or criterion are you using to measure rationality?

We can be said to know something when we have irrefutable proof that it is correct. A belief can be justified if it is necessarily the case.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RWZZNfFP8bk

I enjoyed the listen.

I’m just having fun. No malicious intent. I thought you wanted an example of what I meant by “obtaining from other men”.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0WJkysRmM

Maybe I just don’t understand the concept of distributed cognition. Would you mind giving me a short summary?