For a moment there....I was wondering whether WU was hiding from his own thread.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
Heh, nope. When I realized that you were leading me down a path by trying to get me to say something I didn't really want to, I quit following you, knowing that you'd eventually spit out your grand design.
Well, it's certainly very honorable of WU to start a thread and carry out a "social experiment" to educate us and to demonstrate how naively some of us tend to perceive his eloquent comments. We should thank him for that.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
But "should thank him" doesn't mean that you will? Is there a reason you won't?
Well, after all, the way we interact with each other...here on this SHMB....and in real life....is fundamentally governed by human nature....and the more we comprehend it...the better we would fare in life....of course.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
Wrong, completely, utterly, without recourse incorrect. "Human nature" doesn't exist as a standardized concept simply because we're an intelligent, language using species. We can comprehend what others perceive to be "human nature" and we can choose to act the same or differently depending on our motives, beliefs and feelings. Anyone who is even passingly familiar with any school of philosophy will immediately see that there is no set "human nature", and that in fact, the very concept of human nature can be viewed as either benefiting, or acting as an obstacle to, a "better life", and philosophers have debated it endlessly since the beginning of recorded human history. A defined human nature is a myth. If you'd have said "the way we interact with each other is fundamentally governed by our own individual natures" I'd have agreed with you.
I'm not even going to begin to give credence to your assertion that actions on this board are governed by human nature, mother nature, or by anything else in outside life. That's ludicrous...
However, when you see comments like, "I AM superior than other members...", one begins to wonder....whether WU is even minimally qualified to carry out such an experiment.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
Do you even realize how ludicrous you sound, wondering if I have professional qualifications that qualify me to carry out an experiment on a hooker board? First of all, you do realize that no one has to be "qualified" in any way to conduct an experiment right? Are children "qualified" to test the temperature of a burner before they put their hand on it for the first time? "Qualifications" (and I'm not going to debate the concept of that word) only come into play when evaluating the validity of any stated results.
When WU said he's superior.....perhaps, he meant, superior in certain characteristics/traits. Say, for example....for the sake of this "experiment"......with his permission...let's try to compare WU.....to the person who maintains his garden...his gardener.
Now, WU may very well have superior language skills, math/science skills, and athletic skills, etc., compared to those of his gardener. Then again, his gardener....may have superior artistic skills and musical skills, etc., compared to those of WU.
So, they can be superior and also inferior in respective skills....when comparing the characteristics/traits of each other. And this would indeed be very logical, reasonable, and agreeable...and perhaps is what he meant by his comment.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
I commend your analysis, and I completely agree that no single person is ever going to have the most superior set of every quality that has ever existed. You have, however, entirely missed the point of your very own argument.
I said, "I AM superior to other members here...not because of my race though"
One, I'm agreeing with you. By saying "not because of my race though" I'm admitting that I'm not superior to others because of my racial quality. I'm admittedly open to the concept that I have other qualities that I am not superior to others in.
Two, by saying "members here" I could be referring to only members of this board, or only members of this of this conversation, or only members who have read this thread, or some other group. Again, you're assuming that I mean "I Am superior to other members of this board", which may or may not be correct.
Three, you're assuming that I mean "I AM superior to other members here outside of this board". Nowhere in my statement did I refer to people, or the qualities thereof, outside this board, thread, conversation, or other limiting factor implied in number two above. Your comparison of skills between myself and my gardener is inherently false. Is my gardener here on this board, in this thread, in this conversation? Do I even have a gardner? How do you do gardening on an Internet board? You're specifically comparing qualities that have no reference here. How can we accurately compare our skills in playing a musical instrument here? How can we do the same for drawing a picture? Most qualities have no bearing here whatsoever.
All we can do is measure ourselves against the specific qualities that can be quantified, catagorized, analyzed and certified as part of participation through comments posted here.
Well...the thing is.....at the very crux of it....claiming one human being (as a whole).....is superior or inferior to another human being would be quite....[what's the right word?].....inhuman.
Originally Posted by Sarunga
Interesting summation. I agree and disagree with various parts of it.
First, anyone can "claim" anything they want. I can claim that I can walk on the sun. Debate about whether I am right or wrong can continue for a long time, trust me, I've done it. So, attributing the quality of "inhuman" (and we'll analyze that word in a second) to anyone who makes a claim you don't agree with is fairly narrow minded of you. But again, that's your choice to make.
Second, I tentatively and with reservations, agree that when comparing individual persons as a complete and total entity, it is fairly fruitless to label one "superior" to another. That's a much longer discussion though.
Three, the word "inhuman" is irrelevant when describing anything. Again, you're assuming that the qualities of being human, or referring back to your "human nature", are set in stone, or all have a common frame of reference or definition. Every human defines what it means to be human in their own way, and therefore must define what it means to NOT be human in their own way. Hence there is no standard definition to support the conclusion for your argument.
I hope this clarifies things for you.