After all, we all eat, sleep, and play, work or study. Most of us have friends and families. Our experiences ought to be similar. In turn, it means that we should be able to identify and sympathize with almost anyone on earth.
If I remember correctly, you could no longer bear listening to what you just described as common experiences of humanity.
I can explain myself better. It's the dose...
The very best food stays that way only if you stop eating it while you still want more of it.
...and the perspective that are crucial.
The view, the light, the angle... Anything can be interesting when its picture is taken by a gifted photographer, put on stage by a talented company, performed by an artistic musician, or told by a skillful storyteller. Come to think of it, the adjective, oblique, means indirect or evasive.
If something is not of an oblique angle, it is of a right angle or a multiple of a right angle.
I don't think it implies that being direct is correct.
It certainly depends on the situation, but I am of the opinion that insinuations are much more effective in the long run than making your thoughts too clear.
Think about the chill that runs along the spine when the message is finally understood!
That chill can be from joy or... It is effective, because it makes you realize that you had stayed ignorant up to that point. In other words, you have made a fool of yourself. Since the message is indirect, you start examining the situation yourself, and that gradually. It is almost like taking slow-working medicine/poison unknowingly before going to bed every night.
And one day... Quelle horreur ! Ah non, quelle joie ! It could be that, too, I hope.
It is powerful, because you reach the conclusion on your own.
We would not want to put a good friend in that position if the message is negative, do we?
That is true, but there are limits, as always. I don't want to tell a person that I get tired of listening to the-tip-of-my-cat's-tail-hasn't-been-quite-right, I-am-spending-too-much-time-on-the-phone-but-I-don't-know-what-to-do, I-thought-Barber-A-was-decent-but-he-isn't-and-I-much-prefer-Barber-Z-now, all-my-neighbors-are-either-boring-or-nasty, my-distant-relative-who-lives-far-away-ran-away-from-home, etc., etc., etc. That would make me an evil person.
It's all about you, eh? Don't you care about the person to whom you would be saying that?
As I said, I would never say anything like that. I know that I would feel very bad, thinking about the psychological damage that I would have inflicted. And, that is the deterrent.
Put differently, you don't want to make someone feel bad, because that would make you feel bad---correct?
The most reliable source of our actions is biological impulses that directly concern ourselves.
Not again!
Sadly, we will always go back to that one. But don't get it wrong, it certainly does not mean that we are all destined to act like savages.
I thought almost everyone expect us was a savage...
The trick is to how to program morality into your biology.
How can you do that?
Emotions are based on biochemical reactions, and we can train ourselves so that we would feel psychological pain when we envisage engaging in immoral acts.
Do I have to sign up for a brain-washing camp?
Some of our psychological reactions are innate, but we can also experience an event that creates a response pattern to similar ones.
The stronger the emotions invoked by an event are, the more entrenched that pattern would be. If it is too negative, it can wreck you for good. Is this how it works?
In order to make use of our biological processes to meet our needs, conscious management of our emotions is required.
May I ask how you manage yours, ahem?
It may sound trivial, but just summarizing your experience in words in your mind reinforces your view of it.
This was good, I would like to do it again. That was bad, I hope I don't have to get into that situation any more. If I do, I would like to act differently. That kind of stuff?
Exactly, our thoughts are based on biochemical reactions, just as emotions are.
Thinking about what you want to do would help realizing it. I think we talked about this one.
That was more about life goals, but the principle applies to mundane acts as well. Anyway, are you now convinced that the very source of our behavior is biology, but the mechanism is alterable by our conscious efforts to do so?
Doesn't it mean, though, that we only do what brings us pleasure?
In effect, yes.
I know that I wouldn't feel good if I leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight, but I occasionally do.
I would say that the pain of washing the dishes immediately is larger than the pain of seeing them next morning still dirty. It may appear like a stupid act, but I don't think it is.
Really?
Lately, I have been amazed how complicated a calculation we carry out on deciding what to do.
Aren't the calculations sometimes wrong?
I used to think that way, but I no longer believe so. You may not be able to verbalize how you reached your conclusion, but your mind with all the biological inputs have done the intricate calculation for you. You choose to let the dirt on your dishes cake overnight if the biochemical output says so.
Where is my consciousness, then?
It is possible that on certain occasions you think, "No, I don't want to see caked food on my dishes tomorrow morning. I am going to do the dishes tonight." Your conscious thinking makes you overcome your unconscious thinking.
If both thinking are biochemical, shouldn't the result be the same at any time?
I guess your willingness to wash the dishes right away is weak. Not entrenched, so to speak. Sometimes the chemicals work to make that feeling strong, other times not. If you think about it more strongly, I am sure that you will be able to trigger that reaction every time.
What about drug addiction and such? Many people do want to quit, but many also do not manage.
We do need our will, but the environment affects it. For example, what if there is no prospect of finding a job, even for drug-free people? It is better to stay addicted and feel good. There is little incentive to quit, and that diminishes our desire to do so.
I'd say that is the same with people who engage in one crime after another.
I agree. Some people know that there is little to lose by engaging to criminal acts. They may not be able to explain it so, but their desperation is supported by nothing other than their biochemical reactions in their mind. We all do intricate math in our heads without knowing its precise mechanism.
We can run without being able to explain how to move which muscle at a given moment. It's akin to that.
We also know people who remain in so-called bad relationships. I'd say that they have done their calculations, too, and the outcomes tell them to keep the relationships.
You can listen to others' complaints and pretend that you are a nice person, as long as you can complain to me about them---is this what you are implying?
If I remember correctly, you could no longer bear listening to what you just described as common experiences of humanity.
I can explain myself better. It's the dose...
The very best food stays that way only if you stop eating it while you still want more of it.
...and the perspective that are crucial.
The view, the light, the angle... Anything can be interesting when its picture is taken by a gifted photographer, put on stage by a talented company, performed by an artistic musician, or told by a skillful storyteller. Come to think of it, the adjective, oblique, means indirect or evasive.
If something is not of an oblique angle, it is of a right angle or a multiple of a right angle.
I don't think it implies that being direct is correct.
It certainly depends on the situation, but I am of the opinion that insinuations are much more effective in the long run than making your thoughts too clear.
Think about the chill that runs along the spine when the message is finally understood!
That chill can be from joy or... It is effective, because it makes you realize that you had stayed ignorant up to that point. In other words, you have made a fool of yourself. Since the message is indirect, you start examining the situation yourself, and that gradually. It is almost like taking slow-working medicine/poison unknowingly before going to bed every night.
And one day... Quelle horreur ! Ah non, quelle joie ! It could be that, too, I hope.
It is powerful, because you reach the conclusion on your own.
We would not want to put a good friend in that position if the message is negative, do we?
That is true, but there are limits, as always. I don't want to tell a person that I get tired of listening to the-tip-of-my-cat's-tail-hasn't-been-quite-right, I-am-spending-too-much-time-on-the-phone-but-I-don't-know-what-to-do, I-thought-Barber-A-was-decent-but-he-isn't-and-I-much-prefer-Barber-Z-now, all-my-neighbors-are-either-boring-or-nasty, my-distant-relative-who-lives-far-away-ran-away-from-home, etc., etc., etc. That would make me an evil person.
It's all about you, eh? Don't you care about the person to whom you would be saying that?
As I said, I would never say anything like that. I know that I would feel very bad, thinking about the psychological damage that I would have inflicted. And, that is the deterrent.
Put differently, you don't want to make someone feel bad, because that would make you feel bad---correct?
The most reliable source of our actions is biological impulses that directly concern ourselves.
Not again!
Sadly, we will always go back to that one. But don't get it wrong, it certainly does not mean that we are all destined to act like savages.
I thought almost everyone expect us was a savage...
The trick is to how to program morality into your biology.
How can you do that?
Emotions are based on biochemical reactions, and we can train ourselves so that we would feel psychological pain when we envisage engaging in immoral acts.
Do I have to sign up for a brain-washing camp?
Some of our psychological reactions are innate, but we can also experience an event that creates a response pattern to similar ones.
The stronger the emotions invoked by an event are, the more entrenched that pattern would be. If it is too negative, it can wreck you for good. Is this how it works?
In order to make use of our biological processes to meet our needs, conscious management of our emotions is required.
May I ask how you manage yours, ahem?
It may sound trivial, but just summarizing your experience in words in your mind reinforces your view of it.
This was good, I would like to do it again. That was bad, I hope I don't have to get into that situation any more. If I do, I would like to act differently. That kind of stuff?
Exactly, our thoughts are based on biochemical reactions, just as emotions are.
Thinking about what you want to do would help realizing it. I think we talked about this one.
That was more about life goals, but the principle applies to mundane acts as well. Anyway, are you now convinced that the very source of our behavior is biology, but the mechanism is alterable by our conscious efforts to do so?
Doesn't it mean, though, that we only do what brings us pleasure?
In effect, yes.
I know that I wouldn't feel good if I leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight, but I occasionally do.
I would say that the pain of washing the dishes immediately is larger than the pain of seeing them next morning still dirty. It may appear like a stupid act, but I don't think it is.
Really?
Lately, I have been amazed how complicated a calculation we carry out on deciding what to do.
Aren't the calculations sometimes wrong?
I used to think that way, but I no longer believe so. You may not be able to verbalize how you reached your conclusion, but your mind with all the biological inputs have done the intricate calculation for you. You choose to let the dirt on your dishes cake overnight if the biochemical output says so.
Where is my consciousness, then?
It is possible that on certain occasions you think, "No, I don't want to see caked food on my dishes tomorrow morning. I am going to do the dishes tonight." Your conscious thinking makes you overcome your unconscious thinking.
If both thinking are biochemical, shouldn't the result be the same at any time?
I guess your willingness to wash the dishes right away is weak. Not entrenched, so to speak. Sometimes the chemicals work to make that feeling strong, other times not. If you think about it more strongly, I am sure that you will be able to trigger that reaction every time.
What about drug addiction and such? Many people do want to quit, but many also do not manage.
We do need our will, but the environment affects it. For example, what if there is no prospect of finding a job, even for drug-free people? It is better to stay addicted and feel good. There is little incentive to quit, and that diminishes our desire to do so.
I'd say that is the same with people who engage in one crime after another.
I agree. Some people know that there is little to lose by engaging to criminal acts. They may not be able to explain it so, but their desperation is supported by nothing other than their biochemical reactions in their mind. We all do intricate math in our heads without knowing its precise mechanism.
We can run without being able to explain how to move which muscle at a given moment. It's akin to that.
We also know people who remain in so-called bad relationships. I'd say that they have done their calculations, too, and the outcomes tell them to keep the relationships.
You can listen to others' complaints and pretend that you are a nice person, as long as you can complain to me about them---is this what you are implying?
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