161 replies to this topic

[acidhead]

Br Cornelius, on 18 October 2012 - 05:04 PM, said:

When you have a meaningful question get back to me.

Br Cornelius

We're talking about greed.  I believe it cannot be controlled and I think you think the otherwise.

The last question I asked you is a direct question.  Greed is competition.  It is in all of us.. that includes you and me, everyone.  We are all drivin by our own personal interests based upon our own individual experiences in life.  We compete with ourselves daily.  It's what we do to better ourselves so we can better others.

[Br Cornelius]

acidhead, on 19 October 2012 - 05:42 AM, said:

We're talking about greed.  I believe it cannot be controlled and I think you think the otherwise.

The last question I asked you is a direct question.  Greed is competition.  It is in all of us.. that includes you and me, everyone.  We are all drivin by our own personal interests based upon our own individual experiences in life.  We compete with ourselves daily.  It's what we do to better ourselves so we can better others.

It is far from all we do and that is your mistake in believing it is.
There are so many examples of people giving up their own lives to save others (not relatives) to give the lie to your delusion.

Its a tragic world where you believe that everyone is out to get you and do you down.

Br Cornelius

[acidhead]

Br Cornelius, on 21 October 2012 - 08:34 AM, said:

It is far from all we do and that is your mistake in believing it is.
There are so many examples of people giving up their own lives to save others (not relatives) to give the lie to your delusion.

Its a tragic world where you believe that everyone is out to get you and do you down.

Br Cornelius

I believe each individual challenges themselves to be better.  This betters society.  A society comprised of individuals challenging themselves daily benefits more than it does less.  Individuals who challenge themselves learn to love one's self.   Once you love yourself you learn how to love others, and yes also unconditionally.  It doesn't come without sacrifice.

Edited by acidhead, 22 October 2012 - 03:40 AM.

[Br Cornelius]

acidhead, on 22 October 2012 - 03:32 AM, said:

I believe each individual challenges themselves to be better.  This betters society.  A society comprised of individuals challenging themselves daily benefits more than it does less.  Individuals who challenge themselves learn to love one's self.   Once you love yourself you learn how to love others, and yes also unconditionally.  It doesn't come without sacrifice.

Which doesn't approach the principles of social economic Darwinism. I can be the best I can be with doing anyone down, I can even be the best I can be by actively helping others to be the best that they can be. No need to compete with anyone to be the best you can be.

Br Cornelius

[acidhead]

Br Cornelius, on 22 October 2012 - 05:30 PM, said:

Which doesn't approach the principles of social economic Darwinism. I can be the best I can be with doing anyone down, I can even be the best I can be by actively helping others to be the best that they can be. No need to compete with anyone to be the best you can be.

Br Cornelius

In order to be the best you can be you need to compete with yourself and other individuals.

[Br Cornelius]

acidhead, on 24 October 2012 - 04:04 AM, said:

In order to be the best you can be you need to compete with yourself and other individuals.

this is purely a choice of words - compete / self improvement. I choose self improvement as it describes the process that I bring to bare on myself, not some imagined competition with everyone else.
I also choose to judge the success of my self improvement by the improvements it brings into the lives of those I choose to interact with. As such I am not competing with them, I am involved in a creative evolution of a higher state of existance for us all.

Your choice of language in decribing those processes as competition predifines the likely outcomes as been less than they could be.

I will leave you with an example of what I mean - I am involved in a social process called a marriage and that marriage is defined by the effort in which I put in raising my wife and childrens state to one of happiness. I am not competing with my wife and I most certainly am not competing with my childrens. The family is the basis of a stable and productive society and the success I achieve in maintaining my marriage defines the quality of the society in which I live. Competition plays no part in that process.

Br Cornelius

[acidhead]

Br Cornelius, on 24 October 2012 - 04:24 PM, said:

this is purely a choice of words - compete / self improvement. I choose self improvement as it describes the process that I bring to bare on myself, not some imagined competition with everyone else.

I also choose to judge the success of my self improvement by the improvements it brings into the lives of those I choose to interact with. As such I am not competing with them, I am involved in a creative evolution of a higher state of existance for us all.

Your choice of language in decribing those processes as competition predifines the likely outcomes as been less than they could be.

I will leave you with an example of what I mean - I am involved in a social process called a marriage and that marriage is defined by the effort in which I put in raising my wife and childrens state to one of happiness. I am not competing with my wife and I most certainly am not competing with my childrens. The family is the basis of a stable and productive society and the success I achieve in maintaining my marriage defines the quality of the society in which I live. Competition plays no part in that process.

Br Cornelius

Just curious.... Has it ever crossed your mind that when individuals compete with each other they become better at it because they were competing?   Marriage is defined as a social contract between a man and a woman.   It's a deal signed.  I'm sure you are a great husband and a loving father.... I have no doubt given your passion.  The family comes first.  It always does and always will in every caring household.  You look out for number one.  When push comes to shove you place everything you value in life into one basket and protect it.  This is competing.... it's also where greed comes from but that's another topic.

[acidhead]

In fact, we're competing right now BR.

[Br Cornelius]

acidhead, on 25 October 2012 - 06:05 AM, said:

In fact, we're competing right now BR.

To deny the existence of competition as a human motivation would be foolish, since it obviously exists.

However the tendency to exalt it to the primary dominant motivation is to deny the obvious dynamic of most societal interaction which is primarily based on cooperation. The same is true throughout nature where cooperation is the default relationship where mutual exchange of resources creates synergies which are greater than the component parts working separately. Look to plant fungi interactions at the roots, or E.coli gut interactions in humans.

I am not competing here, I would hope that I am helping you to rebalance a very squewd  outlook on  the world. Ultimately the outcome is immaterial to me and having made my point I will leave this discussion and hope that this fetish for competition as the only human motive will have lost some of its luster in the eyes of the people reading this.

Br Cornelius

[Br Cornelius]

Quote

Just curious.... Has it ever crossed your mind that when individuals compete with each other they become better at it because they were competing?

We mainly get better at things by learning from others - by been taught - which is primarily a cooperative process.

99% of life is not a series of life or death decisions where looking out for number one means the difference between life and death. This is what competition evolved to cope with, and in the vast majority of situation it is a misplaced motive for deciding your best  course of action in any given situation.

Br Cornelius

[acidhead]

Br Cornelius, on 25 October 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

We mainly get better at things by learning from others - by been taught - which is primarily a cooperative process.

99% of life is not a series of life or death decisions where looking out for number one means the difference between life and death. This is what competition evolved to cope with, and in the vast majority of situation it is a misplaced motive for deciding your best  course of action in any given situation.

Br Cornelius

Br Cornelius, on 25 October 2012 - 06:45 AM, said:

To deny the existence of competition as a human motivation would be foolish, since it obviously exists.

However the tendency to exalt it to the primary dominant motivation is to deny the obvious dynamic of most societal interaction which is primarily based on cooperation. The same is true throughout nature where cooperation is the default relationship where mutual exchange of resources creates synergies which are greater than the component parts working separately. Look to plant fungi interactions at the roots, or E.coli gut interactions in humans.

I am not competing here, I would hope that I am helping you to rebalance a very squewd  outlook on  the world. Ultimately the outcome is immaterial to me and having made my point I will leave this discussion and hope that this fetish for competition as the only human motive will have lost some of its luster in the eyes of the people reading this.

Br Cornelius

okay.. you win

Edited by acidhead, 25 October 2012 - 07:09 AM.

[acidhead]

lol