Philosophy Now Forum

promethean75 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 17, 2025 8:38 pm I believe i may have suffered a massive spike in intelligence levels due to my suddenly stopping smokin' crack. The receptors that had grown to receive and absorb the extra quantities of dopamine had been quickly trimmed as my dopamine allowance dropped significantly, causing my dome to adjust. We reallocated these auxillary receptor cells to source for synaptic connections in the frontal cortex (complex reasoning area) through cross-lateralization... effectively expanding both the RAM and internal storage drive capacity.

What happened was i musta blown my brain up, and then all the extra wiring couldn't be neuro-degraded, so it was re-sourced.

Through the intentional manipulation of brain altering substances, i made myself smarter! Go ahead, seek my counsel, and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm like Travolta in Phenomenon now, you guys. I'll be back in a second. I've got cold fusion figured out and I need to write some notes down before I forget. Plus there's pigeons in the street and I want to develop a game-algorithm for plotting their movements on a Cartesian three coordinate system spread. I can't do it if they fly away... hang on.

See what happens when you microwave your hair dry?
The only crack I ever had was the kind that moaned, sighed and smiled. That crack is the only thing that ever broke me.

Just sayin. Kirk's widow makes a public statement of forgiveness. Unfortunately, without any real tangible expression of that forgiveness (shorter sentence, whatever), the expression is just... hot air. What's worse is that in addition to not realizing what i just explained (the tangible results bit) and therefore being kinda goofy, she acts as if she's made a great sacrifice in forgiving the shooter. What has she sacrificed, though? Ten minutes at a podium in front of news cameras?

There is layer of sham upon layer of sham in these superficial people. The hubris is unreal.

I mean, seriously, we're not even sure Kirk didn't deserve to be wasted, and she's already trying to get praise and admiration for her being so noble as to utter the sound "i forgive him" into a microphone. I don't know how she did it, that brave woman who is giving so much of herself... up there in front of that podium for eight whole minutes.

Now, suppose there were tangible things that could be done to express forgiveness. Say, a special case; if she forgives him, the judge will let him out of prison in 50 years. If she doesn't, he'll serve life.

Ah... suddenly, she doesn't forgive him when those words have any real, useful meaning and can yield results.

It's like i have special powers like that kid who saw dead people 'cept i can see through people. That's why I'm such an asshole. You get this way when everyone around you is full of some kind of shit and only you, alone, can see it. My misanthropy surpasses even that of a La Rochefoucauld it goes so hard.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:29 am Just sayin. Kirk's widow makes a public statement of forgiveness. Unfortunately, without any real tangible expression of that forgiveness (shorter sentence, whatever), the expression is just... hot air. What's worse is that in addition to not realizing what i just explained (the tangible results bit) and therefore being kinda goofy, she acts as if she's made a great sacrifice in forgiving the shooter. What has she sacrificed, though? Ten minutes at a podium in front of news cameras?

There is layer of sham upon layer of sham in these superficial people. The hubris is unreal.

I mean, seriously, we're not even sure Kirk didn't deserve to be wasted, and she's already trying to get praise and admiration for her being so noble as to utter the sound "i forgive him" into a microphone. I don't know how she did it, that brave woman who is giving so much of herself... up there in front of that podium for eight whole minutes.

Now, suppose there were tangible things that could be done to express forgiveness. Say, a special case; if she forgives him, the judge will let him out of prison in 50 years. If she doesn't, he'll serve life.

Ah... suddenly, she doesn't forgive him when those words have any real, useful meaning and can yield results.

It's like i have special powers like that kid who saw dead people 'cept i can see through people. That's why I'm such an asshole. You get this way when everyone around you is full of some kind of shit and only you, alone, can see it. My misanthropy surpasses even that of a La Rochefoucauld it goes so hard.

Actually, the idea that people have the power to "forgive" anybody of anything, is simply indicative of a mental dysfunction. A mind is responsible for the production of human behavior and a NOP is not a function, but the lack of it.
You seem to be drawn to political theatrics, which are actually aimed at distraction from things that are relevant to begin with.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:29 am Just sayin. Kirk's widow makes a public statement of forgiveness. Unfortunately, without any real tangible expression of that forgiveness (shorter sentence, whatever), the expression is just... hot air. What's worse is that in addition to not realizing what i just explained (the tangible results bit) and therefore being kinda goofy, she acts as if she's made a great sacrifice in forgiving the shooter. What has she sacrificed, though? Ten minutes at a podium in front of news cameras?

There is layer of sham upon layer of sham in these superficial people. The hubris is unreal.

I mean, seriously, we're not even sure Kirk didn't deserve to be wasted, and she's already trying to get praise and admiration for her being so noble as to utter the sound "i forgive him" into a microphone. I don't know how she did it, that brave woman who is giving so much of herself... up there in front of that podium for eight whole minutes.

Now, suppose there were tangible things that could be done to express forgiveness. Say, a special case; if she forgives him, the judge will let him out of prison in 50 years. If she doesn't, he'll serve life.

Ah... suddenly, she doesn't forgive him when those words have any real, useful meaning and can yield results.

It's like i have special powers like that kid who saw dead people 'cept i can see through people. That's why I'm such an asshole. You get this way when everyone around you is full of some kind of shit and only you, alone, can see it. My misanthropy surpasses even that of a La Rochefoucauld it goes so hard.

Some might say and claim that you have let your 'superiority complex' override any 'humility' at all. But, then again, your own 'special powers' would already be 'seeing' 'this', and you would not allow 'that' to happen and all, correct?

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:33 am

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:29 am Just sayin. Kirk's widow makes a public statement of forgiveness. Unfortunately, without any real tangible expression of that forgiveness (shorter sentence, whatever), the expression is just... hot air. What's worse is that in addition to not realizing what i just explained (the tangible results bit) and therefore being kinda goofy, she acts as if she's made a great sacrifice in forgiving the shooter. What has she sacrificed, though? Ten minutes at a podium in front of news cameras?

There is layer of sham upon layer of sham in these superficial people. The hubris is unreal.

I mean, seriously, we're not even sure Kirk didn't deserve to be wasted, and she's already trying to get praise and admiration for her being so noble as to utter the sound "i forgive him" into a microphone. I don't know how she did it, that brave woman who is giving so much of herself... up there in front of that podium for eight whole minutes.

Now, suppose there were tangible things that could be done to express forgiveness. Say, a special case; if she forgives him, the judge will let him out of prison in 50 years. If she doesn't, he'll serve life.

Ah... suddenly, she doesn't forgive him when those words have any real, useful meaning and can yield results.

It's like i have special powers like that kid who saw dead people 'cept i can see through people. That's why I'm such an asshole. You get this way when everyone around you is full of some kind of shit and only you, alone, can see it. My misanthropy surpasses even that of a La Rochefoucauld it goes so hard.

Actually, the idea that people have the power to "forgive" anybody of anything, is simply indicative of a mental dysfunction. A mind is responsible for the production of human behavior and a NOP is not a function, but the lack of it.
You seem to be drawn to political theatrics, which are actually aimed at distraction from things that are relevant to begin with.

So, what are relevant to begin with, exactly?

Age wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:41 am

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:33 am

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:29 am Just sayin. Kirk's widow makes a public statement of forgiveness. Unfortunately, without any real tangible expression of that forgiveness (shorter sentence, whatever), the expression is just... hot air. What's worse is that in addition to not realizing what i just explained (the tangible results bit) and therefore being kinda goofy, she acts as if she's made a great sacrifice in forgiving the shooter. What has she sacrificed, though? Ten minutes at a podium in front of news cameras?

There is layer of sham upon layer of sham in these superficial people. The hubris is unreal.

I mean, seriously, we're not even sure Kirk didn't deserve to be wasted, and she's already trying to get praise and admiration for her being so noble as to utter the sound "i forgive him" into a microphone. I don't know how she did it, that brave woman who is giving so much of herself... up there in front of that podium for eight whole minutes.

Now, suppose there were tangible things that could be done to express forgiveness. Say, a special case; if she forgives him, the judge will let him out of prison in 50 years. If she doesn't, he'll serve life.

Ah... suddenly, she doesn't forgive him when those words have any real, useful meaning and can yield results.

It's like i have special powers like that kid who saw dead people 'cept i can see through people. That's why I'm such an asshole. You get this way when everyone around you is full of some kind of shit and only you, alone, can see it. My misanthropy surpasses even that of a La Rochefoucauld it goes so hard.

Actually, the idea that people have the power to "forgive" anybody of anything, is simply indicative of a mental dysfunction. A mind is responsible for the production of human behavior and a NOP is not a function, but the lack of it.
You seem to be drawn to political theatrics, which are actually aimed at distraction from things that are relevant to begin with.

So, what are relevant to begin with, exactly?

Exactly is simple. It is the age old battle of evolution, those trying to enforce control through the respect of Alpha animals, and those trying to evolve into letting rationality be the control of their behavior, i.e., Uncivil concepts of Law, and Nomocracy, law through literacy. The ability to do our own work, and those who want us to work for them.

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:53 am

Age wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:41 am

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:33 am
Actually, the idea that people have the power to "forgive" anybody of anything, is simply indicative of a mental dysfunction. A mind is responsible for the production of human behavior and a NOP is not a function, but the lack of it.
You seem to be drawn to political theatrics, which are actually aimed at distraction from things that are relevant to begin with.

So, what are relevant to begin with, exactly?

Exactly is simple. It is the age old battle of evolution, those trying to enforce control through the respect of Alpha animals, and those trying to evolve into letting rationality be the control of their behavior, i.e., Uncivil concepts of Law, and Nomocracy, law through literacy. The ability to do our own work, and those who want us to work for them.

Is 'this' what is relevant, to you?

Age wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 11:02 am

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:53 am

Age wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:41 am

So, what are relevant to begin with, exactly?

Exactly is simple. It is the age old battle of evolution, those trying to enforce control through the respect of Alpha animals, and those trying to evolve into letting rationality be the control of their behavior, i.e., Uncivil concepts of Law, and Nomocracy, law through literacy. The ability to do our own work, and those who want us to work for them.

Is 'this' what is relevant, to you?

There you go with your simple minded bull shit again. It is relevant by the definition and function of a mind, stupid.

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 11:38 am

Age wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 11:02 am

Phil8659 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:53 am
Exactly is simple. It is the age old battle of evolution, those trying to enforce control through the respect of Alpha animals, and those trying to evolve into letting rationality be the control of their behavior, i.e., Uncivil concepts of Law, and Nomocracy, law through literacy. The ability to do our own work, and those who want us to work for them.

Is 'this' what is relevant, to you?

There you go with your simple minded bull shit again. It is relevant by the definition and function of a mind, stupid.

Okay.

I have some consoling words for any sane thinkers still left on the public philosophy forums. Let the presence of these people and all their colorful mental problems show you that there is no god. How could there be? Look at em.

Even now, as i post this, the banality of seeing two CNN anchors take a moment to mention Swift's 12th album... how flat the fact lands on my ears, how it's not irritating or offensive anymore. No. The normal state of the world is the eternal turning out of the banalities of the softly insane.

And there will be times when you feel how immense the distance is between you and the soft banality of the insane and you will feel this is no coincidence. And you'll want to shout, "But wait... there is a god because look at me!" You feel irreducibly complex by comparison, and so you try to sneak god back in.

What you are feeling is a combination of two things. The empowering feeling of being superior (i.e, not being insane) and being unrestricted by anything in the expression of your contempt. That feeling feels like what a god would feel in the company of a crude and imperfect creation. He recognizes his distance from it before all else. That's what you're doing when you browse the posts of the terminal philosophy trolls and clinically insane. You are doing what gods do when they look at something and go "yuck," basically.

Even god feels he should need a god to explain why he is so great.

EDIT: if you, my beloved fan and/or critic, have found this post through a google search of Wes Montdrummery, please be informed that the Montdrummery Studios channel was again deleted by some insidious hacker and i have petitioned youtube support to restore the channel even though I'm only a shameless pseudodrummer who ain't playin' the beats right.

Stop thinking, and end your problems. What difference between yes and no? What difference between success and failure? Must you value what others value, avoid what others avoid? How ridiculous! Other people are excited, as though they were at a parade. I alone don't care, I alone am expressionless, like an infant before it can smile. Other people have what they need; I alone possess nothing. I alone drift about, like someone without a home. I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty. Other people are bright; I alone am dark. Other people are sharp; I alone am dull. Other people have purpose; I alone don't know. I drift like a wave on the ocean, I blow as aimless as the wind. I am different from ordinary people. I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

promethean75 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:33 pm I have some consoling words for any sane thinkers still left on the public philosophy forums. Let the presence of these people and all their colorful mental problems show you that there is no god. How could there be? Look at em.

Even now, as i post this, the banality of seeing two CNN anchors take a moment to mention Swift's 12th album... how flat the fact lands on my ears, how it's not irritating or offensive anymore. No. The normal state of the world is the eternal turning out of the banalities of the softly insane.

And there will be times when you feel how immense the distance is between you and the soft banality of the insane and you will feel this is no coincidence. And you'll want to shout, "But wait... there is a god because look at me!" You feel irreducibly complex by comparison, and so you try to sneak god back in.

What you are feeling is a combination of two things. The empowering feeling of being superior (i.e, not being insane) and being unrestricted by anything in the expression of your contempt. That feeling feels like what a god would feel in the company of a crude and imperfect creation. He recognizes his distance from it before all else. That's what you're doing when you browse the posts of the terminal philosophy trolls and clinically insane. You are doing what gods do when they look at something and go "yuck," basically.

Even god feels he should need a god to explain why he is so great.

If you, really do, want to get others to agree with you and accept your absolute belief that God does not exist, then just say and prove what the word, God, means and/or is referring to, exactly, and then just present a sound and valid argument that 'that thing' could not and thus does not exist.

Why do you not just do 'this'?

promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 22, 2025 10:29 am

Gee, Christians must be so shallow and stupid, eh?

*

I think this interpretation correlates more with the way folks are ...

Asking forgiveness benefits the asker.
Forgiving, benefits the forgiver.

People act out of self-interest. Self-benefit.
Parents take care of their children out of self-interest.
Even charity is given out of self-interest.
People forgive out of self-interest.

Christians know this. It’s a rule to live by, even though the rule may conflict with baser urges.

This is why Mrs. Kirk is so obviously conflicted that she could barely speak the words of forgiveness. She could barely stand after whispering the words and had to physically lean on the president for physical balance. She whispered those words, choked out those words from her heart as best she could, because she knows, through Christianity, that the forgiveness that she gives is for her benefit. For her benefit. She spoke the words to inoculate her own soul from the ravages and hellish consequences of hate, e.g., consequences of hate such as altering personal apprehension of reality, and involuntarily infecting the world with hate even though that's not the overt intent.

The only forgiveness that benefits a murderer comes from God, not from Mrs. Kirk, and she knows it.

At the personal level, she cannot help but hate the murderer of her loved one.
At the level of faith, she knows that the hate will eat her up inside.
Therefore with faith, she makes a public proclamation of forgiveness, knowing that the Christian way of forgiveness will heal her, in time, but if she doesn't begin the process of forgiveness, with a most public declaration to make forgiveness more than just a feeling, hatred will be a sore that never heals.

The Christian faith promises that in time her heart will also forgive.

*

Here's the big question.

What is self-interest, as a principle? I have an answer ... does anyone else?

*

These are pearls for those not swine.

No, dude, these are Plastic People. It's all fake.