a cynic, but an interesting one...
On Feb 21, 5:17 am, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Does anyone else have problems taking seriously a grown man in such
> dire need of a haircut? It's distracting. Anyway, I think he's on to
> something here. The biggest reason violence is down is the rapid
> dissemination of information and the difficulty in disguising gross
> injustice. Governments want the rest of the world to think highly of
> them and aggressively promote themselves with favorable PR. This
> reduces the likelihood of blatant, uncalled for aggression. I don't
> think we are at all nobler but I do think we all like to at least
> appear to be so.
>
> It ties in nicely with my theory of why religion was invented. An
> Omnipotent being judging your every move is motivation to behave. I
> don't believe in Santa Claus any more but I do believe in the power of
> the Press. And the internet. I wonder how long before our leaders
> find a way to suppress it or bend it to their will? Oh wait, we're
> already there. Google in China. Most major American newspapers
> except the WSJ are in the tank for President Obama. All cheerleaders
> for waste. We are squandering our global advantage. I understand why
> international news agencies like the AP and Reuters would be in favor
> of a socialist president but the fawning of our own papers is a little
> disconcerting.
>
> Am I a cynic or a realist? Or sadly misinformed?
>
> dj
>
> On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 8:47 PM, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I do have this tendency to throw public notables out on a bed of nails
> > to see which of you are inclined to take some steps across them.
> > Ouch! However, this is not just about curiosity but evaluation of my
> > views for either reinforcement or modification.
> > Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of
> > Psychology at Harvard University has a lecture video in which he
> > asserts humans to be peaceful by nature and merely corrupted by modern
> > institutions and concluding that we are living very peaceful lives by
> > historical comparisons.
> > Pinker writes, "Now that social scientists have started to count
> > bodies in different historical periods, they have discovered that the
> > romantic theory gets it backward: Far from causing us to become more
> > violent, something in modernity and its cultural institutions has made
> > us nobler."
> > This approach is a combination of empirical and biological study in
> > contrast to former assertions formed upon human cultures and
> > socialization without regard to biological recognition.
> > Steven Pinker concludes that violence in the world has actually
> > decreased, and conveys this idea in his "A History of Violence"
> > lecturehttp://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/163
> > I for one never conceived of the notion but have tossed some bones
> > around with my good friend gruff, who also asserts that mankind has
> > made significant strides in the quest for a more peaceful existence in
> > contrast to my view that man is as violent now as ever and desires
> > aggressive conflict in perpetuity.
> > I think Pinker's inclusion of such behaviors as cat burning in 16th
> > century Paris is a stretch to expand the degree of historical
> > violence, as is reference to human sacrifice, slavery, governmental
> > conquests, real estate acquisition via genocide, torture and
> > mutilation as routine punishment, the death penalty, assassination,
> > massacres, conflict resolve through killing, all of which still take
> > place in our time. Pinker also references Biblical examples of
> > genocide and stoning deaths for any number of infractions, also
> > attributing the same and similar torturous behaviors to historical
> > accounts of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Chinese, etc.
> > Pointing to a "change is sensibility" Pinker writes: "Violence has
> > been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are
> > probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on
> > earth."
>
> > Somehow I can't seem to dance to the tune.
>
> > Please take the time to view this lecture, only 19 minutes and respond
> > as to...........
>
> > Truth or Wishful Thinking?
>
> > State your Stance!
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
""Minds Eye"" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
