Assholes: a theory James is a serious philosopher, and "Assholes" is a serious piece of ethics. James handles the asshole phenomenon from every angle. The "asshole," as he defines it, is someone who systematically allows himself special advantages in his relations with others out of an entrenched sense on entitlement that leaves him inoculated against the legitimate complaints of others. It is that very failure to acknowledge others as moral equals that makes them so frustrating to others. Yet even when we do fight back, assholes come equipped with a set of defenses that leave them invulnerable to capitulation. If assholes are left unchecked, or worse, if they are encouraged, by society, then it can create a host of interpersonal and societal problems, some of which may spiral into ever worse social outcomes.
Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 17, 2013, at 12:47 PM, MarshaV <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > What's the underlying assumption? Self and other? > > > :WHAT do you do if, when you get to a subway platform, you see that it is > already packed with people? Do you join the throngs to wait for the train, or > do you shake your head and seek an alternative way to get where you’re going? > > "If you go the first route, you probably think that the crowd means there > must not have been a train for some time and that one is imminent. If you > choose the second, you’ve come to the opposite conclusion: It’s crowded, a > train hasn’t come in a while, so it’s likely there’s some sort of problem — > and who knows how long you’ll end up waiting. Better cut your losses and > split. > > "When we think of self-control, we don’t normally see it in these terms — a > reasoned decision to wait or not. In fact, the ability to delay gratification > has traditionally been seen in large part as an issue of willpower: Do you > have what it takes to wait it out, to choose a later — and, presumably, > better — reward over an immediate, though not quite as good one? Can you > forgo a brownie in service of the larger reward of losing weight, give up > ready cash in favor of a later investment payoff? The immediate option is > hot; you can taste it, smell it, feel it. The long-term choice is far cooler; > it’s hard to picture it with quite as much color or power. > > "In psychological terms, the difference is typically seen as a dual-system > trade-off: On one hand, you have the deliberative, reflective, cool system; > on the other, the intuitive, reflexive, hot system. The less self-control you > have, the further off and cooler the future becomes and the hotter the > immediate present grows." > > > To read full article: > > http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/opinion/sunday/youre-so-self-controlling.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0 > > > > > > > > > > > ___ > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
