Viviane

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Posts by Viviane

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  17

  “Human aggression could bring civilisation and humanity to an end ,” says Stephen Hawking

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  human aggression could bring civilisation and humanity to an end , says stephen hawking.

  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-space-travel-will-save-mankind-and-we-should-colonise-other-planets-10058811.html.

  compare ecclesiastes 8:9.

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  Viviane

  Stupidity is the more likely answer.

  I thought you were done preaching.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Viviane

  Thank you for understanding what I said.
  For what it's worth, I have not missed your argumentativeness.

  Of course I have an argument. This is a thread asking for opinion on a topic on a discussion forum. I am not sure why you would expect me to not have an argument. If you have a differing opinion, please present it. Focusing on style rather than substance doesn't move the debate anywhere. No one has been insulted, no strawman arguments made.

  You seem to confuse "directness not wrapped in sugary words and backed with facts" with "argumentative".
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

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  Viviane

  It's not a requirement to agree with everything an author writes to nonetheless find some value or merit in their work.

  I never said it was.

  However, I currently use Anthem as part of my curriculum with my high school students. I find it helpful for them to understand the central issue of collectivism vs. individualism.

  My son just read Anthem in high school last semester so I had the occasion to read it again. I found it helpful, but primary to take the opportunity to explain that Anthem is a poorly written and thought our piece that creates a false dichotomy, an us vs. them mentality, a collective vs. individual mentality that, in reality, doesn't exist.

  I find it useful as an example to illustrate, how, in the real world, that type of thinking is childish and inadequate and doesn't actually exist except as a talking point to rally the uneducated into thinking it's us vs. them, no matter your side of the issue.

  So yes, as an example of why we can't have nice things, it's stunningly perfect.

  Other books in this vein I would recommend are:

  • Nineteen Eighty-Four

  • Animal Farm

  • Fahrenheit 451

  • The Giver

  I've not read The Giver, but, the other three in the list are the same only in that there is a dystopian world. Nineteen Eighty Four doesn't have a protagonist who is special and smarter than everyone else and defeats the world through just his specialness rebelling and living in the woods. Animal Farm is about becoming that which you reject, the irony of becoming the very object of your hate. Fahrenheit 451 is the closest in theme in that the government is enforcing equality, but mostly it's a tale about the dangers of government censorship as per Ray Bradbury himself (I've read many of his books).

  In terms of what the book is actually about, the three I mentioned aren't thematically close.
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  36

  Do You Think President Obama Is Muslim?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i really think that he is.

  not that it's a bad thing...

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  Viviane

  He was born in Kenya

  Or, you know, Hawaii. Where he has a birth certificate from.
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  36

  Do You Think President Obama Is Muslim?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i really think that he is.

  not that it's a bad thing...

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  Viviane

  Thinking he is Muslim is perfect normal, assuming you ignore that he says he is Christian, often goes to church, does things that are very non-Muslim, that there is no evidence for his being Muslim, that he is ordering the killing of Muslims on a regular basis, hosts Easter prayers, often talked of being inspired by the resurrection, etc.

  But, if he were, so what? That would just mean he is part of a worldwide middle eastern death cult, like every other Christian, Muslim or Jew.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Viviane

  I loved Atlas Shrugged. Everyone should read it, unless you hate thinking.

  I did read it. I thought it was a hamfisted poorly written idiotic piece of crap dedicated to justifying being a selfish asshole dedicated to the proposition of "I got mine! Screw you!"

  Interestingly, Ayn Rand, after preach for years about self reliance and not taking anything and how handouts were for losers and government assistance was for the weak, ended up on social benefits. She was an idiotic hypocrite dedicated to fueling her own selfish desires no matter who it hurt and was only able to do that through the support of others and government. Ayn Rand was, in a word, shit.

  I believe when people work hard they should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and when it becomes easier to not work because you lose your food stamps, your rent goes up, and you lose your heath insurance, there is going to be a problem. I can't tell you how many people I know that are in that position,

  Objectivism has nothing to do with any of that.Health insurance is anathema to objectivism. That makes you a weakling reliant on others in Ayn Rand's philosophy. The fruits of your labor are only deserved if you screw over everyone else to selfishly get it.

  When there are less and less workers paying taxes to support these people what will happen? When people loose their incentive to work it's not a good thing.

  In the objectivist world, you would let those people die. After all, you got yours. Screw them. \

  I am not against charity for people in need and contribute a lot of money.

  Ayn Rand would call you a fool. It's quite interesting how many "fans" of Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, the Fountainhead and objectivism don't actually understand what it means in practice and taken to it's logical conclusion.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
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  Viviane

  One can enjoy reading an author without agreeing with all of their ideologies.

  Of course. I was just commenting on how poorly written Anthem was.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Viviane

  Anyone who reads Anthem who has been a witness will identify strongly with it.

  Interestingly, I found Anthem to be a contrived novella not with a story to tell but with a message that would appeal to idealism of a teenage understanding of the world, incomplete and underdeveloped, lacking experience. It had all the subtlety of a baseball bat to the head, written in a hamfisted and clumsy manner with all the grace of someone attempting to pick coins while wearing a winter gloves.
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  80

  Ayn Rand - Opinions?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

  i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

  do you think she's a charlatan?

  1. 
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  Viviane

  She was a selfish hypocrite concerned only with herself and promoting her poorly thought out ideas.

  Also what VI said.
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  19

  End of the world—How and When—explained scientifically!

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  end of the worldhow and whenexplained scientifically!.

  problem with humans is that they dont learn from mistakes.

  their greed has already spoiled air and water, and brought global warming which would ultimately sink most of the inhabited earth!.

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  Viviane

  The great scientific minds of this century are coming, slowly, reluctantly, to recognise that a great mistake has been done.

  Not making Internet access subject to an intelligence test?