why can some people only deal in absolutes

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by Zakariya04, Oct 9, 2007.

  1. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    Dear All,

    I hope you are well.

    I as wndering why when it comes to certain topics, people can only deal in absolutes, eg black or white??? I dont undertsand why people cant even see anyone else point of view on some issues.

    is it cos people are too proud, or is it an ego thing? w4e all have it in us i imagine just more so than others. I myself try not to deal in absolutes and take other peoples views into consideration but then again i fall into the trap too, hopefully not to a bad degree.

    Surely dealing in black and white is not that great as it narrows our minds, to the wonderfull world of grey.

    thank you for reading.

    please discuss if you like.

    ~~~~~~~~
    cheers
    zak
     
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  3. draqon Banned Banned

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    Zac...about the all well thing...I am not sure. You see its 4 am here and the cat started making these weird yawning singing sounds like some sort of ritual...and as far as I know cats can predict weather change, so my guess is the weather is getting cold here and it might snow. yiyekes!

    Now, getting back on topic the fear of anything not absolute is because it is unknown...absolutes like black and white can be seen clearly as evil and good...but when things get to be in between we cannot distinguish because we just don't know whats what.

    I mean...if my child was born with a small red spot on the top forehead for no apparent reason, would I just like a Spartan, throw away my blood down to the ravine?
     
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  5. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    i dotn know!!!!

    i would not say its unknown it just that it does not want to be known

    you must go to bed young draqon
     
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  7. draqon Banned Banned

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    exactly, nighty.
     
  8. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    good night, sleep tight , dont let the bed bugs bite!!!!
     
  9. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Dear zak

    You are talking shit.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Yours disgustedly
    red
     
  10. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    RedArmy,

    thanks mate!! was that called for???

    In answer to your response.

    perhaps, but you should look at the post or maybe i have not said things clearly. I am just wodnering whether people do see things as absoklutes are it is just a mechanism on the boards to provoke debate.

    ~~~~~~
    cheers
    Zak
     
  11. one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    They are simple-minded and it is easier to put people into little boxes to define and judge them without getting to know them.
     
  12. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    dear mr raven

    thank you for your response.

    do you think this is true or just a tactic used on the boards for debating/argument purposes.. Sort of like a wind up thing??

    ~~~~~~~
    Cheers
    zak
     
  13. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Dear zak,

    Apologies for my earlier outburst, you're right, it was completely uncalled for.

    In answer to your question, of course we see things as absoklutes, why the hell wouldn't we, you fucking clown? And no, it's not just to 'provoke debate' - some of us really do see things only in black and white and red all over! It keeps life simple.
    ~~~~~~
    take it ez, and for God's sake stop asking such stupid questions,
    red
     
  14. one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    I think it is both, depending on the person (both here and in person).
    I know people who most certainly see things in the most simplistic, black & white terms and I know people who will employ such tactics (and many others) to simply "win" an argument.

    Don't listen to redarmy - everyone knows that no Communists can be trusted.
     
  15. Zakariya04 and it was Valued Senior Member

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    Hey redArmy,

    thank you for your response.

    would not you think that only dealing in absolutes cuts down any sort of analysis!!! sometimes things arent as simple as black and white.

    Even the mighty Alex fergurson sees things in more than balck and white nowadays!!!

    I did think the fucking clown bit was abit harsh but not to worry!!!

    I was actually being seriious about this question it was not meant to be stupid, and i dont think it is, but then again it could look that way to certain people


    ~~~~~~~~

    take it ez
    zak

    PS:
     
  16. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Dear zak

    Oh never mind, God, you make me so angry. PS You put a PS but there was no PS - why can't you be more careful?

    Some people are just arrogant arseholes and incapable of seeing - no, wilfully ignorant of - the light blazing through the gaps, zak. It's as simple as that.
     
  17. heliocentric Registered Senior Member

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    1,117
    Ive been wondering this myself recently.
    I've a feeling its something quite inherent, people who think in black&white terms tend to make poor asbstract thinkers in my experience.
    I still come across people who litterally cant get their heads around agnoticism - it's like a double think for them in which theyre being asked hold two conflicting ideas in their head at once.
    Which isnt really the right way to think about something like agnoticism atall, but that might simply be a reflection of their own 'cognitive limits'.
     
  18. one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    Most people do not look at thw world around them in search of truth.
    Most people, in my experience, decide upon truth, and look at the world around them in search for supporting evidence for that "truth" (regardless how spurious it may be) after the fact.
    I think this contributes greatly to the This vs That, Black vs White, Right vs Wrong and Us vs Them mentality.
     
  19. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Indeed, and part of the reason for this is a reluctance to dispense with long-held cherished beliefs, many of which are central to the individual's self-image. To alter or dispense with the views is to alter/dispense with a part of the self. It's too big a change for most of us to comfortably handle, and too much like hard work (all that analysis and assessing of evidence).
     
  20. one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    What you say reminds me of Jiddu Krishnamurti's ideas on "identifying" with one group/ideal/philosophy or another and teh results of defining one's self by those beliefs.
    So much so, in fact, it makes me wonder whether you have read his work.
     
  21. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    I haven't, no, but the above strikes me as very true too, as regards the way most of us operate. Of course our parents, teachers and peers all play key roles in this. Think I'll have to look Jiddu up to see what else he has to say on the matter.
     
  22. one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    I don't have an electronic copy of the specific speech I was thinking of (I actually don't have a hard copy handy right now either, or I would transcribe it for you) but I am sure this was not the only time he spoke on identifying.
    The speech I was thinking of, however, was given in Bombay on February 12, 1950.
    Here is a very small piece of that speech that I keep in my quotes file to help if you do decide to search it out...
    "...you give it a name, and you think you have understood it. Is not the very naming of the thing a hindrance to the understanding of it?"

    *edit* I am pretty sure that's the speech I was thinking of.
     
  23. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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