halloween
It's Halloween in this part of the world... It's pretty quiet here downtown. I did see two guys dressed up as a bottle of dental floss and a huge yellow toothbrush (obviously from the Listerine commercials here) the other day though. Heck, even Guild Wars made significant changes to certain parts of the gameworld.
Anyway, I just was talking to Janice about - what else - my parents. She thinks I should talk to them amicably, and attempt to resolve the issues that I have with them (regarding personal issues or issues about my sister). I would do it, but only because of my sister. Personally, I honestly could not care less about what they think of me anymore. They're judgmental, unreasonable, incorrigible and worse, lousy speakers and don't think rationally (I mean, come on, the argument "I'm your parent and so you should listen to what I say" went out with the European Enlightenment movement in the 18th century. Furthermore, I've studied that period twice in Philosophy, and once in Fine Arts. If they want to argue with me that way, BRING IT ON).
I just read my last conversation/argument with 'my mom.' The very last thing that I said to her was, "I guess there's nothing else to say then. Bye." Phew. Dramatic, isn't it? That's like right out of the movies. LOL! I last talked to her on August 12, 2005. It's... October 30, 2005 as I write this. So it's been what, 2-and-a-half months since I last talked to her. LOL. Time really passes quickly when you're busy. School really eats up the time!
Sometimes I wonder what sort of a person I am. I know that I'm pretty stuck on being rational and having proper justification for my beliefs/actions. To others, that's being stubborn. To me, I'm being rational and logical. I don't place much value on emotions, because it opens the door to irrationality. I'm not saying that I don't have emotions - I do - but starting from emotional grounds seems rather shaky. I just think that the world would be a lot calmer if people were a little more rational. Naturally, I reject 'my parents' claim that I should listen to them because I'm their son/they're my parents, the "traditional" values of filial piety, and that because they are my elders that I should respect them.
Firstly, yes, I am their son. Yes, they are my parents. But why should I listen to them? Parents aren't always right. Besides, I'm a rational, moral agent with free will. I think. I have opinions. There is no link from "being my parent" and "heeding their advice." Apart from being causally distinct, taking such a paternalistic justification for their argument is just incoherent. In my world, individual self-determination should not be restricted if there is no clear and distinct causal link to harm of others/myself.
Secondly, the traditional values of filial piety seem warped, to say the least. What justification is there for me to be filial to them? Merely that they raised me? I have a way better argument. Parents become parents because they chose to have kids (barring accidents). Hence, they are ultimately assuming the responsibilities of caring for them, providing for them, educating them etc. The kid did not choose to be born; there was absolutely no way the child could have enforced this upon the would-be parents. Since the couple chose to have kids, it is now their duty (in the Kantian sense) to care, provide and educate the kid. Now, the kid does not seem to have moral obligations towards his parents. To give back to his parents/caregivers ony becomes a moral issue when he promises to care for them, but backs off in the end. The promise is important, because the child is then morally obligated to see through the promise. But when there is no such promise/moral obligation, the implicit claim that a child should care for his parents/caregivers is only normative, without any moral or rational foundation.
Finally, respect is not like a birthday gift. We present gifts to others without expecting anything in return, neither do we earn birthday gifts - we receive them purely because it's our birthday. Respect, however, is something that cannot be given unconditionally. Respect is earned. Respect is only given to those who deserve it. It is wholly irrational that respect should be attributed to others based solely on their age. Being old does not make any one individual respectable. Actions are the things that make individuals respectable. Oftentimes, we respect elders because of the time period they have spent doing things that we consider respectable - and we respect them because of those deeds, not because they're authoritative figures (in fact, I don't think authoritative figures deserve any respect). That, I believe, is the true nature of "respect."
OK, enough chatting. Back to the books.
Anyway, I just was talking to Janice about - what else - my parents. She thinks I should talk to them amicably, and attempt to resolve the issues that I have with them (regarding personal issues or issues about my sister). I would do it, but only because of my sister. Personally, I honestly could not care less about what they think of me anymore. They're judgmental, unreasonable, incorrigible and worse, lousy speakers and don't think rationally (I mean, come on, the argument "I'm your parent and so you should listen to what I say" went out with the European Enlightenment movement in the 18th century. Furthermore, I've studied that period twice in Philosophy, and once in Fine Arts. If they want to argue with me that way, BRING IT ON).
I just read my last conversation/argument with 'my mom.' The very last thing that I said to her was, "I guess there's nothing else to say then. Bye." Phew. Dramatic, isn't it? That's like right out of the movies. LOL! I last talked to her on August 12, 2005. It's... October 30, 2005 as I write this. So it's been what, 2-and-a-half months since I last talked to her. LOL. Time really passes quickly when you're busy. School really eats up the time!
Sometimes I wonder what sort of a person I am. I know that I'm pretty stuck on being rational and having proper justification for my beliefs/actions. To others, that's being stubborn. To me, I'm being rational and logical. I don't place much value on emotions, because it opens the door to irrationality. I'm not saying that I don't have emotions - I do - but starting from emotional grounds seems rather shaky. I just think that the world would be a lot calmer if people were a little more rational. Naturally, I reject 'my parents' claim that I should listen to them because I'm their son/they're my parents, the "traditional" values of filial piety, and that because they are my elders that I should respect them.
Firstly, yes, I am their son. Yes, they are my parents. But why should I listen to them? Parents aren't always right. Besides, I'm a rational, moral agent with free will. I think. I have opinions. There is no link from "being my parent" and "heeding their advice." Apart from being causally distinct, taking such a paternalistic justification for their argument is just incoherent. In my world, individual self-determination should not be restricted if there is no clear and distinct causal link to harm of others/myself.
Secondly, the traditional values of filial piety seem warped, to say the least. What justification is there for me to be filial to them? Merely that they raised me? I have a way better argument. Parents become parents because they chose to have kids (barring accidents). Hence, they are ultimately assuming the responsibilities of caring for them, providing for them, educating them etc. The kid did not choose to be born; there was absolutely no way the child could have enforced this upon the would-be parents. Since the couple chose to have kids, it is now their duty (in the Kantian sense) to care, provide and educate the kid. Now, the kid does not seem to have moral obligations towards his parents. To give back to his parents/caregivers ony becomes a moral issue when he promises to care for them, but backs off in the end. The promise is important, because the child is then morally obligated to see through the promise. But when there is no such promise/moral obligation, the implicit claim that a child should care for his parents/caregivers is only normative, without any moral or rational foundation.
Finally, respect is not like a birthday gift. We present gifts to others without expecting anything in return, neither do we earn birthday gifts - we receive them purely because it's our birthday. Respect, however, is something that cannot be given unconditionally. Respect is earned. Respect is only given to those who deserve it. It is wholly irrational that respect should be attributed to others based solely on their age. Being old does not make any one individual respectable. Actions are the things that make individuals respectable. Oftentimes, we respect elders because of the time period they have spent doing things that we consider respectable - and we respect them because of those deeds, not because they're authoritative figures (in fact, I don't think authoritative figures deserve any respect). That, I believe, is the true nature of "respect."
OK, enough chatting. Back to the books.
NIGEL
5:43 AM
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