imperialism in the world of ideas

[Iyoiyo]

Hello Bums, I just wrote this for myself, but perhaps someone else might enjoy reading it.

 

In argument, people are very childish. Unable to accept the consequences of admitting fallibility they will argue on behalf of falsehood rather than confront the truth. If certain truths are an obstacle to their victory, they are mostly left unmentioned. This is a mistake. It is not most important to be right individually, what's important is arriving at the truth of the situation. By ignoring information to preserve intellectual "victory," the virtue of communication, and even thought, is destroyed. It is cheating. If one cheats on a test, receiving a high mark instead of a low one, it does not mean that one is intelligent. It's like renting a house, inviting your relatives over, and pretending that you own it. Winning an argument by deceit it is no victory at all: If anything, it is a betrayal of oneself.

 

Having established that thought, I'll move a little closer to my main topic: ownership. Ownership of what? Ownership of things.

 

How is ownership established? Who forges the little chain between someone and something, and says "there, that's yours"? It's a mystery, isn't it? All things that are owned by somebody were, at one point or in some form, things that belonged to nobody. What changed? If I pocket a beach pebble, what makes it mine? I say, nothing. The only thing connecting possessions and the people who "possess" them, is that the possessors want to possess the possessions. But wanting something to be true does not make it so. Just as it's detrimental to believe oneself proficient at roulette (when that is clearly impossible), it is also harmful to deceive oneself in other ways. You will, so to speak, lose your fortune. If you disagree, ask yourself: have I any proof to the contrary? Or is the idea too threatening to my lifestyle, to my concept of the world, for me to seriously consider?

 

It may be easier to think on this issue of "ownership" by narrowing the scope to simply "land ownership". Because all physical possessions are derived from the land, if we can resolve the issue of ownership with respect to the Earth itself the entire issue will be solved. Before we decide if Bill stole Bob's gold, we must establish that Bob owned the gold to begin with. And where did he get it? He took it from the Earth.

 

Who owns the Earth? Certainly there are many nations, and they seem to own the Earth. But, do they? No. They want to. They have the globe all parcelled up. Strong countries are even capable of things like borders, states, and fighting off those who would encroach on their "territory." But does that make the land theirs? No. If I steal a cupcake from a toddler, is that mine? Well, in a sense it is, I can do whatever I want with it. But that is only because of my brute strength, that is not because I own it.

 

The explorers of history were megalomaniacs. Who looks out on a new land and thinks, "well, I guess this is mine now, I saw it first. I want it."? How absurd. Every new place we go, every old place for that matter, has existed for an age, and will remain for ages to come. What flimsy logic can make the land ours? Why doesn't it belong to the dandelions or the toads? Were I to stumble on the proverbial pie on the windowsill, I wouldn't think it was mine. What else is the globe besides such a pie?

 

As usual I have become very sidetracked. Fear not though, this last paragraph contains the original motive behind all this exposition. What I started out to say, is that ideas are no different than places. Coming up with an idea and claiming it for one's own is just as silly as discovering a wonderful new continent and, deciding that because it's new to you it must be new to everybody, claiming it for yourself. In reality, the world exists together with mankind, but there is no reason to think it belongs to us. When we think up a new idea, we are not creating that idea, we are simply seeing it for the first time. Just because it is out of sight does not mean that something does not exist. All places in the universe exist. If one had the time and means, they could all be visited. It is the same for the world of ideas. They all exist, but many have not been visited.

[Marblehead]

Nice post Iyoiyo.

 

A couple time in the past I have said something and soon after someone asks me if they can use my quote. I ahve always said something like, "Of course you can. Once I have released the words into the universe they no longer belong to me."

 

Ownership and possessions are tricky concepts for me to deal with because Taoist Philosophy speaks agains both, however, the culture I live in lives according to these two concepts. I try my best to maintain harmony between the two ways of looking at these concepts.

 

Peace & Love!

[Mal]

Btt

[3L3VAT3]

it has to do with power... it's only yours to the extent that you can keep it... and only things of value need power to keep.

as far as the pebble, not too many people will rob you for that... but if it was a rare gem worth millions, you would need some serious power to 'keep' that.

 

philosophy aside, and right and wrong has nothing to do with it... just power. Thats what it all comes down to really, whether land or ideas... shit, look at all the war that was over the 'idea' of communism.

 

People are animals, and there are limited resources, so we use our brain to come up with clever ways to extend our dominion.

 

You could say it's wrong and sucks (you would be right) but thats the way it is.