The Ontology of Evil
Posted on September 22 2008 at 10:59

The only 'evil' that exists in this world are the people who divide the world into 'good' and 'evil' A witty catchphrase, much like my 'Morality is relative. [...] Time is also relative, but somehow people still manage to catch American Idol' but not as funny. More like a parable or irony. The only 'evil' that exists is dividing the world into 'good' and 'evil'. But, I think this follows logically from my concept of love vs. empathy. If empathy is what makes people 'good' (not love), then lack of empathy is what makes people 'evil'. I had originally thought that the only 'evil' in the world was due to sociopaths, because they lack the capacity for empathy. However, thinking back on the many classes I had about sociology and history, every single instance of atrocity was committed due to dividing the world into 'good' and 'evil' - dividing the world into 'us' vs. 'them'. Again, in this light, this makes Jesus a source of 'evil' in the world (Matthew 12:30). But then again, he didn't come to bring 'peace' (the kanji on the left side of my website) but a sword. False dichotomies are even a category of logical fallacy. So think about it - every atrocity that you can imagine was borne from dividing the world into 'good' and 'evil'. 'Us' vs. the ominous 'them'. Slavery lasted so long in the U.S. because of this division - blacks were only considered '3/8ths' human. Once people started realizing that blacks were not part of the ominous 'them' (lack of empathy), but part of the 'us' (empathy), that's when slavery ended, and that's why the civil rights movement was a nominal success. There's still a division between 'us' and 'them', but for the most part - at least among liberals - blacks are considered 'us'. Hitler and the Jews. Hitler divided the world into 'us' vs. 'them': the glorious, virtuous, pure 'Aryans' vs. those dirty, impure, subhuman Jews. What followed logically was a situation where Hitler empathized with the 'us' and had no empathy (since by definition they weren't human or subhuman) for the 'them'. The 9/11 hijackers. They also divided the world into 'us' vs. 'them'. Obviously, by thinking the U. S. was the ominous 'them', they were able to carry out their plot to destroy the subhuman 'heathens'. Every single atrocity is borne from dehumanizing your opponent. Sexism comes from this division - like how women aren't 'equal' to men. Obviously, my worldview is very yin/yang influenced. These 'opposites' are both necessary for harmony. Humankind wouldn't exist if we divided the world into 'us' vs. 'them' and tried to eliminate the 'them'. The only reason we're alive right now is because the 'us' (men) and the 'them' (women) came together in harmony - literally. I think that the solution is empathy. You can't empathize with people you're about to kill, because that means that you're 'harming' yourself. With empathy, you take that other person into yourself and by hurting that person you hurt yourself. That's why sociopaths are the only type of 'evil' that exists in the world because they have no capacity for empathy. Their fundamental existential axiom is that there is a 'me' and the ominous 'them'. Everyone they see in the world is the 'them' and the sociopath only 'empathizes' with him/herself. Walk a mile in your enemy's shoes and they will no longer be your enemy.

Post #5

Naturalistic Pantheism
Posted on August 21 2008 at 16:14

This is basically my theology. It's kind of like Ontological Naturalistic Taoism. Mysticism In addition, a number of modern (naturalistic) pantheists further identify themselves as 'mystics', although the debate over this has been somewhat less heated than that over other terminology. It is widely (although not universally) accepted that the essence of mysticism within the context of pantheistic thought lies in a direct knowledge or a direct experience of God , which is in their mind readily attainable by the pantheist, considering that his or her god is all that exists. Spirituality Spirituality can be meaningfully and consistently interpreted as 'the human relation to the numinous', as Carl Sagan and some others have suggested. Taoism An emphasis is placed on the link between people and nature, and that this link lessens the need for rules and order, leading one to a better understanding of the world and one's surroundings. The Tao in Chinese basically means the path or way. Basically, all 'religious feelings' are too subjective and cannot accurately describe reality to any meaningful degree, let alone spirituality. Like Quantum Physics, as soon as you attempt to observe something your biases are going to influence the outcome. But unlike Quantum Physics no test can be designed to get the 'right' answer. Anyone claiming to have the right answer is wrong. So in essence the combination of these types of 'spirituality' concentrate on knowing yourself and following your 'path' - you cannot know someone else 'path' - and you should have a healthy respect for your surroundings, family, friends, environment, planet, and ultimately the universe, since they all reflect on you. At the same time, it has to be acknowledged that there's really no objective definition of 'I'; Buddhism teaches that the concept and definition of 'I' is an illusion because the things that people consider to divorce themselves from all of their influences and surroundings are simply human inventions. But at the same time, I'm not an ascetic so a 'western' point of view compromise has to be made.

Post #4

For the New Year!
Posted on January 12 2008 at 22:09

Here's a post just for the new year... 2008!

Post #3

A Poem/Rap
Posted on July 14 2007 at 22:18

So I'm making this post as sort of an homage to a poem/rap I wrote 10 years ago. I never gave it to the girl, and when I was about to give it to her, my friend told me not to, took the poem, lit it on fire with his lighter, and threw it into the subway tracks. Since then, it's been lost in the pages of my memory, so I though I'd immortalize it here digitally: You struck me like the cobra of snakes, givin' cold shoulders to fakes your looks gave this rap soldier the shakes Never met a girl so elegant, intelligent, and delicate, you make every other girl in the world seem irrelevant My speech ain't eloquent, but I'm better for you than those other crooks, no better description of your fine looks outside this rhyme book You're a dime queen, make brothers take mad time with his hygiene, you and I could make a fine team, you're the type that Designs dreams; this ain't absolute lust or nothing too foul, I'd give up my thug styles just to see you smile. And clean my mouth like toothpaste even in this loose case - you are an extension of heaven's grace With a face that shines like the finish of new cars, galaxies can't contest the luster of your two blue stars With the mind of an Einstein and the looks of Vanessa Williams, you are truly one in billions So place this as veracious since what I say next is honest; you are definitely an earth born goddess So WOW, I'm glad my friend had the intelligence to know what to do with such garbage! I've given other poems to girls since I wrote this one, but none of them accomplished what they were supposed to; and considering the history that myself and the girl that this one was intended for, it wouldn't have helped at all.

Post #2

First Post!
Posted on July 04 2007 at 15:55

This is the glorious first post in my blog that I coded using JSP!

Post #1