- Joined
- Oct 12, 2009
- Messages
- 6,762
- Reaction score
- 1,619
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Private
Objectivity is fine. It is even essential in debates so as to achieve clarity, but it has to be understood as a mental process -- a particular style of analysis -- and not a condition. 'Being objective' just means looking more closely at the contents of your consciousness, analyzing them closely for details and disparities and relating your observations to other people whose presence you are also experiencing subjectively. No one can ever actually make contact directly with the "real world." We can't come into contact, mentally, with objects -- only impressions of those objects by way of our sensations.
Yeah, it's confusing. 2 + 2 = 4 and seems an objective truth. Murder is bad may be subjective. I totally agree with what I bolded above.
I'm only a liberal in the United States. Anywhere else I would be classified a moderate, because I am not a proponent of classical liberalism [libertarianism] or communism.
Oops! I thought I saw "Conservative" in your mini profile. Sorry. I am a self-described liberal neocon, who is evidently jingoistic to boot. :usflag2: (in favor of Iraq, think we should leave afghanistan)
If I ever criticized George Bush for such things, it would have been on grounds his movements lacked utility, not because I considered them illegal, at least not in American law. Accusations of illegality smack of hysteria and I use them sparingly -- hysteria is one way of losing your soul. Outside American law, I am somewhat indifferent, because while I respect the United Nations for some things, I only respect laws insofar as the powers behind them can mete out the penalties of breaching them. That said, international law still carries some weight, and I am disappointed in Bush's disregard of that.
Being of the persuasion I am, I think international law, and especially entities like the UN, can limit our action. We should minimize the treaties we are a party to. I want to be able to act unilaterally.
On topic, I am excited to see another plank removed from the ediface of illegal drugs.