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Character is Fate / Know Thyself

Angel

Angel

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Two pieces of ANCIENT WISDOM

"Character is Fate"

"Know Thyself"


Yes?

No?

Maybe?

So?

Can you appreciate their lovely complementarity?

Can you express this complementarity in your own words?

Is this wisdom the answer to the narcissism of our times?


[Hewing to the rules of this forum, this thread is "dedicated and limited to discussion of a ... philosophical topic."

Silliness will be silently judged off-screen.

Peace.]

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Or is it -- alas! -- the other way around?

Is Epochal Narcissism

our answer to ancient wisdom?

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Has humanism failed?​
 
Ok, another huge generalised ad hominem disguised as an OP but I'll bite. How are you measuring relative narcissism over time?
 
One day, I hope you post something that makes a bit of sense.
 
:inandout:
 
Angel said:
CKfsts3.png


wQJvo10.jpg



Two pieces of ANCIENT WISDOM

"Character is Fate"

"Know Thyself"


Yes?

No?

Maybe?

So?

Can you appreciate their lovely complementarity?

Can you express this complementarity in your own words?

Is this wisdom the answer to the narcissism of our times?


[Hewing to the rules of this forum, this thread is "dedicated and limited to discussion of a ... philosophical topic."

Silliness will be silently judged off-screen.

Peace.]

J0LiQdjt.jpg
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A man's character is his fate. I couldn't agree more.
 
TheGoverness said:
One day, I hope you post something that makes a bit of sense.
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There's a whole branch of philosophy that focuses on the superfluous use of pretentious language in an effort to both confuse the reader while leaving them with a profound respect for the writers intellectual prowess.
 
MaggieD said:
A man's character is his fate. I couldn't agree more.
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I'm with you on this, Maggie. Based on long observation, both of others and of myself, the truth of this maxim is borne out to a moral certainty. This is one of the great half-forgotten truths of the human experience.
 
Angel said:
I'm with you on this, Maggie. Based on long observation, both of others and of myself, the truth of this maxim is borne out to a moral certainty. This is one of the great half-forgotten truths of the human experience.
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I have a reasonable doubt about this maxim so it can't be borne out to a moral certainty. A man's fate is not entirely under his control and neither is his character.

And the idea of character is subjective and vague, as is the idea of fate. What really happens is we behave in certain ways and things happen to us which may or may not be connected to that behavior. And a great deal of that behavior is not entirely under our control.

All this adds up to a very vague philosophical statement that has very little use except apparently to be thrown at people who you consider to be of inferior character. Otherwise, why make the statement? It's not much different than the Biblical proverb "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". Maybe, maybe not. Bad things do happen to good people.
 
devildavid said:
I have a reasonable doubt about this maxim so it can't be borne out to a moral certainty. A man's fate is not entirely under his control and neither is his character.

And the idea of character is subjective and vague, as is the idea of fate. What really happens is we behave in certain ways and things happen to us which may or may not be connected to that behavior. And a great deal of that behavior is not entirely under our control.

All this adds up to a very vague philosophical statement that has very little use except apparently to be thrown at people who you consider to be of inferior character. Otherwise, why make the statement? It's not much different than the Biblical proverb "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". Maybe, maybe not. Bad things do happen to good people.
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Why make the statement? You'd have to ask Heraclitus. He made the statement. I merely quoted him. All of Ancient Greek tragic drama seems to agree with him. So you disagree with him. Fine. That's your prerogative. But you introduce the moral dimension; it is not in the OP. Moreover, bad things happening to good people is not a counter-example to the OP.
 
Angel said:
Why make the statement? You'd have to ask Heraclitus. He made the statement. I merely quoted him. All of Ancient Greek tragic drama seems to agree with him. So you disagree with him. Fine. That's your prerogative. But you introduce the moral dimension; it is not in the OP. Moreover, bad things happening to good people is not a counter-example to the OP.
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So you just quoted him for what? You agree with him, you don't agree with him? Are you saying that you just spammed the forum with a quote for no reason?
 
devildavid said:
I have a reasonable doubt about this maxim so it can't be borne out to a moral certainty. A man's fate is not entirely under his control and neither is his character.

And the idea of character is subjective and vague, as is the idea of fate. What really happens is we behave in certain ways and things happen to us which may or may not be connected to that behavior. And a great deal of that behavior is not entirely under our control.

All this adds up to a very vague philosophical statement that has very little use except apparently to be thrown at people who you consider to be of inferior character. Otherwise, why make the statement? It's not much different than the Biblical proverb "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". Maybe, maybe not. Bad things do happen to good people.
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Example : Cancer.

It may involve 'character' issues like smoking, but it frequently doesn't. Genetics + environment make up what becomes "character", which as you say, is subjective.
 
TheGoverness said:
One day, I hope you post something that makes a bit of sense.
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It makes sense, it's yet another dig at atheists/materialists/skeptics. The implication being that we are in love with ourselves and our humanity rather than embracing an ancient enlightenment based upon a spirituality of the noble savage. There are many cliches in the OP but, the intent of it is transparent and pretty much just a means to circumvent previous issues.
 
William Rea said:
So you just quoted him for what? You agree with him, you don't agree with him? Are you saying that you just spammed the forum with a quote for no reason?
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To generate debate, as in every other OP at DP.
I posted my agreement and its basis at #9; Maggie at #7. It's your turn.
 
Angel said:
To generate debate, as in every other OP at DP.
I posted my agreement and its basis at #9; Maggie at #7. It's your turn.
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This is not debate...

Angel said:
Why make the statement? You'd have to ask Heraclitus. He made the statement. I merely quoted him. All of Ancient Greek tragic drama seems to agree with him. So you disagree with him. Fine. That's your prerogative. But you introduce the moral dimension; it is not in the OP. Moreover, bad things happening to good people is not a counter-example to the OP.
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It is a shrug of the shoulders and not taking responsibility for what you are posting.
 
<alt>doxygen said:
Example : Cancer.

It may involve 'character' issues like smoking, but it frequently doesn't. Genetics + environment make up what becomes "character", which as you say, is subjective.
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We're all going to die. Does that mean we all share the same fate? I don't think that's what Heraclitus had in mind.
 
Angel said:
We're all going to die. Does that mean we all share the same fate? I don't think that's what Heraclitus had in mind.
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Perhaps not, but my definition of fate may differ as well. I think of fate as including every step of the journey, not merely some particular point or TBD destination.

And, how you play the hand is up to you, but none of us have the same set of cards.
 
<alt>doxygen said:
Perhaps not, but my definition of fate may differ as well. I think of fate as including every step of the journey, not merely some particular point or TBD destination.

And, how you play the hand is up to you, but none of us have the same set of cards.
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Staying with your gambler metaphor, maybe what the Heraclitus fragment contemplates is how we play the hand we're dealt. Maybe that's where the question of character comes in.
 
A mans character is not his fate, because character changes.



People do change, and profoundly. No fate, but what we make. That's some terminator two wisdom.
 
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