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I sincerely hope we do not all become highly reasoned robotic creatures like your great utopia envisions.Just because reason is the be all of your own understanding does not mean it should be everyone else's.
I sincerely hope we do not all become highly reasoned robotic creatures like your great utopia envisions.Just because reason is the be all of your own understanding does not mean it should be everyone else's.
Reason is the ONLY means for human understanding of reality. There is no other way to do it. For anyone, ever, now, or forever. Including you.
In defense of Katie, I believe she is entitled to her viewpoint too. Granted that reason is logic, but there is also room for emotion. After all, sometimes it's not the reason but the emotion that prevents suicide. After all, that is the whole purpose of this thread, that is, what makes us want to keep living.
In defense of Katie, I believe she is entitled to her viewpoint too. ...
Of course she is. But the question isn’t as to whose viewpoint is more correct; this is likely unanswerable and indeterminable. Rather, the question is, on what do we base our laws, our ethics, our values as a society? If some of us have unorthodox opinions, does that confer upon us an exemption from those laws, that flow from prevailing opinions? Probably not. But if laws are based merely on aggregate opinion, is that just? And is it reasonable to subject dissidents to such laws – or, are said dissidents expected to “shut up and color”, as a requirement of participating in the prevailing society?
This is why it’s attractive to appeal to reason. Reason, we gather, is universal. It is not contingent on the reasoner, unlike opinion, which is personal. But too often, what we deem to be “reason”, is opinion dressed-up in fancy accouterments. It’s opinion eloquently stated and vigorously defended. This is a mistake made by both the majority and the dissidents, because passions are prevailing, and affect us all. How then do we determine, when candidate “reason” is legitimate reason? Sometimes we can take a scientific approach: make a hypothesis, run experiments, assess the results and reach a conclusion. But passions and opinions and biases obtrude at every step! And not every question is amenable to scientific rigor. So we have a bit of an impasse, don’t we?
This is why it’s so jarring to hear that “suicide is always stupid”, or some other such declamatory insistence.
Wow ... that is seriously messed up. I cannot believe a professional would say that to you.
I am sorry that you have felt the need to attempt suicide. In my experience, motivating someone through avoidance and fear is not as effective as teaching them through the positive motivation.
Much as I appreciate your kindness, I have to disagree with you. In other words, I go along with what my therapist told me, that my suicide would result in me having to resume the same problems in my next Reincarnation. Reincarnation makes sense to me because it shows that suicide is too easy, too good to be true, if you see what I mean.
So, much as I appreciate your kindness, Birdie, I will have to disagree. My therapist is very compassionate, and I appreciate him very much.
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