a few days a go a forum member advised me to read some Thomas Hobbes. the forum member's point was that Hobbes had advised that one should "know thyself" not just because it's a good idea for its own sake, but also as a way of understanding others. according to that forum member, what Hobbes said was this:

"whosoever looketh into himself and considereth what he doth when he does think, opine, reason, hope, fear, etc., and upon what grounds; he shall thereby read and know what are the thoughts and passions of all other men upon the like occasions."

I was not expecting to be able to read and know what all other men might do in any given situation, but a clue to how one person at a time might possibly behave some of the time, that would be useful. but it hasn't been my experience that any amount of self knowledge gives any clue to how other folk might behave and in fact for the most part I find other people pretty much incomprehensible.

I spent a long time under the impression that folk would have beliefs, and act in accordance with their beliefs. but after a while I realised that a lot of the time folk just do whatever they want and then amend their "beliefs" to justify what they just did. I actually read a paper once that said religious folk who believed in a forgiving god were more likely to cheat on tests, which suggests to my cynical self that they "believe" in this god purely so that they can be forgiven, but I'm also fairly sure the religious right will crucify me for saying that, literally if possible.

I came across another example of the incomprehensibility in today's news.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, ordered folk in her city to wear face masks in public. an instruction she said was based on the advice of experts. Brian Kemp, the governor of Georgia, is suing her to prevent her from doing this because, as reported in the Guardian, she does not have the authority to contradict his own statewide instructions. however, Kemp also claims that wearing a face mask in public is a good idea.

which means that Kemp claims that:

1. he believes wearing a mask in public is a good idea
2. he will not advise the folk of Georgia to wear a face mask in public
3. he will sue a mayor who gives folk advise to wear a face mask in public

so my question for this thread is: how much Thomas Hobbes do you have to read to comprehend the behaviour of Brian Kemp?


Kaarlo Tuomi