Comments

  • Confession
    Sir2u, at these forums, has a history of attacking religion and arguing for Atheism, and the above-quoted passage is just another such attack. ...but, this time, taking the form of mocking.

    Maybe Sir2u wants to show that there's no bottom-limit to his conduct.
    Michael Ossipoff

    I have never attacked anyone for their religion. If you think that way you must have some proof of what you are saying, lets see the post where I insulted or attacked someone because of their religious views.

    I did not mock him, all I did was tell him the truth according to the bible. If that is a sin then sue me. It is not a question of whether I believe or not in religion but whether he does. If he believes in the words of the bible s he says then by admitting his sins he will be saved.

    Not many would get in Sir2u's boat.Michael Ossipoff

    You would be the loser then. Or maybe you did not understand the usage of the phrase? Being in the same boat means being in the same situation, in this case I said basically that most of us have done bad things and will probably do more bad things. You can deny that if you want, but you are probably in the same boat whether you like it or not.

    But yes, aggressive Atheists are undeniably tiresome.Michael Ossipoff

    How would you define Aggressive Atheists? I always considered then to be the ones that go around preaching to others that their way is best. I really don't like them much either, they are no better that any other religion trying to get converts.
  • The Dozen Locker Dilemma
    Things worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
    Nothing worth while.
  • Confession
    You are blessed brother for admitting your sins, all is forgiven.

    Go in peace.

    We are nearly all in the same boat, so don't sweat it too much.
  • Some advice needed.
    So turn you house into apartments and you will be able to live individually while at home. If you ever leave the apartment can be rented out to bring in extra cash.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    I am a professor in shmanciology. If you would like to learn more about it, I invite you to attend one of my upcoming lectures on the shmubject. There will of course be a shmall fee: shmomewhere in the ballpark of between £10,000 and £15,000.S

    Maybe I could help with proofreading here.

    I am a professor in shm-logy. The correct name of the subject.

    If you would like to learn more about it, I invite you to attend one of my upcoming lectures on the subject shmubject.

    There will of course be a small shmall fee:

    somewhere shmomewhere in the ballpark of between £10,000 and £15,000.[/quote]

    Remember that the use of shm is to duplicate a word already used in a way that does not use the exact same word. Fancy talking if you want a simple name. And you are allowed to use words that begin with a letter that is not S.

    Exhibit A:
    Exhibit B:
    I rest my case.
    S

    Err, and just what was your case?: It must have slipped my mind.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    On Sabbatical leave as from midnight tonight.Amity

    Is that what they say when they are going to the pub where you live?
  • Some advice needed.
    Tell your mom to sell the house and find a place for both of you to live where no one knows you or your problems. Your environment is a constant in everything you do so a change will probably help to break the cycle.
    If you could find a smaller house and convert it to 2 apartments you would have the best of both worlds and be able to make friends with new people as well.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    If you had to give a definition or clarification on your theory of Happiness what might it be ?Amity

    I don't really have a theory of happiness, just some personal thoughts about it.

    They say that you cannot buy happiness, but your wife is probably unhappy when you forget to buy her a present.
    Is unhappiness not buying stuff?

    They say that happiness grows over time, why are there so many divorces then? Does marriage make people unhappy?

    Bars have Happy Hours, is getting drunk going to make you happy.

    Restaurants have Happy Meals so kids can get fat and die an early death from heart problems. Does giving your kids that shit make Mom and Dad happy? Of course it does if it makes the kiddies happy and keeps them quiet for ten minutes.

    Who the hell knows what happiness is, except of course for "S" and he is keeping his dictionary in the shit house so no one can see it.

    Is happiness something that we can expect to be only temporal or should we expect it to be long lasting?
    How do you measure happiness, by quality, by length of time, by degrees?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    I keep it in my shrine.S

    The outhouse?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Who is this 'us' ? You mean yourself as in acting a bit of a schmuck.Amity

    Oh dear. You do not understand sarcasm at all do you. And irony also seems to be missing for your understanding abilities.

    First of all it is customary around here to provide ones usage, definition, of words that are not necessarily standard. I have not found Shmancy in any of the philosophy books I have read so I asked for it to be explained. As you yourself said basic definitions are necessary to start a discussion. I don't go to Wikipedia for definitions either.

    Second, calling someone a schmuck is not an example of Shm-reduplication, it is an insult.
    schmuck - (Yiddish) a stupid, foolish or annoying person
    Which would probably be more applicable to a person that uses "fancy schmancy" in what is supposed to be a serious discussion.

    Shmancy works just fine in context.Amity

    The context is him making fun of the words you use, so I guess you should know whether it works fine or not. :smirk:
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Either way, you will still need to define what you mean by being or doing 'happy' or 'Happiness'.
    I like the specific focus of your suggested discussion. Specifics, like that, could arise or spin off from unpacking the general definition of Baden:The definitions were only to be there as a starter.
    What do you think ?
    Amity

    While Baden's definition is sort of fitting for some discussion, it is rather first person. It is about how one becomes happy, not how one makes others happy.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Fancy-shmancy. :wink:S

    Could you please give us a workable definition of "shmancy", I cannot find it anywhere. And I know that you really like to provide people with the definition of words that are not in common use. Where can I find that dictionary you use?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    I'd like to see a discussion about happiness that deals with two main approaches, namely materialism vs meaning, with participants arguing which is better or is more likely to lead to happiness.praxis

    That is closer to my original idea about what makes people happy than trying to find better ways to explain what exactly happiness is. We know already, thanks to "S", the definition of happiness so lets look at the good and bad of making people happy.

    Example:
    Is it correct(moral) to give a 16 year old a shotgun for his/her birthday if it makes her/him happy?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Wait. How dare you?S

    I would not like to get called out (again) for assuming something I cannot prove, so I figured that if you don't fit into one or more of those three I could always just call you "anything else present".

    My pronouns are ze/zir.S

    Is that the equivalent of I/me, him/her or just some more bullshit?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Did you read the thread? That was a lot of fun. :cool:
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    He/she/it does not like any of my questions.

    And he never answers them either.

    Not that I give a rat's ass about it anyway.
  • Does the world structure language or does language structure the world?
    For example, we do not say statements like ''there is rain'', rather we say ''it is raining'', as if there is some subject, ''it'', to which the predicate ''raining'' can be attached.philosophy

    In some languages you do say there is rain.

    The absurdity of this becomes clearer with a statement like ''lightning flashes'', since there is no distinction here between the subject ''lightning'' and its predicate ''flash''.philosophy

    ''lightning flashes'' could be a clause or phrase or even a subject but never a statement.

    This would depend on context.
    The lightening flashes across the sky. It is obvious which is the subject.

    There are lightening flashes in the sky. Nothing confusing about that either.

    In other words, going back the example I started with, does Aristotle posit the existence of substance because that is how the world really is like, or does the world appear to have substances because of the way Aristotle uses language?philosophy
    If Aristotle was not already substance, how could he posit anything?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Meh. I think I already know what happiness is, so I don't need other people telling me what they think it is. I don't even need to put it into words, least of all fancy-shmancy words.S

    I know you don't need to do it, but you could at least put it into plain, ordinary, simple words so that the rest of us might have an idea what you think.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    You're conflating pleasure with happiness.Baden

    That is one point of view, but I am not mixing them up. It is more of a cause and effect thing. Isn't pleasure a source of happiness?

    Pleasure;
    A fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience
    Something or someone that provides a source of happiness

    I don't remember who, but someone once said something along the lines of happiness being a larger part of pleasure and a smaller part of pain. Or something like that. It was so long ago that I did any serious reading.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Another possible question for discussion.

    Is it ethical for people to produce mind numbing TV programs to entertain the masses just so that they can earn large amounts of money?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Let me think about it, I might create it. The only problem is that I probably wont be around for the next week or so because of work.

    If someone else thinks it is worth doing, let them go ahead. Now the ideas have started coming maybe S would care to have a go at it. :smile:
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    So you want to know why people are masochistic?Purple Pond

    If being sadistic or masochistic makes them happy but revolts others, how can there be a proper definition of happiness? Is there even such a thing as happiness or is it just the absence of things that bother us.

    I think a worthy topic of psychology, but is it of any philosophical significance?Purple Pond

    If you ask this question, then there is something to discuss. It is part of human existence, is happiness necessary for a fruitful life? Are there ethical sides to being happy?
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Let's take another example of happiness. How many people do you know that can sit for hours watching soap operas on the TV are are happy doing so. Is it because their brain is incapable of processing higher level stuff? I don't think so, my wife does it when she is not working or studying.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Definitions explain what things are, not why they are.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Why are you so obsessed with spanking?Purple Pond

    I am not, I am obsessed with happiness and I would like to understand why or how being hurt can make people happy.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    I don't understand your bafflement. There are plenty of examples where one action hurts a person while it benefits the other. A cruel person is happy to make an unfortunate person shriek with pain when spanking them.Purple Pond

    When you are happy being spanked and your partner is happy spanking you it is not the same as one hurting another.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Happiness: Something like the proper mixture of sensitivity, creativity and strength achieved through habit and self-reflection; a self-sustaining stability of not-wanting rather than the result of procuring something wanted; the satisfaction that comes with focusing outwards on a regular basis while recognizing choice and freedom in each moment in the context of a healthy and active imagination; originality in identity and character in a way that fosters same in others; consistent quality in thought and action.Baden

    OK, now how does being spanked fit into that? I actually know someone that loved his wife because every payday she beat the shit out of him and took all the money. I asked him a while ago about her and he told me that they had separated. The place he worked at started paying through the bank and she did not need to beat him to get the money.

    Why are there so many different types of happiness? Just saying that there are different types of people does not actually explain it.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    On a related note, I almost got myself beaten up by some guys last night because I thought that it would be funny to push a random button on the fruit machine they were playing as I walked by.S

    Heads I answer mean, tails I answer politely. Tails, tut tut. You should learn not to put your hands in place they are not wanted.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Like critiquing someone's ideas without offering any ideas of their own.Purple Pond

    Actually this does not make me unhappy. I enjoy when people critique my way of thinking in a constructive or even passive way. It is a good way to test ideas. What does make me unhappy is criticism that is abusive or down putting.

    But going back to my question, why does spanking make some people happy and others sad? How is it possible that the same pain can have opposite effects on people?

    So you don't think smiling helps?Purple Pond

    Funny thing about that, yesterday I saw a sign "In this house we don't smile because we are happy, we are happy because we smile". Maybe there is something in that after all. You would certainly have to be careful when and where you smiled though.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    Don't pay any attention to him. Tell us what you think, it might just make you happier. :wink:
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    ineffablePurple Pond

    Well that sort of puts the dampers on things.

    What makes one person happy can put one person downPurple Pond

    Like spanking maybe?

    Yes indeed, and that is smiling.Purple Pond

    Do you really think that walking around smiling at people would make them happy? I know some people that I don't want smiling at me.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    How would you make that philosophical?Purple Pond

    Would you like to define happiness and then explain how to make people feel like that? But we could also look at the lighter side of it.
  • What's grinding your gears?
    Cheerleader2u.S

    Pull your knickers up, your jealousy is showing.
  • What discussions would you like to see?
    I would like to see a discussion with the title: How to silence those nagging voices that you hear in your head.

    No, sorry. I just figured out that the noises are not in my head. I was reading S's posts.

    Seriously though, what would be nice is a topic about making people happy.
  • What's grinding your gears?
    There's a middle finger missing in the emojis.Purple Pond

    :rofl: :up: :100:
  • What's grinding your gears?
    My last few discussions are practically duds. :cry:Purple Pond

    Be carefully it does not come and tell you that you are missing an "e" at the end. He will not understand that you used the correct descriptive word.
  • What's grinding your gears?
    People who think they are really wise and everything.Purple Pond

    Are there any of those around here?
  • What's grinding your gears?
    Ah, a complaint clinic.Wallows

    Was dat? Ain't neva herd a dem.
  • The Vegan paradox
    If you have purchased or consumed any of those products, you must be against human rights. Right?chatterbears

    Kind of funny that the first thing they show is how to use a cell phone to access the information, then go on to explain that child and forced labor is part of the process to make cell phones?
  • Wiser Words Have Never Been Spoken
    My obvious hostility is what makes me so endearing. Everyone I force into submission tells me so.S

    So they don't tell you too often then do they. :lol: