Are we all in truth, Equal?
0
SamRavster wrote...
PumpJack McGee wrote...
No, and it's better that way.
If everyone were truly equal in all manner of things, the world and society would stagnate- and fall into a mire of some sort of delusional dystopian utopia where people are all equally miserable and equally apathetic towards it.
[font=verdana][color=green]As a Westerner, who lives without disease and famine being constant worries, it's very easy for you to say that.
But no, we aren't truly equal. "It's who you know, not what you know".
Well- that's the thing.
All a matter of perspective.
The well-off see the concept as Socialism- and the miserable see it as Paradise.
But in pure facts and numbers, were we to pool all the worlds resources together and then distribute them evenly amongst all peoples- that'd put everyone just about over the poverty line.
No one would pursue greater goals, if it means losing what little they have- as there would be nothing to gain by default of such a society.
Everything would be non-profit in order to maintain the line that has been drawn; everyone gets equal share.
Of course our system is flawed. All systems are flawed.
But at least in our system- SOME people are happy. And there is room for error. Some thrive. Some die.
But that's the way of life. It is now. Always has been. Always will be.
It's just that instead of the most brutish caveman with the biggest club winning out- it's the wily entrepreneurial type who knows how to shimmy his way through the cracks in the machine that keeps our countries going.
I am, of course, talking economics- because that's where the disparity is greatest and most obvious.
When it comes to race and women, I don't think that should even be a point of contention.
0
For the most part, I don't believe people are equal.
Even at birth, some are born healthy, some are born rich, while others are not. As people age, they develop traits that make them even more equal. I would consider my opinion on the working of various biomolecules more highly than I would that of a stranger, but I would take literally anyone's word for the tone/pitch of a certain sound.
However, there is one way in which we are all equal, and that is our human fallibility. Every opinion we ever express carries no more weight than "a human said so." In some cases, there might be a right answer, e.g., the professional opinion of a medical doctor is more often correct than that of a non-doctor in the field of medicine. However, in most things over which people will ever argue, e.g., "What is right/wrong?" or "What should I do?" there is no absolute correctness, only differing perspectives that can virtually always coexist if those who believe in them choose to do so.
Even at birth, some are born healthy, some are born rich, while others are not. As people age, they develop traits that make them even more equal. I would consider my opinion on the working of various biomolecules more highly than I would that of a stranger, but I would take literally anyone's word for the tone/pitch of a certain sound.
However, there is one way in which we are all equal, and that is our human fallibility. Every opinion we ever express carries no more weight than "a human said so." In some cases, there might be a right answer, e.g., the professional opinion of a medical doctor is more often correct than that of a non-doctor in the field of medicine. However, in most things over which people will ever argue, e.g., "What is right/wrong?" or "What should I do?" there is no absolute correctness, only differing perspectives that can virtually always coexist if those who believe in them choose to do so.
0
ihatemy wrote...
Mr.TifaLockhart wrote...
Yes. For starters we're human.But then one has to wonder if being human is a valid use of measurement. For one thing, can you tell me what a human is? And I don't mean in the sense of we are made of such and such percentage of elements. If you jumble the same amount of elements together, (in the correct configuration)is what you've made a human?
What point are you trying to make? You stated that our elemental composition should be a non-factor, but aside from that, you've just asked what it is to be human.
My personal belief is that, being human is the most important aspect. Humans are the product of evolution over the course of millennia. One can argue what it means to be human, but the fact of the matter is, we are Homo Sapiens.
When debating whether we are all equal, the fact that we are all of the same species won't close the argument, but it holds a significant amount of weight.
0
The Jesus wrote...
Spoiler:
What point are you trying to make? You stated that our elemental composition should be a non-factor, but aside from that, you've just asked what it is to be human.
My personal belief is that, being human is the most important aspect. Humans are the product of evolution over the course of millennia. One can argue what it means to be human, but the fact of the matter is, we are Homo Sapiens.
When debating whether we are all equal, the fact that we are all of the same species won't close the argument, but it holds a significant amount of weight.
I was making the point that, Being human really shouldn't be a factor in deciding whether or not we are equal. If anything, It should be irrelevant. Unless there is a user that isn't human on here, being human is a given. How we understand equality is through the use of value, i.e. measurement (The difference between one value in comparison to another). We tend to focus on what makes ourselves different from one another to denote what we percieve is our worth; be it the amount of money we have or the quality of our living. So saying something that we know is universally true [That you and the one you are argueing with are both humans] does not further the argument.
On the point of whether or not we are equal? Well to quote Dante from the first FMA: "People can say there is a balance [equality] a logic that happens for a reason, but the truth is far less desired. No matter how hard you work, when you die, you die. Some spend their entire life trying to scratch thier way to the top, and still die in poverty. While others are born into wealth without ever working it off." In that sense, equality does not exist.
