shifty

Lol, thats a good way to put it. I appreciate it very much. Alex

I have to second lynam on this. I didn't read the entire thread but I like to add that I was very much attracted to objectivism AND was heavily depressed. The thing is that when I first read Atlas Shrugged I was superficially shielded from my depression by a sense of superiority that I drew from the "truth" that was in AS. I also thought that for a while I was cured just by reading AS. However it turned out that I wasn't cured at all but just propped up by a false sense of self-esteem. Later on I started trying to live in the real world and slowly realized that I was far from capable of ANYTHING, and so my inflated self esteem collapsed over time. I now, for the most part, managed to get it under control. It only took me YEARS of introspection to find and correct all the metal gymnastics my brain was doing to keep me in such shitty depressed state. It also seems that chugging tons of coffee and working manically didn't help my mental state (according to a clinic doctor I saw today). So, philosophy is indeed separate from mental well being. It guides you on how to be happy, but it doesn't think for you, and so it won't help jack if you are depressed. Just my two cents. Edit: forgot to add the word "read" and formating

Colonel Landa from Inglorious Bastards is my favorite villain. I like him because he is terrifying. Although, he isn't frightful because of any appearance or sadistic evil doing. He is frightening because of the mind games and his intelligence. I really hope I don't encounter someone like him.

Haha, that's how he might get elected again too. lol

I think Brant's post addressed the difference of predatory business and competitive spirit I describe ("There is competition with grace and competition without grace" -Brant). I'm more for grace. What I describe doesn't concern itself with what value a competitor has. I don't care about the other guy personally, but hes there trying to take a sale or job from me or my company. So, I then have to crush him (business wise). Ofcourse, it doesn't apply for people not in the same market. In essence, I don't feel like defeating others because they are good people. I have to do it for myself, and it feels good to win. And if I literally took from the guy then that's stealing (and if socially accepted it would be anarchy) I don't really care how tough it is in real laissez-faire. I just want to jump into the fray and succeed if I got what it takes, and potentially fail if it has to happen. It's all part of the game. Those predators would always be there (I don't think they will die out), but they just wont get a pass so easily anymore.

You are right and there is a shift, but not because I changed my stance. I just changed its focus. You want to win, but you don't want to loose too (greed vs fear). In essence, it's other side of the same coin. Defeating others serves both purposes. It's a focus on others, but there is so much value for me though. You can't just work at ur own pace and not fear or envy the competition. My value goes up when I know my work is either among the best or good enough to hang on. IMO, for me, the point is still myself, but beating others is the core of "the competitive spirit". And it's not elevating others over myself so it's not altruism.

I don't think Austrian economics addresses the competitive spirit, but I'm no expert either. You suspect wrong. The threat of loosing is a reality, and it can happen to me and anyone else. And, depending on what you play, if you make a first move and loose you can have long lasting consequences. Moreover, not surviving is a literally reality for a business. But we do compete for every dollar. I'm sure earning money is not like a picnic. Also, what you describe seems like anarchy, and I'm not an anarchist. I'm really lost on how you came up with Social Darwinism to be an altruist-tribalist notion. Not like it matters because I'm not enamored with the idea of survival of the fittest anyways. It doesn't matter to me that others are "fitter". I just want to survive.

I think the competive spirit you describe is different from mine. The difference is that it's not about being "better" than the competition. It's about "beating" the competition. To me, the competitive spirit consist of the drive to out do your competition with ur fellows in arms. To make a better product and leave the enemy with nothing, and take all the glory away with ur allies. Being "better" is not the same. It could be that when u beat the other guy u are better, and so pride follows, but beating him comes first. That is why competitors do it imo. Its about being first and wining it all.

I think It's irrelevant to your moral virtue (and that's bad piano, but she's 105). It does potentially say something about your values, which I have just reasonably deduced. (OMG! I just judged you based on ur subjective pref, I must be a dogmatic cultist). No hard feelings?

no i cant but the paper outline contains all teh ideas i am talking about which i see relevant to my argument I'll just look up Scruton instead some other time. For the record, Grunge and this here sound awfully excruciating to me. And this is amusingly bad to me. By the way, I'm 25. Edit: The beat is ok, but just look at his ridiculous hair, swagger, and lirycs. It makes me smile .

http://hettingern.people.cofc.edu/Aesthetics_Fall_2010/Scruton_Decline_in_Musical_Culture.htm This seems a rough outline for a paper using Scruton as his main source. If true, can u point me to the completed paper?

It seems to me that your opponents here are not trying to argue within the objectivist framework, but are just trying to point out that u do not yet understand the Epistemological foundation in its entirety. From quickly looking over ur posts I think u addresses something about existence exists. So they may be wrong on that pointification, but u do seem very quick to condemn here. Focus more on making exact replies instead of quickly digressing to lengthy rants, it will make u look more amicable. Of course, it's just advise that I'm selfishly giving to get this discussion going on a deeper level (it's starting to bore me). I hope u'll consider it.

Hey thanks I'm just getting out of that stage in life. It seems to me that kicking yourself over any of that is like crying over spilled milk. One think I'm concerned of though is whether you imply that there is no such thing as joyous productivity? I hope not , because I hope to one day be happy at work. No, of course I don't imply that. At that time I believed that whatever I decided to do, I should persevere, succeed and glory in, whether I was suited or qualified or ready to do it at all. I was wrong Later I was joyously productive and happy at work, and I still am today. So will you be too. Yeah, I pretty much thought I should persevere while totally unready for what I was doing. Didn't really work out I guess. However, thanks for the encouragement .

I'm just getting out of that stage in life. It seems to me that kicking yourself over any of that is like crying over spilled milk. One think I'm concerned of though is whether you imply that there is no such thing as joyous productivity? I hope not , because I hope to one day be happy at work.

ReasonTv seems to suggest that negative attack adds existed much before television:

Almost makes me want to move to Australia .

Terrible system, but keep searching for happiness, even if you don't see it anywhere, because it's better than not searching. And don't loose sight of a future that's possible. Also, Half-Life 2 is a great game . I think you are referring to the scene at the beginning right? . Have you played the episodes? P.S. On a side note, some parts were not as discernible from grammar errors, I guess from writing on the spur. Shifty

This reminds of an experience I had with a psychologist ( or psychotherapist if I remember) from Mexico who really wanted me to feel better by showing a horoscope book type thing that predicted your attributes based on your birth day. I was skeptical but interested on how accurate the description was. Then I realized that she was reading the wrong section for my date. Any confidence I had with her collapsed into a deep contemptuous distrust bordering on hatred. I informed her of the error with a derisive smile, and never came back again. I also got of the med she had given me and went through a week of withdrawal, which of each day felt like I had a hangover. My life was far from better at the time, but it did leave me with a sour taste for psychologists.

That's good, I'm glad. You also need courage just to do what's right even when no one is attacking you in any way. That's more of the way I meant it; Courage to face the fear inside you. Edit: I just realized you might have meant it the way I did . I'm 23 too . It does take a long time to find your way, and I believe the key lies in the first post I made. Just because I say it doesn't mean much though. You will have too prove it to yourself first for you to truly believe it.

Shifty that is a wonderful sentiment I find it difficult as well but if you think of it as a battle that seems to help Thank you Your welcome

You have a future no matter what happens. Work from what is to make it better, and if you are serious about fleeing to America make sure to analyze your situation carefully and that the benefits will out weigh the cost.

Hello there, I can relate to some of the issues you mentioned since I'm a bit ostracized at the moment too. In dealing with these issues I would advise too keep in mind what is your purpose in life (what is most important to you). Then work on conceptualizing a very well thought out plan and begin working on a few stepping stones towards that goal. Having the certainty of knowing that your life is moving forward towards what you want most can go a long ways in calming the fear you have; And it isn't a problem that your plan isn't perfect, you can always improve it and it is certainly better than doing nothing. There is the one requirement that I've found difficult to overcome; You need the courage to never give up. It's possible. One good measure to know if you are doing it right is to be working on a stepping stone. If you are not doing that then it means you need start immediately. It isn't always easy but always worth it. Hope I didn't repeat what you already know. On a side note, I also have a brother who thought I was kinda crazy for my interest in Objectivism. He's in the Army now so he cant bother me about it anymore, or me bother him, but just remember that definitions are often a source of some of the problems. They could even be opposite of yours. -Shifty

This may be obtuse, but I like to point out that if you had made your points in a reverse order the flow of the comment would have been from general to specific instead of specific to general, making it more coherent. I whole heartedly meant this as a constructive insight.

It seems to me that Michael Marotta posted his credentials not to brag or to augment his authority on the subject of AS's quality, but to asserts its value by directly crediting it with his success. I'm sure that that was the point of his post. -Alex

The youtube user (and Objectivist) MrCropper is trying to have a competing private school running. You should check him out sometime. Last time I checked he had 2 students but it's a start .