Pastelland Forum

Boingo wrote:This is a good example how people will react to a simple question, so you can imagine how these personality types will react to the entire world,right?

Makes sense.

I think everyone agreed that a single lingua franca is unlikely to wipe out the linguistic diversity. I would agree with this sentiment myself, too.

Anteroinen wrote:I think everyone agreed that a single lingua franca is unlikely to wipe out the linguistic diversity. I would agree with this sentiment myself, too.

I would agree with this too.

Okay, this just became a "Yes-Man" competitions.

Agreed! It has been decided.

So how about a compatibility / determinism discussion? I've been fine tuning my beliefs on this for a while because of some writing I've been planing.

1. There may be some sort of truly random events happening on an atomic or subatomic level, and this certainly will have macroscopic effects, but so far as the principles of mechanics go, we live in a universe which is consistent and predictable within certain probabilistic frameworks. All I'm trying to say here is that things happen from causes that can be quantified, ie, physical events are determined by prior events.

2. The human mind at any given moment has its influences and origins in prior genetics and experiences, and the sum total of choices the mind has made up until that point. Through systems we still do not fully understand, the mind is capable of weighing the value of reasons and outcomes to make decisions and plan goals. Regardless of how determined the physical events around the human mind are, and how the genetic and experiential events might influence how the human mind may think at any given moment, it is undeniable that it is that mind and that mind alone that makes decisions. In that sense, we are self-determined by our choice making capacities, even if the ultimate reasons why we make our specific decisions originate from an external, deterministic universe. This choice making capacity is exemplified by the fact that while the human mind usually chooses the choice that seems best, the self-aware mind can choose a less desirable choice simply in order to exercise their capacity (freedom) of choice.

3. So, I believe in compatibility of Determinism and Freedom of Will because while I believe in a mechanistically and causally determined universe, this doesn't change the fact that the human mind has the capacity to choose.

My response:
I did not even read your post.
Thus I am not a "Yes-Man".

Ha!

Has anyone ever heard Hitler speak on an archived film?

Boingo wrote:Ha!

Has anyone ever heard Hitler speak on an archived film?

Yes, why?

Hitler and Churchill operated on different mindsets during WW2.
Hitler believed in something, and that was that the non-Aryan race was strong, and the rest were weak and deserved to be ground to dust. And he would keep following the goals based on this belief, such as the superior aryan race needing 'breeding ground', e.g. the Soviet Union.
Well, that was the catalyst for the downfall of Hitler, I guess.
He believed every word he spoke was true to his 'belief', (listen to him speak-he was a psychopath, but heck, could he speak.) but in the event that something would get in the way he would manipulate the people without deferring to his 'beliefs'. Nothing would get i the way of his beliefs.

Churchill operated differently. He knew he wanted something, so he would find the easiest and most effective way of doing it (unlike Hitler, who would want something done, and carry it out around his beliefs) and then carry it out: he wanted to hurt Germany, so he carpet-bombed the country for three months. What did hitler do? Nothing, because until four months after they started, he believed that the British were still of the Aryan race.
-Hitler: "Hey, look! Even your Royal family is of Germanic descent? What do you say to that?"
-George Rex (in an RP accent): "Oh dear. How abou' we change our name from Saxon Gotha-Coburg to Windsor?"
Churchill would not be stopped by his sense of moral, and found the most damning way to hurt germany. It worked.

How did these two men think?

Since medieval ages, the anglo-saxon have changed a lot in comparizon to the other aryan poblations, even if they are still germanic, many people believe that they changed a lot to be still considerated like that. They are many changes. For example, actual anglo-saxon countries shows a very diferent culture than germanic ones. Countries like England, Netherlands and Belgium, show a more heterogenial society than other germanic countries like Germany, Denmark or Austria, that are still more homogenical. There are also biological diference between non-saxon aryans and saxon aryans. Actual evidence shows that anglo-saxons, both england and USA are between 2 to 5 cm shorter than non anglo-saxon aryans, they are also usually less white and have more fur than the other aryans. In other words, there is a evolutionary slowdown of about more than 500 years there. The factor seems to be just topographical, something that usually happens in nature.

They are however, other aspects that doesn't matter, like politics, because some germanic countries are still kingdoms, while others are republics, withouth matter of they are anglo-saxon or not.