Whats up folks! Long time no see…
Did you know that Magic is DOOMED now?
They will print the Wanderer there.
The Purification Crusade
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Don’t. It’s easier that way.
Don’t trivialize this. Also, there’ll be an end to this. We’ll put this thing to bed when I bash your head open.
…I had so much respect for you. You’ve lost points for this.
War of the Spark HYPE!
Kinda weird that the planeswalkers in the set are like glorified enchantments though.
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It seems I like obscure memes, so here’s a list famous names you never heard of:
- Lipper Reg, american rapper you hear on every corner;
- Slava Lasher, russian rapper every kid tries to put in your face;
- Mark Anthor Orbies, european DJ you talk about to everyone around you;
- Lala Vance, Hollywood actress;
- Homies Rebook, sportswear brand;
- Badge Grinder, job position rising in popularity;
- Sauron Finality, The Lord of the Rings spoiler.
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I can’t understand why this symbol triggers you so much 
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I’m assuming he doesn’t like a balance of good and evil. Good existing with evil.
He wants pure overwhelming EVIL.
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Since “cakeday” seems to be far too confusing a term…
Happy “Anniversary-of-the-day-you-joined-the-forum” to @cookedpoo!
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Someone, anyone, criticize or praise this!
Something I noticed just thinking about life. Many conflicts come from a lack of balance between selfishness (external) and selflessness (internal). It is one of the 3 cases. Either one throws away a sense of sympathy in exchange for unchecked greed. One believes in something similar to original sin and bar themselves from any comfort preferring instead to give away most possessions (immaterial or otherwise) to those they believe to be in need. And then there is something in between, a constant struggle between giving or taking too much.
The first two cases are relatively easy to explain. In the case of a greedy nature, one can simply point to your local politician. Regardless of what side is being pointed to, it can be agreed that most politicians engage in unnecessary acts of luxury funded by money initially collected and allocated for the strict purpose of implementation of public policy, in other words, acts of corruption. And there are many other examples of this nature, it is these type of individuals that can be found at the center of most external conflicts. It is important to note that a greedy quality can be applied to various other contexts besides money.
In the case of those who are endlessly giving, to the point of their own detriment, we can point towards certain denominations of religious sects and the zealous religious individuals contained therein (Protestantism or Catholicism perhaps?). The ideal lifestyle proposed by these places often ask for one to live a life of small means doing little to bother others and above all keeping to the verse "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41). For most, such a life would be very grueling and indeed it is for those who do not a faith to guide them, for those individuals most likely come from a background harsh with discipline carried onto their adult lives. From this stems an intense internal and external conflict, the former as a result of frequent self admonishment in failure to fully live such a life in day-to-day interactions, the latter as a result of enforcing such impossible values upon others either directly or indirectly.
With both extremes covered, we turn to the vast middle of the spectrum, those who struggle in balancing the two qualities. This individual is far more common than the above extremes as most realize that a life spent ignoring the world or ignoring oneself is a life quickly spent, but such a realization does suddenly grant one the tools to live harmoniously within the two directives. How then does this conflict between two opposing ideas play out? I don’t write this under the pretense that I am either above this phenomenon or that I have some expert eye informed by some time period of study, as stated at the beginning of this writing, this is simply an observation. That being said, I imagine the conflict plays out in two different ways.
The first is a tipping towards other ends of the spectrum. The individual would either tip towards the selflessness quality in which they will indulge towards a lifestyle of self destruction whether it be through the intentional burning of metaphorical bridges, resorting to addictive substances or simply participating in activities with high mortality rates. In the case of those taking on the greedy quality, they would tend themselves towards the belief that there is little meaning in the world (something similar to nihilism but not completely) and thus there is no good or evil to be had leading to a conclusion that might be what defines a psycho/sociopath. This behavior could achieve an outcome similar to one of self destruction but more often than not it would result in self serving behaviour at any cost (towards others) with an added pinch of self preservation.
The second is simply an almost eternal struggle, a continuous existence of self doubt, in a word, insanity.
I should also note that though the extremes are dangerous qualities to take on, it is not impossible to live a full life within them, one example I mentioned before are those residing within certain religious sects. It is simply not a viable option for the average person. And it is certainly not a lifestyle that could compromise a functional society at large.
What then could compromise a harmony, a balance of the two qualities?
In chemistry, there exists a certain principle asserting that a chemical reaction between two substances never stop occurring even if they visibly seem to do so, it is only that the reaction has reached equilibrium. To be more specific, that the rate at which the reagents form into product and the rate at which the product forms into reagents is equal. In this way, I believe, something similar to balance could be achieved. Not by attempting to everything perfectly but just by being a decent human being and making amends when you make a mistake. Bounce back between the line of good and evil for too much light or too much darkness will make you blind. In having the courage to do this, in having the courage to admit your mistakes rather than never make any at your own detriment or refusing to admit you are ever wrong, you are already doing much better than those who would only take and those who would only give.
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You can"t make such a broad generalisation in school and university texts. Especialy not if it is connected with accusations
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The issue with corruption in politics I am personally dealing with, I want to take part but sadly the inevitability of having to vote against my beliefs so I don’t lose my job is a terrifying thought.
It makes me have to think extremely hard about my future instead of living in the now and enjoying my life.
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That is a lot of text.
Any philosophy stuff usually gets way complicated.
So here is the argument of your ‘essay’.
First it would be nice to describe ‘conflict’ a bit more. I would say it is when people disagree on the same values.
I personally find it hard to see the selfless causes conflict side.
I don’t see how being selfish of selfless affects these cases.
Everyone hates failure.
If you impose values on others (that people disagree) there will be conflict.
I would say its sort of 4 cases:
Care only self. Selfish.
Care only others. Selfless.
Care self and others.
Don’t care self or others.
The latter close to your religious example.
I also don’t like the example of equilibrium as good balance.
It’s a bit like cutting someone and then healing it and saying nothing happened.
You should also know that equilibrium position changes with a change of environment.
The world is ever changing so you aren’t going stay on a nice stable equilibrium point.
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I don’t like the selfishness-selflessness perspective in ethics too much, since the self, or how we view it today is historically speaking a pretty specific social (and Caucasian-centric) construction (the history of philosophy of mind is interesting in this sense).
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The poll thread has fallen. The ghost poll is open!
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There comes also this into play:
Basicly everything we do is selfish. If you act selfless it is because you want to support your OWN morals and views and would feel bad if you acted selfish
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My problem is that you imply we are integral to one another. You imply and I cannot exist without he. I would tell you that in the end, only one of us will remain. And I can’t wait for that day.
@phoenixtoasches there is much to break apart in what you’ve said… much indeed.
To begin, I feel it’s extremely important to address the topic of motive. Selfishness and selflessness are driven by motives, external or internal. The politician by wealth and promise of a life they control, as their position grants them the power to seek such sins should they desire. There’s always a buyer for your power. The zealot is motivated by a promise of salvation, peace, eternity. In a way these can even be seen as selfish, in how their behavior will bring them the reward they seek.
What truly matters is the individual who can see and understand true morality. This person does not exist, but the ideal does. What is acceptable to take? What is lost by doing so? Who or what have I harmed by seeking to care for my own physical, mental and spiritual needs? How much restraint is too much? At what point am I inflicting greater harm unto myself than I am generating good for another? How do I value my own life to others and how is that acceptable? The golden rule and utilitarianism will forever be at war when it comes to assigning value to ethics. There will never be an absolute answer, but there will always be a social norm (with deviants). The accepted norm is the only truth we can have to ethics for the time being.
Coming from someone who’s been accused of being an ‘idiotic martyr who cannot understand the value of life,’ there’s other forms of self destructive behavior. In fact, I’d argue the examples you listed are not selfless, at all. Burning bridges is running away or seeking asylum from responsibility. Drug addiction is frequently in response to sating physical or social need. Participating in ‘activities with high mortality rates’ is typically thrill seeking or or necessity (dangerous jobs). I might be a little narrow minded in how I see these examples, so if I’m misunderstanding, please let me know.
Or rather than believing there is little (or no) meaning in the world, they may believe what they experience or who they are is all that matters in the world. A twisted corruption of metaphysical solipsism, in the extreme, or more commonly hedonism.
Ultimately, I feel the equilibrium between selfishness and selflessness is not a state between the two ends of the continuum but rather a balance between where one lies between the two and the rationality one’s self applies to this. Provided the individual is comfortable in their place with how much they give or take, they have found their equilibrium. When one falls too far to one side, beyond their particular means, they will be at war within themselves, filled with regret or guilt of their actions, imbalanced.
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Morality is but a concept constructed by the mind of man. The same goes for the idea of selflessness
The truth of morality is that all decisions are driven by personal motive, and whether they are considered “moral” or not is a label placed on them by the human imagination.
Essentially, what drives decision making is two things. Personal gain and the conscience. Personal gain is what one stands to gain from a decision, and is spurred on by emotion and intrinsic feeling. at the root of these is greed, which lies at the base of all desire.
The most basic example is wanting another cookie after eating one. The greed is the desire to have more of something, which in this case is the pleasurable taste of a cookie.
A seemingly opposite example would be wanting to buy something for a girlfriend. Even this is an example of greed. (Unless the reason is rooted in the conscience, which I will adress later) For example, one really enjoys seeing their girlfriend happy. It makes the person happy themselves. So, they buy their GF a gift to see them smile. Here the greed is the desire to feel happy through vicarious experience. (vicarious means to enjoy or experience through something or someone else, in this case it is being happy through the girlfriend’s happiness)
In summary, every single action is spurred on by greed in some way.
The conscience acts opposite to personal gain, but parrelell with greed as well.
The conscience is largely a construct of human education and experience. When ones parent repeatedly drills into them that it is wrong and a mistake to beat someone up for no reason, they begin to feel that way.
(To lightly touch on the nature vs nurture arguement, both influence the development of the conscience. Sociopaths for example are born without feeling, while hitler youth were raised to be militarist bullies and grew up to reflect that education)
The conscience introduces the emotion of guilt, the only one not tied to greed in some way. Guilt is weighed along with personal gain in decision making, and makes one feel a dissatisfied feeling that grows in strength with the weight of a decision.
The reason that the conscience works in parrallel with greed is that if one has the guilty feeling produced by it, they have a desire to rid themselves of that guilt. Or, a greed for satisfaction.
In summary, the conscience is mostly a product of society (although a few base parts of it are pre-instilled survival instincts by nature, such as maternal instinct)
That creates the emotion of guilt, which provokes greed and a desire to rid oneself of it, or to prevent the accumulation of it.
so, personal gain is weighed against the conscience, but greed is the deciding factor in every decision. “Should I steal bread for my family?” The personal gain is satisfaction of helping family members, desire to remove the guilt of not helping your family. However, the other side of the decision is guilt created by taking from another.
In both sides of the decision, there is a desire to remove guilt or avoid it, and as greed is simply a synonym for desire, (just with a imagined negative connotation) it ends up weighing and choosing the path of most gain, or least loss.
So, we have established what causes decision. Now we have to consider what morality truly is.
There is no all seeing being on earth that can preach black and white morality, no matter what the attempts human religion may have made.
This is because decision is rooted in a scale of factors. Right and wrong are words that lack meaning, and are recreated with a new subjective definition every time they are used.
This is why we have opinions. We have to decide on what is right, and every person’s scale tips just a bit differently.
Group Morality itself (the morals generally accepted by society and population) is another construct of conscience. As previously defined, vicarious feeling is feeling through something else.
When you see a homeless person dying on the streets, surrounded by flies like stars, you may pity them. This is because you empathize with them. In a way, you feel what you would feel in their position.
So, when you hear of a serial killer you hate them, because you know it is so wrong to kill, right? That guilt you would feel if you lived through such an experience becomes a separate feeling. Anger, in this case, as you pity those who were killed you hate the one who killed them.
As certain ideals and concepts are widespread throughout society by education, (which starts in the home and stretches to the news and classrooms) society adopts many similar values amongst everyone. These values help form more of the conscience, and is henceforth used to judge others upon their decisions. As an entire society adopts an idea such as “murder is wrong”, they project their ideas upon everyone else in that society, reinforcing it.
“Morality” is simply the adhering of someone to another’s values. So, “obviously” immoral actions are simply those that run opposite to the most popularly adopted values within a society.
So what drives a person to run against that influence of the conscience, reinforced by the group?
-An abberant education, whether from parents, etc.
-extreme desire for something (such as satisfaction of revenge at a cheating partner).
-a natural resistance or stubbornness to adopting specific values.
-an extreme event or experience that shatters a prievious tenant or value, so traumatizing or unforgettable that it overshadows previous experience. (A rabbi losing faith with god as a result of living through the holocaust, for example)
-an extreme event or series of events early in life that does not break a previous value, but establishes the first one so strongly it cannot be discarded, no matter how much outside influence may try
Anyways, ive ranted so long I forgot what the discussion was about and dont even know if I truly contributed. I am not a psychologist, and these are just my personal beliefs supported by my observation and experience.
I would love for people to adress this thesis of mine, so I can tweak it to get closer to human nature or expound more of my ideas in explanation of what some people may raise as “exceptions”.
And lastly, I wish I didnt need to say this but with the hypersensitivity of society I feel I need to.
I do not endorse and in fact strongly discourage any of the immoral and messed up actions presented as examples here. I used the extremes to make a bigger impact, and quotes to emphasize the construction of morality by the human mind.
Last I checked though, I myself am human as well 
These common morals are accepted by me in the fullest too.
Thanks for reading my rant.
@alplod @phoenixtoasches @longshot405
I thought yall might enjoy this.
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I just thought your name was Albert Plod.
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Currently in China for vacations, I report an inability to login to Duelyst… 
Although I can’t tell if it’s from BNEA not allowing this country, Chinese great firewall or simply a plain sucky Internet connection. @halcyon98 has been here IIRC, maybe he knows?
This dear forum also loads whenever it feels like it, and super slowly.
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Yeah, a pretty usual name for a Russian 
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