If you could have a conversation with anyone..

[vulcanlogician]

Humans are not part of nature?


Humans are not the fruit of nature’s unstinting and ongoing effort to formulate ever more sophisticated and ingenious mechanisms to affect ever crueler tortures upon, well, previous generations of less sophisticated and less ingenious torturers?

Point taken. Colloquially, we sometimes divide humans from "the rest of nature" to do comparing/contrasting. That's what I was doing.

But, yup, humans are a part of nature, and (in the final analysis) human cruelties are also nature's cruelties.

[Belacqua]

Humans are not part of nature?


Humans are not the fruit of nature’s unstinting and ongoing effort to formulate ever more sophisticated and ingenious mechanisms to affect ever crueler tortures upon, well, previous generations of less sophisticated and less ingenious torturers?

Point taken. Colloquially, we sometimes divide humans from "the rest of nature" to do comparing/contrasting. That's what I was doing.

But, yup, humans are a part of nature, and (in the final analysis) human cruelties are also nature's cruelties.

Schopenhauer said that animals live in a hell where the devils are people.

[Amarok]

I would like to get 
Archimedes
Isaac Newton 
Ben Franklin 
Tesla
Turing 

In a room together

[Little lunch]

Probably dad.
I'd have liked for him to know how well things are going for me now.
Partly because I think he'd be surprised. :-)

[Abaddon_ire]

Point taken. Colloquially, we sometimes divide humans from "the rest of nature" to do comparing/contrasting. That's what I was doing.

But, yup, humans are a part of nature, and (in the final analysis) human cruelties are also nature's cruelties.

Schopenhauer said that animals live in a hell where the devils are people.

Sure. and Thor said his dad was Zeus. Had you a point to make, or were you doing the usual philosophobabble?

[Belacqua]

Schopenhauer said that animals live in a hell where the devils are people.

Sure. and Thor said his dad was Zeus. Had you a point to make, or were you doing the usual philosophobabble?

I hope we can all abandon our ire and live in peace.

[vulcanlogician]

Sure. and Thor said his dad was Zeus. Had you a point to make, or were you doing the usual philosophobabble?

Philosophobabble? Really? Philosophers seek clarity. To us, it is the rest of you guys who are babbling. Philosophers take great pains to clarify exactly what they mean. If that seems like babbling to you, maybe you are misunderstanding what philosophers are saying.

Plus that, what you said was nothing more than a personal attack directed at Belaqua. You said absolutely nothing substantive about the point he was making with his Schopenhauer quote.

[Anomalocaris]

Humans are not part of nature?


Humans are not the fruit of nature’s unstinting and ongoing effort to formulate ever more sophisticated and ingenious mechanisms to affect ever crueler tortures upon, well, previous generations of less sophisticated and less ingenious torturers?

Point taken. Colloquially, we sometimes divide humans from "the rest of nature" to do comparing/contrasting. That's what I was doing.

But, yup, humans are a part of nature, and (in the final analysis) human cruelties are also nature's cruelties.

If we use human sensibilities to assess degrees of cruelty, then it has to be admitted that the climb up the ladder of degrees cruelty between life on earth began long before the first mammal, much less primate, ever swam or trod on earth, and in some of its refinements are seldom matched even in the most medieval of human torture chamber.

Look up  sacculina carcini, it is a specie of arthropod that in adulthood lost any resemblance to arthropod just so it can better torture other Arthropoda to death.

It would be as if a variety of humans have evolved not to use, to become thumb screws, in their adulthood.

[Belacqua]

This could be someone from the past or present.. Who would it be?

For research purposes: the usual big names, like Socrates and Jesus

For pleasure:

~ a long foreign trip with Gérard de Nerval

~ a week of debauchery with Pietro Aretino

~ summer vacation with Matisse at his villa on the Riviera

[brewer]

Point taken. Colloquially, we sometimes divide humans from "the rest of nature" to do comparing/contrasting. That's what I was doing.

But, yup, humans are a part of nature, and (in the final analysis) human cruelties are also nature's cruelties.

Schopenhauer said that animals live in a hell where the devils are people.

From his Horrors and Absurdities of Religion? Is it in reference to his distaste for vivisection?

Don't try to discuss his philosophy with me, much comes across as glass half empty. I'm just curious of the source.