Signatures!

[Whateverist]

And I'm only saying that we ultimately don't choose our motives and so are slaves to them.

I wonder if that disturbs you in any way? To my mind the wants, values and so forth which motivate us are substantially who we are. So freedom which seeks to transcend those is more than I want or need. Free to me is free enough.

[Edwardo Piet]

When then are things I want but do not want to want, I wish I had more freedom.

When people blame people as if they were more free than they actually are, I wish people wouldn't believe they had more freedom than they actually do.

[Whateverist]

When then are things I want but do not want to want, I wish I had more freedom.

I'd say when you want things you do not want to want, you are experiencing conflicting wants. This is when the Schopenhauer quote is especially useful, to remind you that you don't choose your wants.

When people blame people as if they were more free than they actually are, I wish people wouldn't believe they had more freedom than they actually do.

When it comes to our attitudes toward those who commit acts of violence toward others I don't much focus on whether they could have done otherwise. Mostly I just want to make sure they aren't in any position where they have the choice to do it again. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that in his shoes (given his life experiences and DNA) I wouldn't have done the same. Who knows? Regardless, so long as the many have the means to protect themselves from the rapacity of the few, we should do so.

[AthiestAtheist]

I am generally more interested in signatures that have something clever to say, rather than graphics.

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I copied mine from somewhere when I got bored with the last one.

Love it!

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My signatures are in "homage" to the fundies I've debated with and the face-palm inspiring statements they've made.

I love yours! The best thing about it is that he is using circular logic to defend circular logic!

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I thought mine was appropriate given the amount of times I've seen theists call atheists closed minded - it boggles the brain!


Plus, I love Derren Brown almost as much as I love Mike

I kinda like that. It's a little wordy, though.

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Mine is awesome cos

A/ it has my bike in it and

B/ it has sparkly bits

I liked the one that said "Honey badger doesn't give a shit!"

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My sig is awesome because it ultimately describes my disbelief in free will in a simple way. You can more or less do what you want to do but what you truly want to do is ultimately out of your control. Put simply, you are a slave to your motives.

Oh I completely agree with your sig so much. The weird thing is that I just realized this.

I wouldn't say "slave" though. That is a bit dramatic.

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Not really the purpose of this thread I know, but I always wonder why anyone would think it surprising that we serve our motives.

Actually that is part of the purpose of this thread. I wanted to have a discussion with people about their signatures.

I know that there are some people who think that free will should mean "the free will to serve God"

[thesummerqueen]

I personally like my graphic because it's made out of my tattoo, which I got during a depressed and low point...geez...was it two years ago already? Roses aren't just my favorite flower, they're one of my favorite things ever - rich in symbolism, the queens of the garden.

Below it is the quote that sort of helped create my username. It's a reminder that you can depend on yourself, the warmth inside you, to get you through anything.

It's not particularly clever towards atheism, but it's me and it's what's important to me.

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And Cinjin made it, and Cinjin's awesome. Although I'm sure he's tired of me schmoozing on him by now.

[AthiestAtheist]

And I'm only saying that we ultimately don't choose our motives and so are slaves to them.

Again, "slaves" is a bit extreme. Our feelings and wants and instincts come from within us, so we're not really slaves to them.

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And I'm only saying that we ultimately don't choose our motives and so are slaves to them.

I wonder if that disturbs you in any way? To my mind the wants, values and so forth which motivate us are substantially who we are. So freedom which seeks to transcend those is more than I want or need. Free to me is free enough.

I agree with that. I just want the freedom to be me. I don't find anything wrong with the fact that I have wants that I can't control. There are lot's of things we cannot control about ourselves. (Personally, I would rather have the ability to shapeshift.) They are simply a part of our instincts which keep us alive.

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When then are things I want but do not want to want, I wish I had more freedom.

When people blame people as if they were more free than they actually are, I wish people wouldn't believe they had more freedom than they actually do.

I agree with that second statement (though, not the first). That is why I believe it is wrong to punish people just for its own sake, or some sense of moral outrage. Some people simply cannot help themselves, and I think more people should acknowledge that. There are practical reasons people should be arrested, and protecting society from them is what we should focus on.

[Rev. Rye]

I am generally more interested in signatures that have something clever to say, rather than graphics.

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And what about graphics that have something to say, like mine?

[Autumnlicious]

Well, your siggie does make me wonder if English is your second language.

[KichigaiNeko]

And I'm only saying that we ultimately don't choose our motives and so are slaves to them.

Which part of you is doing the choosing? The mind or the body?

Had this discussion with Zen the other week while we were both going through the joys of a 'summertime flu' and realised that as much as the mind/brain likes to think it is in "control" of the bipedal unit known as Me, Myself and I the body is the one REALLY calling the shots.

As for sigs that SAY something, I give you...

"Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fancies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child-mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be, in later-years, relieved of them. In fact, men will fight for a superstition quite as quickly as for a living truth - often more so; since a superstition is so intangible you can not get at it to refute it, but truth is a point of view, and so is changeable."
– Hypatia

I also have been known to ride a motorcycle on occasion, try it and you WILL get a very short sharp lesson in physics.

[Angrboda]

I speak as one not awesome in defense of the right of the broken to bleed in silence and not be goaded into public displays of their lack. I and the non-awesome persons of this world defy you. I glare at you from behind dark shades.


Actually, my first forum sig was based on Zen Badger's sig - true story. My sigs vary depending on community and resources; my main signature at Ratz is too large for the space provided here. Nonetheless, I'm very happy with my sig here. I haven't posted enough at JREF to get a sig there, so in order, my first real sig at Ratz (because it still fits), and my current sigs at Ratz, theologyweb and here (in the usual place). It would likely take a book length essay to explain them, so I'll simply present them. (Maybe we can get a mod to rename this thread, "My sig is an awesome sig.")

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ETA: I just want to say that I appreciate the Schopenhauer quote. The World As Will and Representation is on my reading list, though it will likely be a couple years before I get there. I anxiously await that day. I suspect I will agree with much he says, though at present, I have no more experience of him than your quote. (I have the two volume Dover edition translated by Payne; if you have any suggestions on additional materials or translations to consider in approaching him, please share.)