Lowe D

Although I can't see the comments, I think this is a good observation, and I think it makes sense. When I was very young, my mother told my siblings and me, explicitly, that we must never talk about what went on in the house, with anyone on the outside. This is a common experience in abusive families.

It says I have to log in. Can someone post a transcript?

I'm reminded of something Steve Summerstone said in a podcast: a possible reason for marijuana's illegality was that it does not increase worker productivity, whereas coffee does. LAN parties and video game culture do not help increase productivity, especially among young men with technical skills, which today is basically the only class that creates wealth. You might make a similar argument around online poker, in the States.

Stealing is super utilitarian. Utilitarians who don't steal, just don't have enough sack.

Your self ownership comes from your control over your body. Parents don't control children's bodies, so they don't own those bodies. The children have ownership, because they have control. It's like this from the moment the child is born, so there is never a transfer of ownership.

I personally feel prevented from having conversations and relationships with about one hundred thousand Iraqis.

Although a US citizen himself, Greenwald lives in Brazil with his partner, because the US doesn't recognize same-sex unions as a basis for a green card. Talk about losing something, personally, because of the state.

Public schooling destroyed whatever of my childhood my parents left behind. I was miserable almost all the time for the first twenty years of my life, because of the three-pronged pitchfork that was my family, the state, and the church. That pitchfork ruined my life, and I don't care what other people think about it. Other people can stew in the big boiling pots they heat up for themselves. I am so not trying to make sacrifices to bring about freedom for other people.

Thanks for your statement of admiration, phillip.

Emotions are involuntary. At best you can train yourself, compassionately, to experience new and more helpful emotions. But the ones you've got right now, are the ones you've got. They're not subject to will power. Speaking of compassion, do you think your therapist is showing much in this instance? The woman in question carried you in her womb for nine months. If anyone can manipulate you, this is the person.

What if you were being paid a lot?

This might be astute, if most libertarians stood a chance of being elected.

Is there any way your father would pay for you to visit a therapist, assuming you can find one you're comfortable with? You don't have to tell him why, or you could lie about it. He may prefer to think you have problems because you are strange, genetically flawed, or because the planets were poorly aligned when you were born. Those are all nonsense reasons, but it doesn't matter what he thinks if he's not sitting in therapy with you.

I hope you don't mind, but I still don't understand totally. I thought you were talking to him about his religion, trying to convince him that it is fairytales. To which he responds by dismissing your arguments, which you clearly worked on very much. So he's dismissing your self worth as well. You mention childhood abuse, though. Are you talking to him about abuse he inflicted on you, as a child, or abuse inflicted on him, when he was a child in India? I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk to him about those subjects until two conditions are satisfied. 1. You don't live in the same house as he does, or rely on his income for your survival. 2. You've spoken to a therapist about your childhood experiences with your father, and given yourself some time to process it. Only you'll know the right amount of time, but it could be years.

I don't understand what the decision is. What is it?

@ Gaurav251 Would you say that the truth is the most beautiful gift you could give to your father?

What is the purpose of epistemology, etc, if not to get you the life you want? Has anyone under the sun ever said, here is my new philosophy, through which you will never accomplish anything you desire? That wouldn't be philosophy. To me, philosophy matters. It's something I put into action. I have done a year and a half of therapy with the same psychotherapist, which started about two and a half years after finding FDR, reading Alice Miller, and starting to introspect and journal, for the first time in my life. Since then my life has improved noticeably. I'm braver, more open to ambiguity, and to compassion, and less driven by the collected pain of my childhood. There's still a ways to go, but already I am better at public speaking, better at making romantic advances, and in better shape physically. I recently got a new job that pays far more than any I've had before now, and I love the work I am doing. So, I care about arguments. I care so much, I acted on them, and tested them (came back positive). People who don't act on truth, care about other things more than truth. If that's so, what good is their philosophy? Philosophy is all about truth.

@ Metric Yes, I meant it's purpose for you. Is it's purpose your betterment? I do not know what betterment means, though. What does that mean? I'm asking this because I'm curious as to whether you collect truth for the same reason a stamp collector collects stamps, for the collection, or because you are going to do something with it, like a camper who collects firewood. If you're using truth for firewood, then probably you wouldn't have time to listen to purported truth from someone who hasn't even improved himself to the extent that he can openly address his social fear. If you're keeping truth as a collection, maybe you do have the time for that, though. @ Joseito It's a personal question, and it's all right if you don't want to answer. I ask it because I suspect you don't have much credibility when it comes to improving your life, which could explain your disagreement with my assertion that credibility matters in philosophy. In this case the credibility of coping with discomfort, fear, or anxiety in speaking to others.

Joseito, I'm curious. Have you ever done therapy?

What is the purpose of philosophy, Metric?

This is a great recommendation, so I figured I'd quote it so no one misses it. Speaking to kind people, especially a therapist, is how to cure paralyzing fear. You show yourself that there isn't always pain in other people's responses.

@Metric Generally when you're speaking to someone, that person knows who you are. Examples of people you might speak to are your family members, your boss and coworkers, customers, and potential friends or romantic partners, or near strangers at a private or public event. I am sure you see how speaking up in these contexts can provoke fear. These conversations take courage, and online, textual ones generally do not. I empathize with the pain and shame others might experience when I say this, but the courage to engage in actual conversations to explain, relate, or negotiate, speaks to your credibility in a big way. Those who lack that basic courage may deserve our compassion, but they don't deserve to be taken seriously until they address that lack of courage.

It takes no courage to write a forum post. It does take courage to tell someone how you feel, what you want, or what you think. How seriously can one take the philosophy of someone who hasn't the courage to speak it?

The tracks for The Thin Red Line and Inception are great, I think.

How does anyone know there is such a thing as type 1? Are there some brain pictures which show atrophied empathy centers, or something like that?