posted
"Is it possible to have a group where the benefits of group membership are primarily available only to people who are not focused on these benefits, but rather just on contributing to this group?"
That would be called "Hatrack."
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Sounds like a variation on a lot of religions, Christianity included. Anyone can get in, but your benefit is directly proportional to your participation and/or contributions towards others.
I would argue that life as a whole is like that.
Tom beat me to saying that it was Hatrack...
[ October 08, 2003, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: T. Analog Kid ]
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posted
Another tangential point. I tihnk that there is a fundamental divide in how people view morality that strongly influences their conception of in-group/out-groups (somebody's got to come up with a better way of saying that). I'm not sure exactly how to term it. I'd like to say it's betweeen absolutism and relativism, but that opens up a whole can of worms that I think will just cloud the issue.
I'll use references instead. The fundamental principle that I try to live my life by(and constantly fail to live up to) is expressed by the Sanskrit Tat Tvam Asi: "Thou Art That". In the New Testament, Jesus makes this concept the most important when dealing with other people when he says that the second most important commandment, that supercedes all others, is "Love your neighbor as yourself". In the same vein, elsewhere he says, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me."
For me, empathy is the only true basis for morality. Reward and punishment, heaven and hell, or, as the Buddha puts it, fear and desire are the root of sin.
Such a view makes in-grouping at it's very and seldom best, a necessary evil, and most of the times just evil.
There is another way of looking at the world that divides people into groups, maybe into the good and the bad or the saved and the damned or Us and the gentiles. This is the thought that believes that you can justify doing bad things to other people. Such a view welcomes in-group/out-group thinking.
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posted
I am not wrong, Rabbit, and I do not believe you. Like I said, though: you don't have to worry about it, because my opinion doesn't matter in the long run.
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posted
Leto, Glad to know that you understand my intensions better than I do. Perhaps next time I can't decide what flavor of ice cream I want I'll call you. Until then, if you have nothing more to contribute to this discussion than to call me a liar and a hypocrit, please stay away.
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posted
It's okay for you to be "provacative" in the conversation, but the minute someone calls you on the veracity of your claims, you demand that they stop the conversation? In other words, you don't really want others' opinions unless they jibe with your own? How nice.
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posted
Leto, The veracity of the claims you called me on, was my honesty. That isn't an attack on my opinions, its an attack on my person. Such attacks have no place in a civilized debate.
[ October 08, 2003, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: The Rabbit ]
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posted
Bowles is correct. Let me be! But at the same time, defend me from other nations trying to prevent me from being!
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posted
"Are you always such a back-stabber," Leto II?
Thank you for illustrating my point about cliques and factions, Leto. You and Rabbit obviously have a backstory I know nothing about.
But from what you posted in this thread, you have behaved like a pissy jerk. You have called Rabbit a liar at least 4 times by my count, and said you were "appalled" that she started this thread. Fairly rude and uncalled for, certainly does nothing to elevate the discussion, rather its opposite.
But we agree on one thing.
quote: The good news is that my opinion doesn't matter much in the long run
because my opinion doesn't matter in the long run.
Leto II. Certainly the way you're behaving on this thread doesn't show you care about Rabbit's opinion, so why should we care about yours? Not that you've really expressed a coherent on-topic opinion. Right now you are only good as an object lesson in irrational anger, so why don't you sod off?Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
Actually, Leto and I don't have a backstory that explains his behavior, at least not one that I remember.
What I was really hoping for in starting this thread is that people would put forth some postulates on what constituted ethical behavior and then discuss in what ways patriotism either promoted or discouraged ethical behavior.
I have noticed that as humans we tend to have a double standard for ethical behavior. A high standard for within group ethics and low standard for between group ethics. This phenomenon is observed in everything from families, to high school cliques, to organized religions to nations. At their best, groups help people to learn and practice altruism, at their worst they offer a forum that justifies brutality.
We've had this discussion about organized religion repeatedly, I wanted to revisit the discussion in terms of nationalism/patriotism. As a whole, does the idea/feeling of patriotism inspire people to treat other human beings with dignity or is this idea/feeling more likely to serve as a justification for the marginalization of those outside our own countries?
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posted
I have noticed that there are two directions that can theoretically lead to pure altruism. The one I consider to be more productive is the essentially individualistic--I as an individual have rights, and should attribute those rights to all others; forming into groups that favor members is counterproductive. But recently I have seen many science-fiction writers suggesting the opposite direction--altruism comes only by expanding the group circle larger and larger until it encompasses everyone.
I suppose it is possible that both of these ideas "work". Rabbit seems to be defending my preferred position (which strikes me as odd), but I'm not sure there is any easy logical or experimental way to demonstrate either.
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quote: It's probably the social dynamicist in me that makes me feel more comfortable talking about this, like Morbo, in terms of in-group/out-groups.
Mr. Squicky. Yay! Mr. Squicky agrees with me somewhat. At least in the terms I used to frame my analysis. Now I feel like I'm a made guy who's made his bones and been jumped into a gang. *basks in the feeling of belonging in a group* Although I think looking back on last nights posts on the 1st page that I was using sociology as a distancing mechanism to make it all more impersonal. The more I analyzed group dynamics last night, the more depressed I became. By the time I got to the linguistic stuff, with primitive tribes' conception of tribal member=human/non-tribal member=non-human, and the staggering variety of group dynamic terms in English (I only scratched the surface), I was in an out-and-out funk. Luckily Annie chose that time to IM me and had me laughing in minutes. Thanks, Annie. Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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quote: But recently I have seen many science-fiction writers suggesting the opposite direction--altruism comes only by expanding the group circle larger and larger until it encompasses everyone.
Maccabeus. This might be Heinlein's view, I'll have to think about it. Or your other option, or a third. The conflict between individualism and altruism is a major theme throughout RAH's work. I wonder how his views evolved during his career? I love RAH's work but have rarely tried to analyze it, perhaps because I've been reading him my entire life and have internalized much of his philosophy. This makes objectivity difficult.
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posted
I first noticed this while reading Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships (a sequel to HG Well's The Time Machine).
quote: "It's a little late," I conceded, "to be learning such deep lessons about the species with whom I have shared the planet for forty-odd years. But nevertheless, there it is. It seems to me now that if man is ever to achieve peace and stability--at least before he evolves into something new, like a Morlock--then the unity of the species will have to start at the bottom: by building on the finest foundation--the only foundation--the instinctive support of a man for his fellows."
I became aware of this because it seemed to me that the Time Traveler was going against everything Baxter had written so far, what with the multitude of human wars the Traveler had witnessed. And then I realized it was my interpretation that Baxter was going against, not his own writing; all he had done was portray the wars, not give an evaluation of their cause. It seems absurd to me that he could think this would solve, for instance, his war between the British and Germans (a modified WWI), when it was clearly the result of group loyalty for both parties--but the clarity is only in my mind, not his book.
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posted
While the ideas have already been stated in this thread somewhat, I suspect that nationalism is on a larger scale the same thing as tribalism, or if you would in nature a wolf pack. I think you find tribes and family groups in the great apes too.
There are a finite numbe of resources in the world and being in a particular group or country means that everyone is co-operating to look after that country's best interest. I think the emotinal depth of patriotism comes from exactly the same evolutionary triggers as that of the ones that cause bonding between family members. To view an entire country as your "family" does require a higher level of sophicstication of thought. To view the world as your "family" requires the most sophistication of all, and the realities of the situation are that right now in the world things are too adversarial in competing over resources to raise most people's consciousness or visceral responses to that level.
posted
Morbo, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but even if I opened a vein and declared us to be blood brothers, it wouldn't bring you closer into a group here. Despite my humorous claim to the opposite that you enjoyed so much, I'm probably more of an outsider than you are. That's why I listen to Marilyn Manson.
----
Let's see, how to introduce this idea...I've got a theory that the answer to in-group/out-grouping lies somewhere in the individualistic/collectivistic dichotomoy of social structures. It seems to me that bthos sides of this divide have pieces to this puzzle.
In individualistic societies, like the United States, you get a host of problems based off of the concern with the individual. Individualists tends to be less empathetic, have much lower emotional intelligence, practice more self-deception, and objectify other people to a much greater extent than collectivists. The poster child for these sorts of problems is something that, in social science, is called the Fundamental Attribution Error. This describes the tendency of people to ignore situational factors in other people's behavior and conclude that people act the way they do almost exclusively because that's they way they are. I think that the basis for these problems is a fundamental lack of social connectedness.
Collectivist cultures, like Japan, don't show the FAE, in regards to people inside that culture. However, their regard for people outside their culture is much, much lower than in individualistic cultures, where the FAE acts for pretty much everyone but yourself. The average person in a collectivist culture shows around as much prejudice as an extremely prejudiced member of a individualist culture. They seem to pay for their social connectedness to their own group with increased blindness and hostility towards outsiders.
The key for me - and I don't know if I've done a good job of making this case or presenting enough of the evidence I'm working from - is to blend these two styles, so that the individualist/collectivist dynamic is less of a dichotomy and more in a mandalic relationship. Without the concept of the individual and his rights and the rule of law, I don't know that their can be enough tolerance for "weird" people to be visible. On the other hand, the isolated view of the self that typifies the individualist doesn't provide enough empathy, understanding, or trust for us to move beyond treating other people as objects and falling prey to the prisoner's dilemna. Only if we blend the two do we have a good chance of developing a more universally open culture.
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posted
Rabbit, You haven't responded and that makes me think that you don't feel that my description answers your question. If this is true, I'm curious as to why you don't think that I presented an adequate - if very dry - ethical justification for nationalism? To me it's pretty standard ahisma debt-type thinking, which was good enough for Gandhi.
TAK and Tom, The big flaws with your examples for me is that the both structures you describe have a very strong in-group/out-group focus. I probably didn't convey what I'm talking about well enough.
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posted
Oh, well, Mr. Squicky, I was just trying to take a short cut and avoid the 3 methods you posted for newbies. Props for that post, I think it's the funniest on the entire forum.
Interesting ideas, but I'm just going to lurk on this thread. That group dynamics analysis I did the other night was very depressing, so I better steer clear of more. Your's and others' ideas are more thought out anyhoo.
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posted
Morbo, That's too bad. You were one of the people I was hoping would have perspectives on this that I hadn't run across before. Oh well, I guess this will suffer the same fate as every other serious thread on this forum that doesn't set in-groups against each other.
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posted
"The big flaws with your examples for me is that the both structures you describe have a very strong in-group/out-group focus."
Squicky, I think in that case you worded your question incorrectly. What you're REALLY looking for is a group that doesn't care about its own existence, which can be quickly and easily defined as "groups that don't exist for long."
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Thanks for so much the compliment, Mr. Squicky! Maybe in a few days I can be more analytical and detached about it all and post something meaningful.
In the meantime, has anybody heard of the simplifaction model from the 90's (I think) that breaks down all interactions between groups and/or individuals (from personal relationships to economics to union/management negotiating to international relations) into 7 or 8 categories, running the spectrum from active cooperation to conflict, fighting and war? Of course, all models simplify, but the best models highlight what's really important and cut out the extraneous non-essentials, allowing thought to focus on the key aspects of the system under scrutiny.
I was impressed with the ambition of this model, finding striking simularities between interpersonal relationships, diplomacy, and all other group dynamics. I cannot remember if it was economists, game theorists, sociologists or some other -ists that came up with the theory. All of those disciplines are converging anyway. The theory made something of a splash in the literature in the 90s but I can't remember any more details. If anyone knows what I'm referring to please post a reference, I doubt I could come up with one without an exhaustive internet search. But don't go to any trouble on my account.
posted
Tom, That's just it, I don't know if the type of group I'm talking about (an in-group without an out-group) is possible. It's a holy grail, but it remains to be seen whether it's only an ideal. However, I'm not willing to conclude from the get go that it's impossible.
Morbo, I'm not aware of the specific theory that you're talking about, but it sounds based of a lot of 90s game theory that I do know about. To be honest, I've never been all that captivated by anatomizing group relations, but I never turn down an opportunity to hear something from a different perspective. I'll see what I can find out about this.
Oh, as to the depression thing, the best way to deal with it that I've found is to give up the idea that things just shouldn't be this way. I think it's the helpless and despair that this engengers that really gets you down. People are ugly in a lot of ways, but they are beautiful too. Focusing on the goal, rather than on the problems and appreciating the good and bad is what I think keeps me sane.
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posted
OK Rabbit, I am taking a shot. But first: is a practical defense an ethical one?
In a practical sense you have the best chance of benefiting and/or hurting those who are closest to you. That means that if you want to do the most good you can you must take more care to cheer on and help and love those who are close to you than those who are far away from you. This is most naturally done if you actually do have more loyalty toward those those who are close to you than for those who are not close to you.
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posted
Mr Squicky, Sorry I haven't responded. Its not a lack of interest but a lack of time.
I am still trying to obsorb you hypothesis. Would it be fair to summarize it by saying that in a patriotism, in an individualist society, promotes values more characteristic of collectivist society. So in essence, by having a patriotic individualist society we blend the ethical strengths of the two extremes.
Its an interesting hypothesis, I'm still trying to decide how much validity it has.
I'll write more when I have more time.
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posted
Rabbit, The later stuff I said is pretty divorced from ethical reasons for nationalism and more just an exploration of some ideas that the little men inside me sent up.
If I had to take a stand on the way you phrased it ("nationalism represents the blending of individualism and collectivism") I'd have to say maybe. It really depends on what the character of the nationalism is. As it currently stands for many people, I think that the answer would be definitely be no.
However, I could envision a style of nationalism that could sort of be this way. In most of Western society, individuals generally don't adhere to groups out of concern for the others in the group. Rather, it is usually because of fear and insecurity and an attempt to escape from the responsibility that being an individual demands.
And yet, that is not the whole story. Certainly there are assosciations that we enter into for other reasons. In his book, Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam talks about social capital, of the worth of bonds of trust and affiliation that grow between people who are in certain types of groups together. I believe that these types of groups are much less likely to be oriented around a in-group/out-group distinction.
To expand on my view from before, I believe that a maturely developed individualist is better able to deal with strange things that upset the known order and is better able to deal with another as an individual instead of as a member of a group, but lacks a social connectedness and an orientation towards others, while the collectivist has this connectedness and orientation, but lacks the training and experience that makes it easy to handle "strange" things. Both sides bring important strengths and weaknesses to the table and I believe their characters to be extremely complementary.
The nationalism and in-group loyalty most prevelant in our culture is not mature, however. Those who cling most strongly to groups are usually the weaker members of our society. I believe that precisely because they were not in a collectivist orientated society, where social support is freely given and no man is an island onto themselves, they were unable to develop from a position of safety itno someone who can stand on their own in most matters, and instead try to grasp onto others for the strength that they believe they lack.
In philosophy and social science, there is a classic problem called the prisoner's dilmma. I don't want to go in depth explaining it. Instead I want to focus on one particular point, that, while in the short run, it is usually better to screw over the other person in this situation, in the long run, it is better the live in a world where people don't screw each other over. The key element is trust - a key element in the social capital I referenced above - either that or a Christ-like willness to suffer for the good of others.
I don't know if we can have this trust or especially that willingness to suffer without having some sort of in-group. I hope so, but even if we can, we'll need to develop to such a place, and I believe that the road may have to go through healthy in-grouping.
posted
I kept wanting to bring up a distinction that I think can be very important when trying to classify people or their actions and beliefs. That is, the difference between a genotype and a phenotype. I couldn't find any good place to fit it in, and I did enough shovingthings in where they'd didn't really fit anyway, so I guess I'll talk about it here.
Those two terms may sound familiar from genetics and they serve pretty much the same role in characterology. A genotype is an underlying condition that, when combined with environmental stimuli, results in the outward expression, or phenotype. The important thing to remember is that the same genotype can lead to extremely different phenotypes and that similar phenotypes can actually come from extremely different genotypes. For example, it's my belief that naive self-esteem and depression both spring from the same genotype of frustrated safety needs. In the other case, the expressed behavior of in-grouping can be motivated by completely different and even opposing genotypes.
When we talk about nationalism or just in-grouping in general, I think that it's important to acknowledge that people often have very different underlying reasons for their behavior, and that, depending on where it's coming from, certain behavior can either be a good thing or a bad thing.
Morbo, do me a favor, and bite me. Stop assuming there is some greater purpose behind me not buying Rabbit's lines. I'm not calling Rabbit a witch, I'm saying I don't believe what Rabbit is implying about the question asked. As for the "my opinion doesn't count" line: I've been personally told as much by certain "someones" around here who are a little more than the average poster, though a little less than Mr. Card himself. However, far be it from me to not take something mandated to me from my superiors here to heart. As far as I've been told, I have no right to opine, nor any right to gripe about it. That's just the way it is. Do stop trying to attribute other motives to what I say (or don't... after all, my opinion blah blah blah and all that).
Allow me to illuminate:
1. Rabbit, aren't you a Christian? If so, which denomination do you feel the most connection with?
2. Rabbit, are you married?
Now, let me warn you that the answers you give to both of those will be used to show why I feel that your attempt at an altruistic demonizing of both nationalism and patriotism is disingenuous, despite how much you may have convinced yourself that they are ethically and morally wrong. You may feel free to try and cover all of your bases as far as your faith and your marriage status, and since I am telling you why I asked, I expect you aren't going to complain that I'm leading the questions anywhere.
Little note for all the indignants: just because I do not believe someone does not mean I am calling them a liar. I truly believe that Rabbit thinks she is being honest, but the part I don't believe is the attempt to demonize for the sake of altruism. If it really were altruism, Rabbit wouldn't need to demonize nationalism and patriotism—and calling something unethical and immoral is pretty much demonizing. `Taint right when Bush applies it to the attitudes of any nation he happens to disagree with, and `taint right when Rabbit applies it to any attitude she happens to disagree with.
Or, heck, maybe I'm just totally off my rocker, and am making things up from thin air.
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quote:[leto II], You and Rabbit obviously have a backstory I know nothing about. But from what you posted in this thread, you have behaved like a pissy jerk. You have called Rabbit a liar at least 4 times by my count, and said you were "appalled" that she started this thread. Fairly rude and uncalled for, certainly does nothing to elevate the discussion, rather its opposite.
Me=Morbo=Rasputin
I was wrong about the backstory according to Rabbit. Perhaps pissy jerk is too harsh. A little rude maybe. It did seem like you were calling Rabbit a liar to her and to me. You have laid out a more nuanced position, if you were not calling her a liar, I apologize.
You did say you were apalled. I do apologize for telling you to sod off and for quoting your sarcastic statements that your own opinion doesn't matter. I'd like to see any opinions you post. Now I'll just go back to lurking in this thread, as I explained above I cannot remain detached enough. Anyway, rabbit can capably defend herself or not as she chooses. Rabbit is a she, right? I don't want to get *thwapped* like mac and Ashley did when i kept forgetting their sex. Morbo Posts: 53 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I am appalled, Morbo, but that's neither here nor there. I think the current "proud to be an American?" thread is proof positive that Rabbit was aiming more at the twisted jingoism, and not at true patriotism or true nationalism. Jingoism is a bad thing, patriotism is not. Jingoism is harmful to society, nationalism is not. They are not the same things, and like I said, Rabbit is intentionally inferring that they are.
[ October 15, 2003, 03:54 AM: Message edited by: Leto II ]
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