Why is National Debt a Bad Thing? - Page 3 - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Everything from personal credit card debt to government borrowing debt.

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By Jean-Philippe
#13248311
DubiousDan wrote:However, your comments on archeology and philology are not consistent with my understanding. As I said before, Taoism is nonlinear.

I am not sure I understand what you mean by linear, but if it relates (directly or indirectly) to the fact that Daoism did not develop linearly, then I agree with you, moreover I would say that no modern religions or philosophy schools are linear.

DubiousDan wrote:I still don’t believe you understand. You probably never will, but then, again, you might.

That does not seem to invite the debate, so unless you're willing to elaborate a bit, I can't really force you into a discussion you don't wish to have.

DubiousDan wrote:You may not be an American capitalist, but my opinion of your knowledge of Chinese history has not changed much.

And that is the heart of the problem, why would you even care forming an opinion about my knowledge of Chinese history? You know nothing about me, and this opinion can only hinder your understanding of what I am writing. I have no opinion about your knowledge of chinese history, and I don't care about it. Whatever you are going to write, I am going to check it against my own knowledge, against all the sources I have at my disposition until I find a direct confirmation or a direct contradiction of what you say (in case of a fact), most of the times (especially if it is an analysis), I'll find neither of them, but then I'll try to adapt my thinking to your point of view and see how I feel about it, whether there is an existing system in which it makes sense, and it is from this point of view that I will conceive of a critique, if I can think of any, or of an agreement with your view.
And this process is, to me, the meaning of the chapter 49, one first has to agree with someone else (i.e. to adopt his relative point of view) before disagreeing, any other kind of disagreement is sterile, it merely qualifies as a misunderstanding, a dead end of debate. But at no point in this process will I ever need to conceive an opinion about your knowledge of Chinese history, at best, I will oppose your view on one specific point, and anyway, my opposition will always be open to criticisms, because the process I just described never ensures a right understanding of your point, it merely is an attempt at approaching your view, and not necessarily a successful one.

DubiousDan wrote:As for your understanding of anthropology, perhaps I misunderstood you, but if you are saying that before civilization people lived lives which were strictly regulated by taboos and fears of the unknown. If you meant their lives were more stressful than those of people today, that is not quite the opinion of modern anthropology. If you meant something different, I apologize.

You understood almost the exact opposite of what I meant: The lives of early people were without a doubt less stressful than those of modern people, strict regulations are much safer than the current unregulated environment, fearing the unknown to the point of staying at home is much less stressful than exploring this unknown when fear allows you to go there (because, then, you're provoking fear, you disobey it, and activate it). Despite that, the joy of such an exploration is also much more rewarding for the human mind, stress is not an evil that must be eliminated at all cost, some stress motivates human being and prompts him to adapt and to improve himself.
There is a positive stress and a negative one, one that prompts adaptation and self-improvement, and one that is harmful and leads to depression, modern societies have developed both, without much discrimination, if humanity is to strive further, it will have to recognize this distinction, and find a dynamical balance between stress and comfort.
By DanDaMan
#13248756
However, take a nation like Saudi Arabia. It has a mean budget surplus of $159.544 billion over the last 9 years, and has a public debt of $218 billion.
Am I an idiot if I walk up to you and say I am rich because I have 159 billion in my pocket yet owe creditors 219 billion?
By DubiousDan
#13249192
Jean-Philippe :
I am not sure I understand what you mean by linear, but if it relates (directly or indirectly) to the fact that Daoism did not develop linearly, then I agree with you, moreover I would say that no modern religions or philosophy schools are linear.


Jean-Philippe :
You understood almost the exact opposite of what I meant: The lives of early people were without a doubt less stressful than those of modern people, strict regulations are much safer than the current unregulated environment, fearing the unknown to the point of staying at home is much less stressful than exploring this unknown when fear allows you to go there (because, then, you're provoking fear, you disobey it, and activate it). Despite that, the joy of such an exploration is also much more rewarding for the human mind, stress is not an evil that must be eliminated at all cost, some stress motivates human being and prompts him to adapt and to improve himself.
There is a positive stress and a negative one, one that prompts adaptation and self-improvement, and one that is harmful and leads to depression, modern societies have developed both, without much discrimination, if humanity is to strive further, it will have to recognize this distinction, and find a dynamical balance between stress and comfort.


Me:
We are way off topic. I suggest you read some modern texts on anthropology concerning hunter gatherer social orders, especially before civilization, and leave it at that.
Linear refers to the sequential analytic mode of thought, non-linear is the intuitive non-sequential mode of thought. The left hemisphere of the brain is normally considered linear, for example speech, logic, that sort of thing. The right hemisphere is considered non-linear and is associated with movement, spatial relationships, and intuitive multifaceted processes, that sort of thing. Of course this is only true for right handed folks. Right hand, left hemisphere, left hand, right hemisphere.

Again this has nothing to do with national debt. So do you still hold to your previous concepts or have you learned the error of your ways?
By Jean-Philippe
#13249267
So do you still hold to your previous concepts or have you learned the error of your ways?


I learned that you are extremely conceited, and have no clue of what debating means. Farewell.
By DubiousDan
#13252273
Jean-Philippe:
I learned that you are extremely conceited, and have no clue of what debating means. Farewell.

Me:
True, but at least I have a sense of humor.
By Jean-Philippe
#13253039
True, but at least I have a sense of humor.


Then, you're confusing an internet debate with a one-to-one friendly discussion in real life; there are however many differences that become paramount when it comes to humor. Humor heavily relies on face expression, tone of the voice, gestures, overall context and mood, and above all, knowledge of your interlocutor. You clearly know nothing about me, neither my nationality, nor my culture, nor my education.
Besides, in place of humor, you've been using some mild version of mockery, which is the poorest form of humor. You can use humor, but if you fail conveying it, it's your failure especially on internet. It is possible to use humor online, but it must be carefully done, and always with economy, you failed on both accounts.
We don't know each others, and you didn't incite me to want to know more about you, quite the contrary, and I believe it is reciprocal since you have clearly expressed your unwillingness to debate, humorously or not, the result remains, humor is always a nice excuse.
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