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/ Topic > Why War is Hell / 23 October 2003 /
/ NGZ > alt. philosophy and talk.philosophy.misc /
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[ During the most foul month of August, 2003, the
offensive one didst vomit forth the following
queasy-inducing philosophical reflection ... ]
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Therefore someone asked me the other month if I believe in the
existence of Hell. The question is a no-brainer really; so I
answered without hesitation, "Yes, Hell exists. Hell is real.
Absolutely." And if you look at it from the view-point of
philosophy, rather than theology (which is necessarily half-
baked, at best), the matter is fairly straight-forward:
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Just a few centuries ago a certain mathematically-minded
Frenchman called Rene Descartes attempted to set Philosophy
on the right path (ie. to set Her free from the disagreeable
servitude that was Her life under the odious theological
domination) by remaking her first principles. Start with what
you know, he said. Start with what is most certainly true.
Start with what is beyond all doubt.
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Now Descartes fancied that the most primary fact he could
be sure of was the reality of his own thinking:
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"I think, therefore I am."
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But it was another French philosopher, the twentieth-century
existentialist J.P. Sartre, who actually discovered the most
primary fact of all human/social reality when he observed that
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"Hell is other people."
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And this is not mere pessimism or negativity, my friends. Nor
is it mere subjective opinion. Rather, it is an objective and
observable reality. Thus the vast majority of all the people
I've ever known, met, and seen were (and remain) utterly
horrid (especially Catholics). And most have little or no
redeeming graces to offset their inherent horridness.
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[However, it should be noted in passing that it is the
*occasional* and *exceptional* exceptions who make life,
philosophy, and history, both interesting and worthwhile!]
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Yet the truth of all this is by no means confined to my own
(necessarily limited) perceptions. Indeed, it can be verified
by anyone through a careful study of history. Accordingly, the
history of historical literature is itself highly suggestive:
the earliest (and still some of the best) historical accounts
are almost wholly concerned with war, violence, and brutality.
The study of History begins with war-stories!
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And rightly so; for war has always been the chief occupation
of mankind. All the progress and development of civilization
over the past 20,000 years has been accompanied by (and even
driven by) warfare. It is the one constant among all the many
and various peoples, cultures, and nations all over the world.
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Why? Because war is the outward expression of our inner-being.
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Thus it is often observed that "War is Hell!", but the reason
why this is so is never mentioned or explained. Yet ultimately
it is because "Hell is other people". If this were not so, war
could not bring out the worst, and the best, in us.
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The all-embracing reality of war also shows that man is NOT
"the rational animal" (as Aristotle supposed), but is in fact
a highly irrational 'killer-ape' type of creature. [4X: the
'original sin' was genocide, whereby the first significant
act of homo-sapiens was to exterminate the Neanderthals.]
And this universal truth of fundamental irrationality is the
ultimate starting point of any philosophy that strives for
truth and relevance . . .
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And so it seems to be a biological necessity that the
only thing that all people have in common is their shared
horridness. [And don't give me any crap about war being 'a
male-thing'; because even if that were true (which is
doubtful), women are still just as horrid as men (and maybe
even more so)!] Thus these particular people have no trouble
whatsoever in recognizing the horridness in "them", yet are
completely blind to the same horridness in "us".
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And *that* is why war is hell!
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- the almost semi-martial one - cybrwurrm ;>
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P.S. "The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing
in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts,
they alter the facts to fit their views..." -- Doctor Who
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/ Newsgroups > alt.philosophy, alt.comp.hardware / 15Dec03 /
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Why the Writer Writeth Not
[or: The World is a Shark]
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"Guard your Heart more than any Treasure;
for the Heart is the Source of all Life!"
-- Proverbs 4:23 / prophet version
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Yes and alas, this year of our Lord 2000 and three has been a
very bad time for the despicable wurm. So you may have noticed
that the offensive one has not been sending forth very much in
the way of readable scribblings this year. 'And why not?', you
asketh. Well, there IS a reason for this. The thing about it is
that the World was and is conspiring to do all it can to piss me
off, bigtime. And this year the World has succeeded amazingly in
this enterprise by pulling out all the stops, and by going way
over the top.
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As a result I have been in a most foul temper all year long.
Let me offer to the Reader just one example (out of countless
thousands) by way of illustration: A couple of months ago it so
happened that I was called upon to print out a document on my
trusty Lexmark-Z11. So fine, but half-way through it the words
abruptly vanished! No big deal, just out of ink. Not an unusual
occurrence by any means; and certainly nothing to get upset
about. 'Don't sweat the small stuff', eye always say.
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So I removed the ink cartridge, refilled it from my supply
of much-watered-down black ink, and re-installed it in my Z11
printer. Or rather, I *tried* to re-install it. Somehow in the
process I managed to break off a tiny piece of plastic from the
cartridge-holder such that the ink-cartridge simply would NOT
snap back into place like it's supposed to.
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I tried everything; even taping it to the holder. No dice. So
because of this stupid little piece of plastic, I had to garbage
my Z11, and go out and buy a new printer. And that wasn't the
worst of it, oh no. Just a few days later I went back to Future-
Swine-Shop for some CD-cases, and there's my brand-new printer
on sale for half the price I paid for it! Grrrrrrr ... :(
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But this sort of thing is not at all uncommon for the most
despised one. This is the way things have been going for me all
year long. And as a result of all this endless nonsense I have
been, more or less constantly eye must say, in a most sour and
unseemly disposition. Anger, resentment, and bitterness? Up to
my eyeballs in it. Soaked to the sub-atomic level in it, i fear.
Vibrating in harmony with all the world's infinite supply of
100-proof crappola. O yeah!
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It's like being trapped in a malevolent whirlpool of toxic
negativity. The moment I start clawing my way out of this cess-
pool, another shark swims up, bites me on the ankle, and pulls
me down deeper still. Have you ever been trapped in a violent
emotional cesspool? Eye yam. All year long yet. Oh yes!
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And because of all these seemingly endless hardware and non-
hardware related "events and occurrences" (too numerous and too
horrible to mention) I have been unable to log in any serious
flight-time. And being unable to fly does nothing at all to
improve the disposition of this particular virtual-pilot (ie.
I was "Born2FLY!"; as my screen-saver proclaimeth).
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Consequently, I'm in no condition to write any encouraging and
inspiring epistles for my many loyal and devoted prophet-phans.
The few things I have written lately are either entirely off-
topic, utterly irrelevant, or even downright nasty (eg. see 'Why
War is Hell' or 'Repercussions'). Thus it's better not to write
at all when I'm thoroughly stuck in such a horrid state of mind.
But if I didn't write anything at all, then I would no longer
be a writer. After all, a writer writes. And a real writer MUST
write; whether he likes it or not. Yes, dear reader, your most
beloved one is truly cursed from both sides! :(
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And no, I have no illusions that next year will be somehow
(magically) better. If anything, things will be worse than ever.
Why so, you ask? Because that's obviously the way the World
wants it. And what the World wants, the World gets. Don't kid
yourself! This shark-infested World is the universe's greatest
expert at kicking people when they're down and out.
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And sooner or later, one way or the other, the World always
wins. Always! Make no mistake about it. It just keeps on coming
until finally you break and jump off a bridge. Or shatter into
a thousand pieces. Or dissolve into a fetid greasy spot. Or ...
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But not this guy! No fraggin way, Ho-zay.
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- the exceedingly foul-minded one - cybbrwurm ;>
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P.S. "Dear someone you've never heard of, how is so-and-so.
Blah, blah. Yours truly, some bozo." -- First Epistle of Homer
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