Re: virus: Strange attractors and meta-religions (was God and

Mark Hornberger (markhornberger@nietzsche.net)
Fri, 04 Apr 1997 18:55:44 -0600


At 11:33 AM 4/4/97 -0800, you wrote:
>
>
>
>On Thu, 3 Apr 1997, Mark Hornberger wrote:
>
>> [....] - is deliberate
>> self-deception really a good thing? If so, then why do we pity
>> schizophrenics or autistics, who are in their own little world, and
>> apparently don't want any part of ours?
>
>That's a good question. Why do we pity schizophrenics? I don't pity
>there condition as much as the way we, as a society, treat them because of
>that condition. I pity the fact that we have forced them into "their own
>little world" by not creating a niche in ours for them in which they can
thrive.

I think schizophrenia is largely a medical problem, one of chemical
imbalance or whatnot, rather than just a coping response to a hostile
world. Even for those whose withdrawal is just a response to a world they
don't feel comfortable in, I would say that having a 'thin skin' is also
something of a personality problem. There are a great number of
basketcases walking around out there, and I don't think we can blame all,
or even most, of them on society. Someone with an inability to cope
effectively with everyday life does in fact have a problem, and that's just
it - it doesn't indicate that society is so incrediby horrible, but rather
that this person has a problem coping with reality.
>
>> I don't think the world is really all that bad, for me.
>
>Ahhh... I see. So you've taken the pill as well. (Some call "the pill"
>just another meme, but we know better don't we?) Welcome to the other
>side. Did you get your armband yet?
>
>-Prof. Tim
>
LOL I guess I'm unfamiliar with this pill - I'm new to virus. I started
that particular coping mechanism when I started reading about Zen Buddhism,
and later Marcus Aurelius. I just get tired of everyone bemoaning about
how *horrible* everything is; there's no justice, etc. etc. People just
need to get over it.