In a recent class we discussed the concepts of passing and covering. The ideas were brought to light through a professor at a law university, although they did not completely originate there. The main ideas of these are based around the ideas of concealing all or part of something about yourself. The reason that Yoshino brought this topic to light was because of his sexual orientation. As it is now the act of being openly homosexual is looked down upon and Yoshino wanted to address this.
Yoshino explained that in the field of hiding things about one’s self there exists two levels: passing and covering. The act of passing is all about totally suppressing the certain trait. One example would be that of being “in the closet.” This is where the person has not revealed their sexual orientation to the world so as to conform to the preset standards. The other of the concepts is about covering. The idea of covering is based around not complete concealment but on the idea of down-playing the trait in question. The example that Yoshino gives is that of Roosevelt and the fact that he was in a wheelchair. Now it is quite obvious that it would be impossible for him to hide such a fact, but he did try to cover it.
Roosevelt used the use of covering in order to help people see the real him and not the traits that comprised him. Roosevelt felt that by being openly expressive of the fact that he was in a wheelchair people would find that he was simply a wheelchair carrying an important man, not Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Because of this he decided to cover the fact of his trait. He installed a wooden panel in the Resolute Desk in order to conceal his condition. Was he telling people he was not in a wheelchair no, he was simply removing the fact from the equation.
The use of both of these is very much a part of our everyday lives. Even now you and I are currently participating in some form of passing or covering. We do this in order to avoid the conflict that would arise by the mainstream if we did not. Everyone is a part of this imprisonment so one might wonder why we do not break free from the shackles of the nonexistent mainstream. It is because people would be afraid to join the total upraising for fear of a ghost. Everyone blames the white protestant for the fashions it must conform to, but this group is also conforming. So again why do we not all break away? It’s because of the idea that holds us in place that if we broke away the “everyone else” would judge us wrong.
I have spoken about the different types hiding, passing and covering, but one might wonder what more real life examples there are that fit with them. One example is that of politics. Politics are a sensitive issue all around the world. It is the cause of love and hate, peace and war. The fact that we decide to cover or even pass our political positions is a very easily understood concept. People, which I have experienced firsthand, can go from being your best friend to completely hating every fiber in your being by simply knowing your political views. Because of this does the fact that I avoid politics make me a liar? Or does it make me someone who doesn’t want to be known by his beliefs but by his nature.
Another major concept that is often covered or even passed is that of religion. As like politics, religion has been a major focal point for love, hate, peace and war. People can become extremely hostile when conflicting views such as religion are brought into the picture. So the idea of wishing to cover or pass ones beliefs in order to avoid a conflict can be easily understood.
While many people might say that the use of passing and covering is immoral and deceitful, I believe that it can be a vital in order to simply get through the day without being ripped apart by the vicious beast that humans can be. Do I believe we should all lie: no, do I believe we should not tell the truth: yes.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sex. Now that I have your attention I am going to discuss the topic of the said attention-getter. The topic in question, when spoken about to the average person, is characterized as the exchange between a man and a woman. First it must be addressed as to the process of getting to such action. Then it must be pointed out that in fact not all forms of “sex” are between a man and a woman, or for that matter not all of them are between a human and a human.
In the instance of how to get consent for said coitus there are many different routes to take and many of them can be fairly complicated or fairly straight forward. While I could not possibly speak for everyone or every way I can speak for that of which I know. The first and most blatant way for the receiving of consent is through a way invented in the collegiate community: written consent forms. These are the most straight forward way of gaining consent, though some people may see them as a buzz kill. Another form of getting consent that I know of is through simply asking. After this point there becomes a quite endless list of means and methods to initiating the desired coitus. Each different way can vary in the slightest or quite significantly, but it is to each his/her own.
Beyond that of initiating the coitus it must be understood how many different forms of combinations there are for this.
The first combination is the most obvious: man and woman. This is quite straight forward. It is also the most openly accepted by the populous. The concept has been around since the beginning of history. Of course that statement need go unstated, but it is to give a reference to the rest of the examples. Through this form is the only way, at current, that the human population can continue.
The next is that of same sex relations. The concept of same sex relations has been around for thousands of years. One population that was known for such relations was that of the Spartans. Beyond the history of going back thousands of years there exists a more colorful recent history. The same sex community is currently in an uphill battle with that of the conservative values instilled by the protestant foundation of our country. Although this is the current standing I believe that the community will eventually be accepted into the mainstream acceptance.
Another of the forms of sexuality that I wish to discuss is that of between a man and a beast. This concept has also been around for thousands of years. It has often been used in various religions. One example of this is that of the Minotaur. Another example is that of when people would have sex with animals claiming that it was one of their deities such as Zeus. It is my opinion that the excuse of having sex with animals as a deity is just an excuse to express their desires for bestiality.
The topic of coitus is a part of our everyday lives and quite often is not fully discussed. I believe that we must become more accepting of this part of ourselves. Although do not misinterpret this as an endorsement for some of the stranger forms of this topic such as bestiality. We must still learn to accept some other form of this topic such as those between all humans. Any instance of gaining consent between the two people in question should be considered as an accepted form of relations.
In the instance of how to get consent for said coitus there are many different routes to take and many of them can be fairly complicated or fairly straight forward. While I could not possibly speak for everyone or every way I can speak for that of which I know. The first and most blatant way for the receiving of consent is through a way invented in the collegiate community: written consent forms. These are the most straight forward way of gaining consent, though some people may see them as a buzz kill. Another form of getting consent that I know of is through simply asking. After this point there becomes a quite endless list of means and methods to initiating the desired coitus. Each different way can vary in the slightest or quite significantly, but it is to each his/her own.
Beyond that of initiating the coitus it must be understood how many different forms of combinations there are for this.
The first combination is the most obvious: man and woman. This is quite straight forward. It is also the most openly accepted by the populous. The concept has been around since the beginning of history. Of course that statement need go unstated, but it is to give a reference to the rest of the examples. Through this form is the only way, at current, that the human population can continue.
The next is that of same sex relations. The concept of same sex relations has been around for thousands of years. One population that was known for such relations was that of the Spartans. Beyond the history of going back thousands of years there exists a more colorful recent history. The same sex community is currently in an uphill battle with that of the conservative values instilled by the protestant foundation of our country. Although this is the current standing I believe that the community will eventually be accepted into the mainstream acceptance.
Another of the forms of sexuality that I wish to discuss is that of between a man and a beast. This concept has also been around for thousands of years. It has often been used in various religions. One example of this is that of the Minotaur. Another example is that of when people would have sex with animals claiming that it was one of their deities such as Zeus. It is my opinion that the excuse of having sex with animals as a deity is just an excuse to express their desires for bestiality.
The topic of coitus is a part of our everyday lives and quite often is not fully discussed. I believe that we must become more accepting of this part of ourselves. Although do not misinterpret this as an endorsement for some of the stranger forms of this topic such as bestiality. We must still learn to accept some other form of this topic such as those between all humans. Any instance of gaining consent between the two people in question should be considered as an accepted form of relations.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Sentient..?
In my previous blog I argued that computers/artificial intelligence should be considered alive. This can be linked to that of other forms of intelligence. Not necessarily if they are alive, that is quite obvious, but rather are they a sentient species?
In class we were presented with a presentation on the gorilla Koko by one of our own. She presented the facts about who Koko is. One of the facts she was trying to make known to us is that Koko is intelligent.
Koko is able to many things that would qualify her to be a sentient being, so why isn't she?
One of the most significant things that Koko can do is communicate logically and originally. Basically this means that you can have a complete, unrehearsed, conversation with Koko and she will respond with her own responses. This is even more spectacular in the fact that if Koko wants to say something but does not know the particular word for it she will attempt to make up something else that is fitting. A second significant aspect of Koko is that she can take care of another being. Koko owned a cat which she cared for and loved. A third significant aspect of Koko is that she can feel emotion. When Koko’s cat died she was stricken with heartache. Koko is also a very proud creature because she did not openly express all of this heartache to the public.
Koko has also taught two other gorillas to communicate. If she was but a dumb animal how then could she do such a thing?
Whether or not Koko is an intelligent being should not even be up for question; moreover whether or not the entire gorilla population should be considered sentient beings should not be up for question either.
The fact that the human arrogance is blinding it is hardly a new concept. This blinding darkness has followed the human race throughout its history. One example of this arrogance is whether or not the earth was the center of the universe. If that is not a prime example of how self-minded we are I do not know what is. Another example is that of the world being flat. When the idea of the earth actually being round came into question it was dismissed without a second thought. As we all know the outcome of that was that humans were wrong yet again. Another more biological example would be that of bleeding each other to heal. Sure it worked for some things (like high blood pressure) but this was an archaic remedy.
The counter argument would be that we admit to being imperfect. This argument would only strengthen mine. It would do so by the fact that we are admitting to not being right about everything. So then why is it that we cannot accept other beings as equals to ourselves? Why can’t we declare the gorilla an equally intelligent being? Why do we jest to the idea of an artificial intelligence? Because the human arrogance cannot accept the fact that it is not number one.
We must also take the other creatures into question besides just gorillas or artificial intelligences into greater consideration in this argument. What about the dolphin? The dolphin is considered to be the next most intelligent being on the planet. We can teach the dolphin to do many different tasks. We even believe it has some form of communication between itself and other dolphins. The absolute truth is that we still regard it as just a really neat animal. No more separated than that of any other being not human. We even lock these creatures up in jails for our own viewing pleasure. On this instance it would be argued that we are helping them by saving them from the wild. Who said they needed saving? The most destructive force is the very one that claims to be trying to protect it. Another creature that we must protect from ourselves is that of the orangutan. This marvel is considered to be the most related to that of humans being only 2 chromosomes off. Unfortunately we still consider it to be another animal.
To make my argument bottom-lined and clear, the human race needs to become more open minded to that of other forms of intelligence. The veil arrogance that has blinded us for thousands of years must be removed if we are ever to move forward. We must accept the other sentient beings as just that sentient, otherwise we cannot expect the same treatment as sentient from anyone else, if ever there be.
In class we were presented with a presentation on the gorilla Koko by one of our own. She presented the facts about who Koko is. One of the facts she was trying to make known to us is that Koko is intelligent.
Koko is able to many things that would qualify her to be a sentient being, so why isn't she?
One of the most significant things that Koko can do is communicate logically and originally. Basically this means that you can have a complete, unrehearsed, conversation with Koko and she will respond with her own responses. This is even more spectacular in the fact that if Koko wants to say something but does not know the particular word for it she will attempt to make up something else that is fitting. A second significant aspect of Koko is that she can take care of another being. Koko owned a cat which she cared for and loved. A third significant aspect of Koko is that she can feel emotion. When Koko’s cat died she was stricken with heartache. Koko is also a very proud creature because she did not openly express all of this heartache to the public.
Koko has also taught two other gorillas to communicate. If she was but a dumb animal how then could she do such a thing?
Whether or not Koko is an intelligent being should not even be up for question; moreover whether or not the entire gorilla population should be considered sentient beings should not be up for question either.
The fact that the human arrogance is blinding it is hardly a new concept. This blinding darkness has followed the human race throughout its history. One example of this arrogance is whether or not the earth was the center of the universe. If that is not a prime example of how self-minded we are I do not know what is. Another example is that of the world being flat. When the idea of the earth actually being round came into question it was dismissed without a second thought. As we all know the outcome of that was that humans were wrong yet again. Another more biological example would be that of bleeding each other to heal. Sure it worked for some things (like high blood pressure) but this was an archaic remedy.
The counter argument would be that we admit to being imperfect. This argument would only strengthen mine. It would do so by the fact that we are admitting to not being right about everything. So then why is it that we cannot accept other beings as equals to ourselves? Why can’t we declare the gorilla an equally intelligent being? Why do we jest to the idea of an artificial intelligence? Because the human arrogance cannot accept the fact that it is not number one.
We must also take the other creatures into question besides just gorillas or artificial intelligences into greater consideration in this argument. What about the dolphin? The dolphin is considered to be the next most intelligent being on the planet. We can teach the dolphin to do many different tasks. We even believe it has some form of communication between itself and other dolphins. The absolute truth is that we still regard it as just a really neat animal. No more separated than that of any other being not human. We even lock these creatures up in jails for our own viewing pleasure. On this instance it would be argued that we are helping them by saving them from the wild. Who said they needed saving? The most destructive force is the very one that claims to be trying to protect it. Another creature that we must protect from ourselves is that of the orangutan. This marvel is considered to be the most related to that of humans being only 2 chromosomes off. Unfortunately we still consider it to be another animal.
To make my argument bottom-lined and clear, the human race needs to become more open minded to that of other forms of intelligence. The veil arrogance that has blinded us for thousands of years must be removed if we are ever to move forward. We must accept the other sentient beings as just that sentient, otherwise we cannot expect the same treatment as sentient from anyone else, if ever there be.
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