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There is no more destructive force in human affairs — not greed, not hatred — than the desire to have been right. Non-attachment to possessions is trivial when compared with non-attachment to opinions.
- Mark Kleiman -

I agree. The desire to do anything is destructive, and including proving oneself right.
However, I do not believe greed and hatred can be put as a lesser destructive force than the desire. Greed and hateret and ignorance can be easely put as distructive as any other force on this planet.
As for the non attachment comment, again, attachment to anything is a destructive force, be it to opinions or things.

But I guess, Kleiman's point might have been that, people would go through horrendous things, do things they otherwise would deem wrong, in order to be proven right.
In such respect it is very true. Then again, people would go through terrible things, and do things they otherwise would never, even if they desire a thing or a person.


How about this -

''All human errors are impatience, a premature breaking off of methodical procedure, an apparent fencing-in of what is apparently at issue.''

-Kafka

Originally posted by Storm
There is no more destructive force in human affairs — not greed, not hatred — than the desire to have been right. Non-attachment to possessions is trivial when compared with non-attachment to opinions.
- Mark Kleiman -

I don't think it's as instantly destructive as vices like greed etc. It's more self-disappointing than anything.

After you've been right at a drastic cost, is it really worth it? You can often end up being wrong in many ways as a result of being right.

-AC

what about fear?

Originally posted by lil bitchiness
How about this -

''All human errors are impatience, a premature breaking off of methodical procedure, an apparent fencing-in of what is apparently at issue.''

-Kafka

I think somethings cannot be solved methodically and must be solved through instinct and intuition, but probably everything we do wrong results from dodging a direct answer in one way or another.

Originally posted by Storm
There is no more destructive force in human affairs — not greed, not hatred — than the desire to have been right. Non-attachment to possessions is trivial when compared with non-attachment to opinions.
- Mark Kleiman -

Yes, Buddha was a genious! ...and Kleiman must have known that...

Attachment to opinions holds the potential to grow into greed, hatred and eventually war, because if one becomes attached or self-identifies with an idea, thought, or opinion, one wants to defend that self-identifying stance with everything you've got, and such defence of views and the potential forcing of views onto other people may lead to war.

We should not even be attached to Truth.

I tend to agree that the need to be right at the cost of proving another wrong is at the source of war and suffering.

Along with religion?

Although religion plays a role, so do a variety of cultural, political and historical factors.

While war is never good, it is sometimes necessary, unfortunately. So if one of those negative aspects happens to be the catalyst for a war in which the greater good is achieved, is it really a negative?

-AC

The ever-clear Heidegger:

Originally posted by Storm
There is no more destructive force in human affairs — not greed, not hatred — than the desire to have been right. Non-attachment to possessions is trivial when compared with non-attachment to opinions.
- Mark Kleiman - Yeah, it's really childish and dumb..
All these people who value their opinion in such a degree that it only stands in the way of growing at their insight of the world. All that constant stating stuff as facts also is goddamn annoying.

Some people want to be right so bad (only because of their high expectancies of themselves and pride) that they'll become prejudiced and shortsighted unintentionaly..
Why is it so hard for people to judge conflicting views just neutrally?
You'll learn much more from that..

I think we all want to be right, if we are really honest about it, and this is because we all are right. As simple as that.

I don't really believe in "Good things come to those who wait." or "Patience is a virtue."

I believe if you want something you should immediately go for it. Hesitations can kill, directly and indirectly. It may work for a few but in the business world and in life in general. I myself wouldn't follow this quote in the majority of life cases.

There's this story I heard about a lady waiting on a dock for a ship to arrive and upon seeing the ship approach from afar she became excited, jumping up and down, breaking the dock and falling into the cold waters below and drowning herself.

The smarter person would've swam out to meet the ship, and i'm not saying it literally but figuratively. Do not hesitate to get what you want, go out and get it is what i'm saying.

The beginning of thought is in disagreement — not only with others but also with ourselves.
- Eric Hoffer -

I think that's quite a trivial statement.

Disagreement with others seems rather self-evident. But what about disagreement with oneself? Does it make any sense?

Originally posted by Storm
Disagreement with others seems rather self-evident. But what about disagreement with oneself? Does it make any sense?

A lot of philosophical progress is enacted by means of the dialectic, which necessitates the need to challenge held views.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
A lot of philosophical progress is enacted by means of the dialectic, which necessitates the need to challenge held views.

I think that's quite a trivial statement dressed-up in nice words.

Originally posted by FistOfThe North
I don't really believe in "Good things come to those who wait." or "Patience is a virtue."

Neither do I. I bleieve that "Haste makes waste".

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
I think that's quite a trivial statement dressed-up in nice words.

That's because I was commenting on the same trivial statement. And I use nice words.

You were commenting on your own trivial statement as you made it? That's, like, "WOW!".

Yeah, so I guess I don't really belong here.

"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil."

- Plato

You worship me.

I'd say he just made that up to be quoted.

You only bloody went and fell for it didn't ya.

Damn! I didn't think Plato really said it anyway. I think Jesus said it as a way of controlling lots of people in a time before wars on terror.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
Yeah, so I guess I don't really belong here.

"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil."

- Plato
The following quote is also attributed to Plato:

Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune.

Originally posted by Storm
Disagreement with others seems rather self-evident. But what about disagreement with oneself? Does it make any sense?


Yes.


Insecurity of one's beleifs is a common drive for people to aim to prove they are right, because they need the validation from someone else.

The desire to always be right promotes ignorance, and ignorance in itself is destructive.

"The gazing populace receive greedily, without examination, whatever soothes superstition and promotes wonder."

- David Hume.

Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.
~B. F. Skinner

Originally posted by Regret
Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.
~B. F. Skinner

He probably meant that the society forms and conditions an individual before it has the mental capacities to evaluate all the ideologies it is fed. Which in y opinion is true, but probably hard to stop, if that is to be wished anyways. I like the quote.

Originally posted by Janus Marius
"The gazing populace receive greedily, without examination, whatever soothes superstition and promotes wonder."

- David Hume.

Well, he speaks truth. Can be seen in history and our times. Also fits good with the following quote. Which is in fact preceding in this post due to my weird way of reading Threads from front to back.


"All movements go too far. "

- Bertrand Russell

Originally posted by Regret
Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.
~B. F. Skinner Originally posted by Bardock42
He probably meant that the society forms and conditions an individual before it has the mental capacities to evaluate all the ideologies it is fed. Which in y opinion is true, but probably hard to stop, if that is to be wished anyways. I like the quote.

Yes, pretty much. Skinner was a Behaviorist though. Behavior analysts have a different view of mentalism. We do not entirely believe in it as the concept is commonly viewed.

One of my favorites
"I am like God, and God like me. I am as large as God, He is as small as I. He cannot above me, nor I beneath Him be. Selatius, 17th Century."

Please only submit a new quote when the previous one has been treated, or when has been proven that the quote is of no interest to anyone.