USH'S MATRIX GAME 2006 FOURTH ASSIGNMENT (PHILOSOPHY)- 'The Door'

I never want to go too fast, so that others have a chance to keep up with things.

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"Well then," says Lo Qi. "Let us combine our oirignal question with its answer. A person can have purpose for himself, and with society.

"But what is the purpose of society?"

"Purpose of the society is to ensure the survival of its individuals and provide for their needs to the extent it is reasonable and necessary, and they cannot do it themselves."

Heph just had nothing to contribute at the moment.

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"The purpose of a society is to thrive, to achieve, to develop, to spread. Stuff like that."

"Doesn't it depend on who's leading it or what has happened to society?" Sirin asks, speaking up for the first time since the discussion had begun.

"I mean, in Nazi Germany, Hitler tasked his country with conquering all the world and purifying it. A leader can provide purpose.

"And then..." She thinks for a moment. "Well, the United States was attacked by terrorists on numerous occasions, and they rallied to fight back. Society gave itself the purpose of ending terrorism."

"Those are specifics," says Lo Qi. "They can be stated as part of broader areas, as Hephaestus is doing."

"Still, I think society should serve individuals that it consists of, though some may believe it is the other way around. But I can understand what Heph means, of course."- Melkor adds, curious where Lo Qi wants to take them.

"The purpose of society is dictated entirely by those living within it," Azrael states.

(I didn't have anything to contribute before, either.)

"I agree with Azrael," Klez says. "Though, I might mention certain peoples that seem destined, with a deeper purpose, provided by religion. For example, the Jews seemed cut out for greatness in the Bible. I could be wrong, of course."

"That, again, is a specific. You will find all cultures over time have had the same basic underlying reasons. You say society should serve individuals, Melkor. But that only comes around to the same question, because I could ask you, how does society do that? Which is, in essence, the same question I originally asked."

"Well, there is some basis all societies need- ensuring the survival of individuals, that they have food, shelter, are free from unprovoked violence of others. Then it gets more complicated, as we enter more and more sophisticated needs- like the desire for love, acceptance, needs for religion and morality etc. So at this point you cannot get the single answer.

I believe that the more enlightened the society and individuals are, the more freedom it can allow, since people learn to respect the freedoms of others."

"I hold by original answer. Society develops itself before it develops its people."

"You can give a very simple answer if you don't complicate," says Lo Qi. "Melkor, you are dwelling too much in specifics.

"I seem to be hearing two different answers here. One from Melkor and another from Hephaestus."

"Well, if society was concerned only with developing its people, then it would not advance itself. A society usually advances before the people who live in it."

"Ah. So society advances itself?"

"But those advances are made but certain people in the society, that have enough influence to determine its evolutions. Or sometimes those are people rejected by the society."

"That doesn't make sense. Society is advanced by the people within it. That'd be like a car driving itself."

"But what is society other than a collection of people? The allegory you give does not fit."

"Though usually society can grow beyond the scope of individuals. People believe in such values as religion and tradition, not understanding that everything comes from them."

"Of course society can go beyond individuals, otherwise there would be little point in it. Which once more brings me around to my original question."

"The purpose of the society is the necessary consensus of perceived purposes of majority of its individuals?"