endsthegame (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2024-07-16 05:10 pm
endsthegame) wrote in fandomhigh2024-07-16 05:10 pm
Entry tags:
Practical Philosophy, Tuesday
"'Anger is accompanied by pain, but hatred not; for he who is angry suffers pain, but he who hates does not. One who is angry might feel compassion in many cases, but one who hates, never; for the former wishes that the object of his anger should suffer in his turn, the latter, that he should perish.'"
Ender smiled as the class settled in, a copy of the Complete Works of Aristotle sitting in his lap. "Aristotle is one of this world's most famous philosophers. One of the ancient Greeks, who lived almost 2.500 years ago, taught by the legendary Plato. And a man with a lot of things to say about hatred."
He closed the book. "Aristotle sees a clear difference between anger and hate. Anger, he argues, is focused on the individual. In doing so, you must acknowledge the humanity - or sentience - of the being you feel such anger towards. You feel, and you want the object of your anger to feel as well. Hatred, on the other hand, is different. Hatred can also be about groups, says Aristotle, about a collection of things you wish only to be utterly destroyed. The object of your hatred need not feel something. It is only imperative that it be there to be mistreated, hurt, annihilated."
He set the book aside. "Hence, to feel hatred, you must have stripped the recipient of all that makes their feelings worth caring about," he said. "When I was young, I thought my brother hated me. I had something he didn't, and he wanted to destroy me for it. Only when I was older did I find the capacity to listen enough, and did he find the capacity to speak enough, for me to realize that he was simply fearful, and wanted my affection."
The annoyance of the weekend had passed, yes. Peter had called, and Ender had realized what all of that had been about. "In doing so, I denied his humanity, as much as I felt he denied mine," he said. "I was young. I didn't understand. Much like I was a few years later, when I felt a measure of hatred for the first time in my life, and paid the cost. It takes effort to put your feelings aside and listen. It takes more effort to understand that there's a reason to do so at all."
He reached for his bottle of water. "Don't get me wrong, anger can also be destructive," he said. "But personally I don't think it is as all encompassing." He took a sip. "So two questions, today. One, do you think Aristotle's division of anger and hatred is fair? And two, can you remember a time you felt hatred - and a time you felt someone hated you? What did you do about it? How did it feel? Do you regret it, or do you stand by it?"
Ender smiled as the class settled in, a copy of the Complete Works of Aristotle sitting in his lap. "Aristotle is one of this world's most famous philosophers. One of the ancient Greeks, who lived almost 2.500 years ago, taught by the legendary Plato. And a man with a lot of things to say about hatred."
He closed the book. "Aristotle sees a clear difference between anger and hate. Anger, he argues, is focused on the individual. In doing so, you must acknowledge the humanity - or sentience - of the being you feel such anger towards. You feel, and you want the object of your anger to feel as well. Hatred, on the other hand, is different. Hatred can also be about groups, says Aristotle, about a collection of things you wish only to be utterly destroyed. The object of your hatred need not feel something. It is only imperative that it be there to be mistreated, hurt, annihilated."
He set the book aside. "Hence, to feel hatred, you must have stripped the recipient of all that makes their feelings worth caring about," he said. "When I was young, I thought my brother hated me. I had something he didn't, and he wanted to destroy me for it. Only when I was older did I find the capacity to listen enough, and did he find the capacity to speak enough, for me to realize that he was simply fearful, and wanted my affection."
The annoyance of the weekend had passed, yes. Peter had called, and Ender had realized what all of that had been about. "In doing so, I denied his humanity, as much as I felt he denied mine," he said. "I was young. I didn't understand. Much like I was a few years later, when I felt a measure of hatred for the first time in my life, and paid the cost. It takes effort to put your feelings aside and listen. It takes more effort to understand that there's a reason to do so at all."
He reached for his bottle of water. "Don't get me wrong, anger can also be destructive," he said. "But personally I don't think it is as all encompassing." He took a sip. "So two questions, today. One, do you think Aristotle's division of anger and hatred is fair? And two, can you remember a time you felt hatred - and a time you felt someone hated you? What did you do about it? How did it feel? Do you regret it, or do you stand by it?"
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
You know like Nicol Bolas, Belzenlok, Razaketh, angels in general, most high-ranking members of the Church of Avacyn...