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Philosophical Meanderings
I'm going to bust it Socratic style.
Word to your (Great)^200 Grandmother.
With all due haste
What defines us, as people?
Can we be defined by form? Our physical selves?
Clearly we can't be defined by our form. Our form changes all the time. We gain and lose weight. We get piercings and tattoos. We get cuts and scars.
And yet, when looking to define the people you know, form is the first thing you judge.
Look at him. Aren't his eyes DREAMY?
Look at the hooters on her.
Oh, what a fat slob he is.
So how else can we define someone?
We can define them by purpose. What does he or she do?
He just wants to help people.
He cares only for himself and his own goals.
In some respects, this is a very fair way to define a person, but unless you know someone well enough to know their fundamental purpose(s), it doesn't necessarily work. It takes alot of time to know someone so well that you know their fundamental purpose. And it takes alot of work. Especially since so many people hide behind masks.
Can we define a person by association?
The people we are friends with. And those we are not friends with. Can they fairly define us? I think, to some extent, they do. We tend to associate those who are like us.
But that may not be fair either, because people change. Perhaps she who was your best friend has changed alot lately. You're still good friends, but she may not accurately reflect on who you are.
Let's try this at another angle, then. This approach seems to only bring on maybes and nos.
When does a person change? When is a person no longer the person he was?
This isn't a question I have an answer for.
There does seem to be some level of changed we accept as normal. What degree, however, is too much?
I dunno.
I doubt any of you do either. But I welcome your comments anyways.
Word to your (Great)^200 Grandmother.
With all due haste
What defines us, as people?
Can we be defined by form? Our physical selves?
Clearly we can't be defined by our form. Our form changes all the time. We gain and lose weight. We get piercings and tattoos. We get cuts and scars.
And yet, when looking to define the people you know, form is the first thing you judge.
Look at him. Aren't his eyes DREAMY?
Look at the hooters on her.
Oh, what a fat slob he is.
So how else can we define someone?
We can define them by purpose. What does he or she do?
He just wants to help people.
He cares only for himself and his own goals.
In some respects, this is a very fair way to define a person, but unless you know someone well enough to know their fundamental purpose(s), it doesn't necessarily work. It takes alot of time to know someone so well that you know their fundamental purpose. And it takes alot of work. Especially since so many people hide behind masks.
Can we define a person by association?
The people we are friends with. And those we are not friends with. Can they fairly define us? I think, to some extent, they do. We tend to associate those who are like us.
But that may not be fair either, because people change. Perhaps she who was your best friend has changed alot lately. You're still good friends, but she may not accurately reflect on who you are.
Let's try this at another angle, then. This approach seems to only bring on maybes and nos.
When does a person change? When is a person no longer the person he was?
This isn't a question I have an answer for.
There does seem to be some level of changed we accept as normal. What degree, however, is too much?
I dunno.
I doubt any of you do either. But I welcome your comments anyways.
no subject
When someone changes significantly in more than one spectrum of measurement over a short interval of time, they've "become someone else."
Like if I started up with the Goth movement (stop sniggering!):
* Wearing all black - physical change.
* Being angst-filled - mental change.
* Hanging around with the undead - relationship change.
Add it together and you get a Significant Change from me. And I'm sure there are other ways to measure this.
no subject
People just don't generally wake up and say "You know, I think I'm goth now!"
So the change takes place, OK.. but it takes place over some longer time... for example, maybe you start wearing some black, then more, then all, the angst.. hell.. we all have angst... and as for the people you hang out with... do they truly reflect on you? Alright, if you start hanging out with a BUNCH of Goths, maybe.. but one.. or two?
Most change is very gradual. The question is... what is too much change? even gradually?