Who are we really?

[Sawke]

I was wondering...what is a persons true self? is it the thoughts they think? or their actions. I had a friend that insulted me behind my back a LOT, so day after day i kept thinking of things i wanted to yell at her and insult her with.

When there was finally a counseling session between her, me, and some other people she insulted i didn't say anything, i just stared off in to space because i realized at that moment no matter how hard i yelled it wouldn't make a difference to her...so i'm wondering...am i a naturally passive person? or am i just someone who is pushing very aggressive thoughts deep down and not letting them out when it matters.

To this day i'm still angry...so maybe it's the latter? maybe my true self is what i think about doing but never actually do.

and ya i am a bit of a pussy.

[Zetvirus55]

I'm a smartass with a conscience

which prevents me from being a smartass about this, go figure

[GIRFAN]

WE ARE NEWGROUNDS!

How epic of me

[Gagsy]

I don't think there is any real answer, we just are who we are, and we're all different.

[Sawke]

At 10/20/08 07:00 PM, Gagsy wrote: I don't think there is any real answer, we just are who we are, and we're all different.

No but i mean...it's very rare for people to do exactly what they are thinking about. So is what you are thinking about more of who you are on the inside...or is your outer appearance revealing who you are?

[Sensationalism]

I think it's a combo of both.

[nerdking]

we are carbon based lifeform

[simon]

At 10/20/08 07:01 PM, Sawke wrote: No but i mean...it's very rare for people to do exactly what they are thinking about. So is what you are thinking about more of who you are on the inside...or is your outer appearance revealing who you are?

There's no need to even think about this, what a person thinks is what a person thinks, and what a person does is what they really are to us all, and that's what counts.

Also it's stupid for people to do exactly what we think about, we'd all be dead now if that was the case, and that's not who we really are inside, that's just our stupid brains working on something stupid.

It's complicated, but in the end, how a person acts is who they are.

[UltimateAxl]

We are humans who live on a place we call Earth.

Just kidding, we're all different and it's up to the people around you that go up and tell you who you really are, my opinion.

[americanidiot2f]

Well, how people percieve me by looks will probably be different if they got to look inside my head to see what I think about.

They'd usually assume I'm in a state of melancholy, when really I'm just in deep thought most of the time, but I wouldn't blame them on their assumptions at all.

[ShortMonkey]

Your actions are what define you.

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/20/08 07:01 PM, Sawke wrote: No but i mean...it's very rare for people to do exactly what they are thinking about. So is what you are thinking about more of who you are on the inside...or is your outer appearance revealing who you are?

Not to sound like I'm dancing around the question... but it's really both.

You are defined in this context by neither dream nor reality in their own rights, but by the relationship between them. The definition of you depends on both what you feel, and how you act on it. The two conditions are intrinsically tied.

[BrianEtrius]

We are everything and nothing at the same time. We represent the world while we can't possibly exist in it.

Look, I'll go on and on about this, but let's get the short version.

We exist and not exist at the same time. We can't trust ourselves, so we don't know what's real. For that matter, what is "real"?

Matrix reference.

Yeah, short version. We don't know what is going on. It just simply happens.

[CashClock]

I am a Undercover Agent trying to figure out how Tom Fulp a mastermind is making all you pathetic children stay on this BBS all day.

Now i must kill you, Please give me the following details

Where you live:

Where you spend most of your time:

What plans for tomorrow do you have:

And why are you doing this:

[ShortMonkey]

Your thoughts don't define you. Sometimes we think we want to do something really terrible, such as ruining an annoying person's reputation and it seems like we REALLY want to ruin this guy's reputation. In the end, you don't end up doing it because you're too good to lower yourself down to that level. Everyone has thoughts and desires to do things, good or bad, but those intentions aren't what define you unless you actually put them into practice.

Therefore, I stick with what I said before: Your actions are what define you.

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/20/08 07:16 PM, BrianEtrius wrote:

Matrix reference.

Fucking Christ. Newgrounds, find something else to reference for philosophy besides the Matrix. Please.

At 10/20/08 07:19 PM, ShortMonkey wrote: Therefore, I stick with what I said before: Your actions are what define you.

If you want to kill someone but don't:
- You are not a murderer.
- You are a person who thought about being a murderer.

If we're in a social context, it is the action that will define you. If we're in a personal context, it is both.

[ShortMonkey]

At 10/20/08 07:28 PM, Bacchanalian wrote: If you want to kill someone but don't:
- You are not a murderer.
- You are a person who thought about being a murderer.

If we're in a social context, it is the action that will define you. If we're in a personal context, it is both.

Not exactly. If you really want to do something, you'll do it or at least try your hardest to do it. If you don't do it, you really don't want to do it. It's like, we'd all like to be millionaire's, but we don't want it that much or we'd be working our arse's off trying to get the money.

Therefore, unless you murder that person or at least try it, you really don't want to do it - it's not unusual to think you really want to do something but when the time comes, you realise you don't really want to do it. I still stick with what I said before.

[Maverick-Alex]

We are Legion, you will be assimilated.

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/20/08 07:37 PM, ShortMonkey wrote: Not exactly. If you really want to do something, you'll do it or at least try your hardest to do it.

You're mixing two different definitions of "really".

- Really as in very.
- Really as in true.

Really wanting to do something is a matter of intensity; really as in very.
Really being you is a matter of identity; really as in true.

The fact that you found a word that implicates two separate meanings doesn't mean it all of a sudden has the semantic value of both simultaneously.

Whether you really want to kill someone, or only kind of want to kill someone, you still wanted to kill someone to some degree. It still crossed your mind. Just because you didn't really want to kill someone doesn't mean you didn't want to kill someone.

Action doesn't undo thoughts. Action is the result of grappling with those thoughts. It just happens that one half of the dichotomy is empirical/external.

[Bacchanalian]

And another thing. This?

At 10/20/08 07:37 PM, ShortMonkey wrote: Not exactly. If you really want to do something, you'll do it or at least try your hardest to do it.

... is romantic drivel.

The stronger the cognitive dissonance, the stronger the reaction, but the reaction can go either way. More pressure to achieve a thing is more pressure to avoid it. And I say pressure because, despite it ultimately coming down to what you want, there is so much more in play.

God I'm so tired of fluffy-love-osophy.

[Funny-Man]

It's what you are on the inside. I am kind of different on here, say, via real life.

[MonkeyV]

Well... those are two entirely different questions.

I imagine that "yourself" is your mind and what you are thinking (your soul?). Therefore, if you mind got transferred to a different body, (see Old Man's War) that person would still be you.

Your second question, no, you aren't naturally passive. A completely passive person would not organize such a meeting with her or even care about being insulted.

[firemaker60]

At 10/21/08 12:35 AM, Bacchanalian wrote: lots of stuff that may or may not be true

Do you mind not spilling everything that you learned from your philosophy/psychology class here? If I want in depth explanations, I'll read the textbook myself. Personal opinions if you don't mind.

[ZyklonB]

At 10/20/08 06:52 PM, Sawke wrote:

am i a naturally passive person? or am i just someone who is pushing very aggressive thoughts deep down and not letting them out when it matters.

Does it always have to be about you! Damn I expected something different from the misleading title.

eh confrontation gets tiring after a while, maybe you should become a monk

[Arab]

At 10/20/08 06:52 PM, Sawke wrote: I was wondering...what is a persons true self? is it the thoughts they think? or their actions. I had a friend that insulted me behind my back a LOT, so day after day i kept thinking of things i wanted to yell at her and insult her with.

When there was finally a counseling session between her, me, and some other people she insulted i didn't say anything, i just stared off in to space because i realized at that moment no matter how hard i yelled it wouldn't make a difference to her...so i'm wondering...am i a naturally passive person? or am i just someone who is pushing very aggressive thoughts deep down and not letting them out when it matters.

To this day i'm still angry...so maybe it's the latter? maybe my true self is what i think about doing but never actually do.

and ya i am a bit of a pussy.

You didn't tie in the underlined part to the rest of this, but I believe what really matters is a person's intentions, not what they actually do necessarily. If you believe in your heart you are doing the right thing and that is your true intention, then I could care less when it comes to judging your character whether that actually was the right thing or not. Whether you do the right thing or not is a matter of your witts and intelligence, but it is what you intend to accomplish through doing that thing which defines who you are as a person.

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/21/08 12:42 AM, firemaker60 wrote: Do you mind not spilling everything that you learned from your philosophy/psychology class here? If I want in depth explanations, I'll read the textbook myself. Personal opinions if you don't mind.

How about this...

This topic is like asking, "What really makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

And having some people answer, "It's the peanut butter!"
While some other people answer, "It's the jelly!"
And then a few more saying its the bread.

It's all three.

Well... in this thread it's really two things. It's a dichoto- SHIT! I almost used a fancy text book word again.

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/21/08 01:08 AM, Bacchanalian wrote: This topic is like asking, "What really makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

Yes I know trolls... the person making the sandwich really makes it. Hur hur.

[DiscoveryOne]

we are pseudo-philosophers, apparently

[Bacchanalian]

At 10/21/08 01:29 AM, DiscoveryOne wrote: we are pseudo-philosophers, apparently

I guess you haven't watched the Matrix yet.

[g0t]

That is the highest artform. Being true to yourself.