Tollund_Man4
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User ID: 501
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
The first thing I can think of is that utilitarianism doesn’t have much to say about what happiness actually is beyond subjectively defined well-being. It would seem hard for a utilitarian to say that a state where everyone deems themselves happy should not be pursued, no matter what this happy life actually consists of, but Western philosophy tackles this question very early on (I’ll try and find the quote from Socrates where he flat out denies that the interlocutor claiming to be happy is really happy). If someone thinks that true happiness requires certain prerequisites (say freedom from ignorance or a well moderated character), then schemes for promoting happiness which have the force of moral obligation under utilitarianism can be dismissed as misguided, shallow or evil.
As a thought experiment you could imagine a world where technology has granted the ability to shape the wants of humanity such that everyone can attain maximum subjective well-being. The catch is that this is achieved by a numbing of the feelings that make man dissatisfied with who he is and his lot in life. The current mix of virtues and vices will become all that a man could ever expect from himself and he will be satisfied.
It’s hard to see how a utilitarian would object to this, but it brings to prominence the question of “what are the proper things to want?”. Ironically it was Mill who put this best when he said “better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied”. It seems like there is ethical import to wanting the proper things and a person who is well ordered in this way is on an ethically superior path even if he is subjectively suffering from the difficulty of it.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
I didn’t mention it because I couldn’t have done it justice like you have!
It looks like both proposed amendments have failed to pass, but I won’t be surprised if they try again in a few years.
The gold is a mystery to me. Apparently it was there in case of a collapse in fiat currency.
Accommodation has been expensive and in short supply for years but the ‘making it to Ireland be homeless’ thing is new, we took in a lot of Ukrainian refugees and the normal asylum seeker numbers increased a lot too following this.
As for the arsons, unless there’s a deterrent effect in play I doubt they’ve changed things much. I doubt many people have been deterred, there’s a lot of money to be made from hosting asylum seekers and insurance still pays out in cases of arson. Iirc the homelessness thing was picking up steam before the arson became common (there have been arson attacks going back years ago but it picked up a lot in the past few months).
Ireland
The arson attacks have died down (barring one seemingly apolitical attempt to burn down 5 shops in one day in Cork city) and the government has hardened their attitude somewhat towards the abuses of the asylum system, sending one man to prison and arresting dozens of others for showing up at Dublin airport without a passport and promising to resume deportations of failed asylum seekers on chartered flights (the covid response involved putting a moratorium on deportations).
I'm a bit late with this news but it turns out the man charged with setting fire to a Luas tram during the Dublin riot is a member of the National Party, so there is some evidence to the claims that far-right agitators are taking advantage of these protests to commit crimes. Stirring up violence is about all the National Party seems capable of, right now there are two self-proclaimed leaders of the party since Justin Barrett was ousted as party leader (something he denies) after a controversy over a large amount of stolen gold and a police investigation into who actually owns it.
Another slightly out of date headline is that the number of asylum seekers without state provided accommodation broke the 1,000 figure last month, but given the rate of increase it is likely still higher today:
On Friday 9 February, the figure passed 800 for the first time, the following Friday it passed 900, and today, one week on, it has passed 1,000.
Many of these asylum seekers have pitched tents outside the International Protection Office and are protesting the breach of their human rights given the sometimes freezing temperatures and constant rain. It has been the case for a while now that if you show up in Ireland claiming asylum that you will be sleeping on the street, but that doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
For your consideration, you forgot one genre...The murder confessional.
MF DOOM has a funny song about that: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gQtKJbptcns
There's also the I'm literally on the run for murder confessional.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
If the secessionist group has a good chance of turning into some kind of functional government, and the current situation is one where unity with the larger doesn't offer anything to the smaller (or actively hinders them), and you aren't dooming your people to a hopeless and bloody end, then I think you can try your hand at seceding in good conscience. The last qualifier is up for debate as martyred heroes can inspire future generations, but as an uninvolved outsider it's probably a moral line you want to draw.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
It's not hard to find recent news stories of people driving off cliffs and dying. Either Teslas (a small portion of modern cars) are just exceptionally safe or that family was miraculously lucky.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
Yes, but if it's true then you could just take this as much a mark against gradual reform as a viable tactic. Liberal democrats often aren't very liberal or democratic when they're busy trying to do away with the king.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
He also did a 3 and a half hour interview with Lex Fridman.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
I do most of my listening at work or the gym.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
A considerable amount of research has taken place;
Oh definitely, I just meant the change from one status quo to another isn’t scientifically relevant.
I'm having trouble understanding the idea that "the onus is on the person making the positive claim to provide sufficient evidence to prove their case". It looks obvious why this is a good idea, but it seems completely open to the rhetorical trick of putting the onus on the other party to prove you wrong even if your own case is unproven (perhaps because the question is a hard one and whoever is tasked with proving anything will have a hard time).
What got me thinking about this was an internet argument on immigration and crime. Half a century ago the status quo was restricted immigration and the onus would be on the person advocating for more to prove that it was a good thing, nowadays the status quo is liberal immigration and the onus is on the person advocating restrictions to prove that it is a bad thing. No scientifically relevant change has taken place, only a change in government policy, but one side can now quote a basic principle of science to bolster their case in an argument even if they know nothing more than the other party.
The due diligence question is obviously is this actually a fundamental aspect of science as stated or is it misrepresenting a more nuanced principle?
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
See also Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" EP, which spawned an entire genre of purely computer-generated piss-off-your-dad music, and was tremendously popular to boot.
Small correction: Dubstep was a thing in the UK since the early 2000s, Skrillex made it popular in America.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
I think my overall problem is not being in the moment. I am just thinking about performing well during the actual sex, is my penis rock hard right now, oh god it’s not what do I do, etc
You should set the standard as "we're just having fun" instead of "it's a failure if one of us doesn't orgasm".
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
I don't worry about it beyond making sure I eat a lot and include a lot of meat. I think consistency in going to the gym is the most important thing and optimisation should be sacrificed if they conflict (i.e. you should be willing to lift in jeans and short on sleep if the only time for gym is straight after work), I know that I could get from A to B in a shorter time with optimised nutrition but I'm still impressed with what I've achieved when I've lifted consistently for a year straight.
If you take it back to the French Revolution, you saw some of the best political philosophy ever created such as with Rousseau
Rousseau influenced the French revolution but he died a decade before it happened and his best known books predate it by 30 years.
Even Monty Python is more subversive than anything we see today
Sam Hyde's World Peace was pretty funny, definitely subversive, and might have had a great run if it wasn't cancelled.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
Even if you are not a utilitarian, I think you should agree that "people getting more of what they value" generally tends toward moral progress,
I don’t see why you should agree. If you’re not a utilitarian you can say “people getting more of what they value” can be a bad thing if their values are confused, perverse or evil.
I will grant that the theoretical TikTok maximally viral culture can eventually meet the condition of “the most people possible getting what they want”, but that says nothing about whether what they want is worth anything at all.
It would be odd to say of England legislating the use of common law by English subjects in 14th century Ireland that England had to adopt common law for real this time. It’s more that English law lagged behind English possessions, and this was only fixed if England (or later the UK) started caring enough and had enough control to do it.
Ireland
Some interesting developments in the refugee saga and some more of the same:
(i) The more of the same was a fire at a convent in Longford earmarked to host 85 Ukrainian refugees. This is the first time Ukrainians have been the target as far as I'm aware. Ukrainians aren't considered asylum seekers as they are granted refugee status immediately and don't have to be confined to one place until they are processed, but they do spend some time in emergency accomodation given how hard it is to find a place to rent in Ireland. A local Fine Gael counciller said that he was aware that there were rumours circulating that the building was going to be used for asylum seekers so maybe the arsonists mistakenly targeted this place or maybe they just assumed that if it's going to be used for Ukrainians it will eventually be used for asylum seekers.
(ii) A protest in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary became unusually violent as protesters attempted to block a bus carrying 17 asylum seekers (out of a proposed 160) from entering a hotel that had recently been repurposed as asylum accomodation. The protest was broken up by police (the first time that this has happened besides the Dublin riot) and the fact that some of the asylum seekers were women and children has given the protesters some bad PR.
Roscrea has a population of 5,500 and already has an asylum centre and is hosting Ukrainian refugees in another building so they've got more of a reason to complain than most, the hotel was also closed on short notice last Thursday with job losses and wedding party cancellations. The fact that locals supplied the protesters with food and firewood is a mark against the narrative that these protests are the work of a small group of troublemakers with no links to the local communities travelling from town to town. As far as politicians go local counciller Shane Lee took part in the protest and Tipperary Independent TD (member of parliament) Mattie McGrath criticised the government's handling of the situation.
(iii) Mayo County Council has voted to cease co-operation with the Department of Children, Integration, and Youth:
The motion, spearheaded by Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne, calls for an immediate halt to collaboration with government officials until clear plans are in place for the provision of essential services, such as medical care, transportation, training, and delivery schedules.
Councillor Kilcoyne spoke on the importance of equal distribution across national constituencies, challenging the disproportionate burden placed on Mayo compared to other regions.
This is a non-binding resolution from an institution that doesn't control much in the first place but it's interesting to see politicians sticking their neck out for a cause that is popular in polling but extremely unpopular in the media.
(iv) Finally Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the government will likely take the option of paying money rather than directly taking in migrants under a new EU pact. Dealing with this problem through the EU seems like a good answer to the "international obligation" argument for taking in more migrants, and since the EU is both very popular in Ireland and composed of countries which are far more familiar with the downstream consequences of mass migration this seems like a way to reduce immigration while avoiding the shame of Ireland being seen as racist (whether or not Europeans actually think that about us doesn't matter as much as whether Irish people think they think that).
Edit One more story: Chainsaw-wielding man jumped out of van and threatened security guards at Dublin 4 building earmarked for migrants.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
According to the Government Accountability Office ICE has been accidentally doing this for years already: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-487
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
After a few seconds of trying the only time that 'still image' is the best description is remembering seeing Notre Dame or other nice looking places, but I'm not sure how much of that is true memory and how much me recreating the place in my imagination. Some memories are almost purely emotional because nothing interesting was happening around me except for the thoughts I was having, at most I have my eyes closed or I'm staring at a book. I'm sure some of this is corrupted by my reliving that thought each time I think about it but it does feel like the original moment is still there somewhere. Most memories are clips of a sort, though they're not consistently vivid all the way through and with effort I can usually unlock more details and lengthen the memory.
One thing I've noticed about my memory is that I'll remember very random things at times where no trigger seems apparent, it's a fun game to ask 'why am I remembering this now?'.
Another interesting thing I've noticed is that in certain emotionally salient moments I'll take on a sort of 'life history' perspective of all the other moments when I felt this way. My perspective is narrowed so that I'm not looking back on things linearly but thematically, all the parts not relevant to the current feeling feel extremely short compared to this series of important moments. The present is experienced linearly, but I wonder if 'looking back on life' is more a series of concurrent themes that fall in and out of prominence? The feeling of 'has it been three years already?' makes a lot more sense when most of the time in between these important points is being excluded (even though it may become relevant in some other narrative), especially when being reminded of where you were only a year ago makes it feel long again.
The moments that trigger this feeling don't have to be extreme: the change in seasons takes me back to the long evenings of previous summers, a good book takes me back to my first books, the taste of beer after a period of sobriety ensures I'll have plenty of stories to tell in an hour.
Ireland
More suspicious fires on real or rumoured asylum accomodation. I think the story is getting to the point where every instance of arson or accidental fire in one of these places is going to be reported as an attack (to be fair to the media this is more a conclusion you're pointed towards rather than a direct claim, but one case of police not treating a fire as suspicious was omitted by the Irish Times and reported in other papers), but since the police keep mentioning their investigating of far-right rumours online there is something of political substance to fires that may have had no political motive.
Last Sunday at Sandyford, Dublin. Article claims that there were online rumours circulating about the building, the Department of Integration is checking whether they had any plans for the place, police are investigating and haven't said whether or not they're treating it as suspicious.
The early hours of Tuesday the 9th of January in Buncrana, Donegal. This building was certainly an asylum centre and was the first building that was actually occupied. Some people have been taken to hospital over smoke inhalation. Police have said that the fire was likely started within the building, but online commenters are pinning this one on our new domestic terrorists.
There was also a far more direct political angle to this story. Fianna Fáil councillor Noel Thomas and a person known to another FF councillor Seamus Walsh were subject to dawn raids by police in relation to a fire that took place in Galway in December. Thomas and Walsh were criticised by party leader Michael Martin for making criticisms of the government's immigration policy in December. Walsh's comments about the raid are fairly radical for a politician:
“I will never while there is breath in me cooperate with the guards on anything.
“My wife is some woman, she has been with me 43 years and she is well used to me and politics but this broke her. She burst out crying.
“I’m not a man who goes running to the press – I avoid the press in fact. But this was cynical and came about from (political) pressure being applied.
“They feel like if they can break Noel Thomas and myself that he will frighten other councillors into their way of thinking.
And finally some good news for the moderates I guess. Two buildings in Carlow and Mayo that were earmarked to host male asylum seekers will now be hosting 'families and children' after local, peaceful protests. These families will still be asylum seekers, but I guess it's much harder to protest over 50 women and children being brought in than 50 single males.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
Usually in one sitting, but it's not rare for me to stop watching if it's getting late and finish it another day. I don't feel like it ruins the experience.
Tollund_Man4
1yr ago
Surely these are substantially overlapping groups?
I'm not sure actually. The definition of 'homelessness' is fairly expansive in Ireland. These numbers are from the start of last year:Just under 30% of homeless are children, around half are single adults, 61% of them are Irish and only 17% were from outside the European Economic Area. There's nearly 12,000 people in emergency accomodation being counted as homeless while the rough sleeper count in Dublin is at something like 150.
They probably weren't going to be majority non-European single men, maybe they'd be Roma or Irish gypsies, but it seems like normal but poor Irish families is a very plausible scenario too. I'll have to look into whether homeless families in particular is an actual category for who gets allowed into these types of places or whether homeless families are just the most sympathetic group to bring up in the news.
I’ve been getting through quite a few audiobooks at work, mostly sci-fi and horror classics. Recently finished 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Trial. Right now I’m listening to Dracula, despite me thinking I knew the whole story already it’s surprisingly good, so far it’s more impressive than the Cthulhu stories I’ve read.
I’m also working through Henry Kissinger’s Diplomacy. Given how little I know of the history covered I doubt I’ll be able to catch any wild claims but I have to start somewhere.
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