naraburns nihil supernum
7mo ago
(text post)
28919 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #1
This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
Human beings have an instinct that makes them lash out violently against oppression, real or perceived. If it were possible to eliminate this instinct through genetic engineering, would it be worthwhile to do so? Would the Palestinians be better off if they were engineered to feel less emotional in response to discrimination and ethnic cleansing?
Nah, resistance to some forms of oppression, even if irrational from an individual perspective, is very much necessary for the survival of the group. You have to make someone, who wishes to oppress you more than is within the Overton Window, reconsider due to the cost in blood they'd have to pay. Even if you will inevitably lose it they chose to pay it. (Do stop resisting after you're done with the minimum needed to add credibility to your claims, assuming they aren't literally killing you)
While I wouldn't object too hard if it was done for basket cases like Palestine, it's infinitely preferable to just make them as smart as their Israeli cousins, so that integration could be smoother. Can't forget the cultural component and memetic engineering, genius Jihadis cause much of the carnage, the ones who did 9/11 were well educated. The two are inextricable, smarter people can be more pro-social, certainly more productive, and find positive sum ways of solving their problems without resorting to force.
At any rate, I do find making otherwise normal humans into meeker ones distasteful, if you want servants and workers who won't give you lip, just make more robots.
This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a
court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to
optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.
The weekly Culture War threads host the most
controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are
appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy;
if in doubt, post!
Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts.
You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.
Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
New post guidelines
If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it.
A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts
such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a
submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).
Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or
significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Human beings have an instinct that makes them lash out violently against oppression, real or perceived. If it were possible to eliminate this instinct through genetic engineering, would it be worthwhile to do so? Would the Palestinians be better off if they were engineered to feel less emotional in response to discrimination and ethnic cleansing?
Nah, resistance to some forms of oppression, even if irrational from an individual perspective, is very much necessary for the survival of the group. You have to make someone, who wishes to oppress you more than is within the Overton Window, reconsider due to the cost in blood they'd have to pay. Even if you will inevitably lose it they chose to pay it. (Do stop resisting after you're done with the minimum needed to add credibility to your claims, assuming they aren't literally killing you)
While I wouldn't object too hard if it was done for basket cases like Palestine, it's infinitely preferable to just make them as smart as their Israeli cousins, so that integration could be smoother. Can't forget the cultural component and memetic engineering, genius Jihadis cause much of the carnage, the ones who did 9/11 were well educated. The two are inextricable, smarter people can be more pro-social, certainly more productive, and find positive sum ways of solving their problems without resorting to force.
At any rate, I do find making otherwise normal humans into meeker ones distasteful, if you want servants and workers who won't give you lip, just make more robots.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link