Random notes.
2020-09-09 07:20![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asher553We've all known the bright kid who came home from the library with a big stack of books and sat in his room reading all day and thought he knew everything about everything. I used to be that kid, but I grew out of it. Some people never do.
Almost everything we know about the world, we learn from other people. It follows that our ability to understand the world depends on our ability to understand people.
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Meaningful giving requires knowledge.
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Performative virtue: disconnection of perceived "virtue" from any tangible results in the real world.
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The ability to benefit another party depends on a clear and accurate knowledge of what their needs are, and of what kind of help is wanted, or even if it is wanted at all. Acquiring this knowledge depends on your closeness to the other party. This applies both in market economics and in the practice of compassion.
Truly giving to another person means there's a relationship. There is a feedback loop that tells you when your care has been beneficial, or misguided, or unwanted, or harmful. This relationship, this intimate knowledge, only arises out of person-to-person interactions. It cannot be replaced by any institution.
Physical needs: food, shelter, clothing.
Spiritual needs: dignity, identity, meaning.
Almost everything we know about the world, we learn from other people. It follows that our ability to understand the world depends on our ability to understand people.
*
Meaningful giving requires knowledge.
*
Performative virtue: disconnection of perceived "virtue" from any tangible results in the real world.
*
The ability to benefit another party depends on a clear and accurate knowledge of what their needs are, and of what kind of help is wanted, or even if it is wanted at all. Acquiring this knowledge depends on your closeness to the other party. This applies both in market economics and in the practice of compassion.
Truly giving to another person means there's a relationship. There is a feedback loop that tells you when your care has been beneficial, or misguided, or unwanted, or harmful. This relationship, this intimate knowledge, only arises out of person-to-person interactions. It cannot be replaced by any institution.
Physical needs: food, shelter, clothing.
Spiritual needs: dignity, identity, meaning.
