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Saturday, May 4. 2019

Are you a "blank slater"?

Life has convinced me not to be. Far too many human qualities are inborn, both strengths and frailties. It is "psycho-utopian" to believe otherwise.


I know my limits pretty well, and have always been determined to blame my disappointments on myself. That's the best, most honest and self-critical approach even when it is ego-damaging.  Ego-damaging is soul fertilizer, the wise men say.


But are progressives "Blank Slaters"?  Not really, no. Just selectively. This is a longish read, but worth your while: Selective Blank Slatism and Ideologically Motivated Misunderstandings.

Posted by The Barrister in Politics at 17:03 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

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Good article. My worry going forward is that plenty of other things, such as hard work, charisma, and resilience are also largely genetic.
#1 Assistant Village Idiot on 2019-05-04 22:50 (Reply)
This page gives a good summary of the judeo-western approach based on famous biblical and talmudic examples. Worth reading the whole thing.

https://torah.org/learning/pirkei-avos-chapter5-14/

Quote:
The Talmud writes that if someone was born under the planet Mars (which astrologically signifies a thirst for bloodshed, Mars being the red planet), he can be a bandit, a doctor, a shochet (one who ritually slaughters animals, making them kosher), or a mohel (one who performs circumcisions) (Shabbos 156a). Such a person has a predilection towards blood. He will not be happy as an accountant. What should he do with himself? Find a positive outlet for his drives. Violent tendencies are not “bad” per se (we would call them “challenges” nowadays). They certainly harbor dangerous manifestations, but they are a part of the G-d-given natures of certain people, and G-d, as we know, makes no mistakes.

Thus, if a person’s tendency leans towards aggressive and physical behavior, he must recognize his nature and use it. If he fails, he will satisfy his lust with crime and violence (or at best, boxing). If he succeeds, he will use the same very hands to heal others or prepare kosher meat, performing an admirable, respectable service to society.
#2 Ben david on 2019-05-05 03:16 (Reply)
Shades of The Bell Curve.
#3 Arcs on 2019-05-05 09:58 (Reply)
Here are the inherited personality traits: Extroversion, Conformity, Worry, Creativity, Paranoia, Optimism, Cautiousness, Aggressiveness, Ambitiousness, Orderliness, and Intimacy.

In our school system, young girls are being trained to maximize Ambitiousness; and to minimize Intimacy. Young men are being trained too maximize Conformity, and to minimize Creativity. What the schools hope is that eventually, this will lead to a female-dominated society.
#4 Ron B Liebermann on 2019-05-05 14:53 (Reply)

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