Actually, what seperates us from the animals is the ability to reason IMHO.
Try it.
The idea that "Human dignity comes before freedom of speech...' is meaningless.
Is there Human dignity left a person who is not allowed to speak his/her mind freely?
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dignity
n 1: the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect; "it was beneath his dignity to cheat"; "showed his true dignity when under pressure" [syn: self-respect, self-esteem, self-regard] 2: formality in bearing and appearance; "he behaved with great dignity" [syn: lordliness, gravitas] 3: high office or rank or station; "he respected the dignity of the emissaries"
or
dig·ni·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (dgn-t)
n. pl. dig·ni·ties
The quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect.
Inherent nobility and worth: the dignity of honest labor.
Poise and self-respect.
Stateliness and formality in manner and appearance.
The respect and honor associated with an important position.
A high office or rank.
dignities The ceremonial symbols and observances attached to high office.
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Not every Human is dignified by definition.
Are the leaders of Radical Islam dignified? .. worthy of esteem and respect?
I'll use my freedom of speach to say that IMO .. Hell no!
You can use your dignity to defend them.
Originally posted by jammerA friend of mine works as a tour guide in the Cape Peninsula. She told me a few stories about how baboons are becoming ever more cunning. For example, when it is very dry and the baboons are extremely thirsty, one member of the pack will stand in the road until a coach stops; the rest throng to the rear of the coach and suck on the air-conditioning outlets for water vapour.
Actually, what seperates us from the animals is the ability to reason IMHO.
Does that qualify as reasoning?
Originally posted by Bosse de Nageit might be to our advantage then, to be descended from apes?!
..when it is very dry and the baboons are extremely thirsty, one member of the pack will stand in the road until a coach stops; the rest throng to the rear of the coach and suck on the air-conditioning outlets for water vapour.
..Does that qualify as reasoning?
Originally posted by Bosse de NageOnly if one of the baboons distracts the driver and passengers by reading extracts from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason before conducting a Q-and-A.
A friend of mine works as a tour guide in the Cape Peninsula. She told me a few stories about how baboons are becoming ever more cunning. For example, when it is very dry and the baboons are extremely thirsty, one member of the pack will stand in the road until a coach stops; the rest throng to the rear of the coach and suck on the air-conditioning outlets for water vapour.
Does that qualify as reasoning?
Originally posted by dottewellthey'll get a knock on the door from 50 monkeys sometime soon whatever their MO, asking them to top their collected works of shakespeare effort.
Only if one of the baboons distracts the driver and passengers by reading extracts from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason before conducting a Q-and-A.
Originally posted by kmax87Is it true that if you give one monkey one typewriter and five minutes, he will bash out the collected postings of Colletti (and still have time for a cigarette)?
they'll get a knock on the door from 50 monkeys sometime soon whatever their MO, asking them to top their collected works of shakespeare effort.
Originally posted by jammerJammer: "Are the leaders of Radical Islam dignified? .. worthy of esteem and respect?"
Actually, what seperates us from the animals is the ability to reason IMHO.
Try it.
The idea that "Human dignity comes before freedom of speech...' is meaningless.
Is there Human dignity left a person who is not allowed to speak his/her mind freely?
...........
dignity
n 1: the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect; "it was beneath his dignity eedom of speach to say that IMO .. Hell no!
You can use your dignity to defend them.
As human persons ... the answer must be "yes". Their ideas, their ideology and their actions not necessarily deserve our respect. Our Freedom of Speech refers to our right to tell them very clearly and without holding back how we think about and how we value their ideas, statements and actions. However, we do not have a right to abuse, insult and degrade them. They are human persons and as a result of that they have the same dignity and worth as we have as human persons and hence they deserve our respect. (remember Abu Graib and Guantanamo).
We should realise that dignity of the human person isn't something that stands alone as a mere quality of one human person. It is also an integral part of human relations. If someone (verbally) abuses and degrades people, he doesn't just damages the dignity of the person abused, but he also damages his own dignity.
Originally posted by jammerAnd as you have attepted to as well, but what you don't acknowledge is that because my human dignity is not in danger of being fractured I can stand any amount of insults and slings and arrows and brickbats and ...aw shutup ya face... my point is that if i did not have a sense of dignity i may not have had the wherewithall to absorb what you have said without losing it.
I believe you attackied my dignity by useing your freedom of speach.
You prove my point.
Eat your chestnuts and go look in a mirror .. remove all doubt
the fact that so many like the extremists who do lose it, do, is because they have no sense of their own dignity due to possibly having been insulted and villified for a very long time. Had they been nurtured in an environment that had empowered them in a way that they had developed a sense of dignity then they would more than adequately cope with any lack of control exercised by a person thinking that free speech was a license to taunt, mock or bully.