9/ We are raised to believe only small % ("criminals") _want_ to cause pain for gain. Most don't. A few saints suffer for others (top left)
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Replying to @vgr
10/ Shades of red theory asserts that majority - everybody to right of "apathetic" - gets off on others' unnecessary pain at least a little
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Replying to @vgr
11/ Shades of red is based on a deontological notion of evil -- finding pleasure in causing/witnessing pain. Good is negatively defined.
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Replying to @vgr
12/ By this theory, most "good" people are actual bad: they define "evil" to dehumanize, to justify causing pain for pleasure
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Replying to @vgr
13/ Our penal system implicitly assumes shades-of-red theory. Prison guards and cops I suspect have at least a small streak of sadism.
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Replying to @vgr
14/ Stanford prison experiments: almost all of us are capable of finding pleasure in causing/witnessing pain
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Replying to @vgr
15/ If this is true, my original definition of civilizing project is nonsensical and most people are NOT on board with it
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Replying to @vgr
16/ Worse, most moral philosophy is obsessed with defining evil primarily to find targets for justifiable pain-causing.
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Replying to @vgr
17/ Enemies give life meaning and purpose. Moralizing is overtly about trying to do good, but covertly about prepping victims for pain
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Or people have a different definition of civilization. They're "good" but minimizing pain isn't how good is achieved.
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yes--taking pain onto yourself (in modest ways eg. discipline, or in drastic ways eg. martyrdom) is critical
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