So a meta explanation first, addressing possible confusions… this is not “ordinary language philosophy” so it’s not analyzing how people use the word “special” (although that may be helpful). It’s pointing at a “stance” meaning a complex of thoughts, feelings, and ways of acting
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Being rich or whatever doesn’t make you feel special in the way that matters. Your core self is actually just the same as those of ordinary people. Ordinary people may treat you as special, which is nice, but you know you aren't, and feel fake. This is unsatisfactory.
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You may come to realize that no mundane facts, no matter how extreme, could actually make you special; they’re just contingent. What you need is transcendent, metaphysical specialness. You need to be Chosen by the Cosmic Plan.
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What if there’s a qualia, a souliness, that some people can sense about others — a sense of the “special.” I suspect the concept came from a genuine place and fell into more widespread, less honest use.
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Ie the extraordinariness of the ordinary
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Does everyone really realize that these factors are external to the core self? IQ is not transient, is a matter of luck but that’s OK, and seems very core to me. If I’m legitimately a super genius then that seems like just cause for feeling special.
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