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What is your "in" group?

What is your largest in-group?


  • Total voters
    41

Jasz

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a passage in the blank slate by pirker struck a cord with me. he talked about "in groups" and "out groups" to describe the difference between those groups you identify yourself with and those you do not.

my question to you: what is the largest group you identify with when you are in a positive state of mind? what is your largest in-group (assuming that when things get really rough most everyone would fall back to a smaller group or to one's self)?

i have always seen all humans as my in-group. i have actually found it irrational if someone would go beyond that or short-sighted if one would identify with a smaller group. obviously, there is no right or rational answer, hence the poll!
 

Siúil a Rúin

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I feel connected to animals in general and don't make the distinction between human and animal in the way that many are culturally conditioned to do. I can also feel a connectedness to trees and identify with them in certain ways, but not so much with non-living objects.
 

bluebell

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If I'm in a positive mood, then the past and present, the whole planet and everything on it is part of my in-group. Unless I've misunderstood the OP. I have this sense of feeling connected to everything, and can see how it's all connected (at least, in a fuzzy best-guess kinda way), back to when the planet first formed right through to the present. It's the connections and systems and how we got here that make me feel grounded and part of it all.

Um. That sounds a little odd now that I've put it in writing.

Edit: I guess I should have picked 'other' instead of choosing the first option.
 

aeon

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In my most positive state of mind, I am compelled to lose myself in contemplation of beauty, and in so doing, awareness of a self as divided from other falls away.

In that experience, awareness of all as is-ness appears. As such, I voted "other."


cheers,
Ian
 

Geoff

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Ah. The question you ask is one of tribalism. Typically we all embrace some idea of of tribalism. As our happiness and wellbeing extends we tend to extend our tribe to match it. So a healthy happy human will embrace the human race, all and everything.

As we are attacked, or criticised, or suffer, we close ranks to our tribe of defence.

Ultimately we can have a tribe of one.. but a good example is the family.. we might all be, for example, mongolian... but the moment another mongolian criticises our mother, we retract to the family tribe. That analogy seems to extend right out on different tribal levels...
 

Athenian200

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In my case, it wouldn't include my family so much as the groups I've chosen to be part of. I identify with the groups I've chosen to identify myself with, which are based on my sense of self. So that could be... self? Or would it be friends? What if I retreat back towards people who defend my particular position on something, but away from those who disagree, no matter whom is whom? I think it's ultimately who ever seems to have the same principles, in my case.
 

GZA

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I said everything past, present, and future, but I specifically mean humans and nature. Humans and nature and everything havn't really changed fundamentally over the past, present, and future, so it's all the same.
 

Haphazard

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I'm going to go and say that at my best, my 'in-group' does not include any humans at all. No individuals, anyway -- just the whole of human consciousness. Breaking them down into individuals would ruin it.
 

Anonymous

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I either don't know or don't understand the question. Or maybe both. As far as I know, when I'm in a positive state of mind, I don't feel connected in any different kind of way, I just feel positive. I do withdraw into myself when I'm in a negative state of mind, though, so maybe it's just myself.

I have felt the "connected to everything" description before, but that's very rare, and only when I feel happy and at ease.
 

Mole

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Running Water

I find I am instantly connected to a particular kind of person.

Unfortunately I don't meet them very often but I think I am subconsciously looking for them. However I am naturally friendly with almost everyone, so in the final analysis, I tend to be disappointed.

Except with Ruth whom I immediately fell in love with and had an affair for three years until she went home to Los Angeles.

So what is it that immediately clicks?

It is high emotional excitability. I love it. When I am talking to such a person, it is like running water - but when I am talking to a normal person it is bit like treacle.

So I have a very simple test - would I like to have dinner with this person - no, it is would I love to have dinner with this person - would talking to her be like running water or just treacle.

I have learnt by necessity to listen to treacle - in fact I enjoy it - I kinda sink back into myself and give my full attention to the person - but I don't flow - I don't run and I don't fly. Otherwise I would just be frightening the horses.

But when I find running water I immediately put my arms around you because I am so happy to see you.

Victor.
 

Mercurial

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I feel connected to animals in general and don't make the distinction between human and animal in the way that many are culturally conditioned to do. I can also feel a connectedness to trees and identify with them in certain ways, but not so much with non-living objects.

Trees do feel like entities...
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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In my best state of mind I feel connected to all mammals. I just can't make myself accept more than that. For example when I'm watching King Kong fight the dinosaurs, I totally want King Kong to win, because he is a mammal after all.
 

Jasz

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If I'm in a positive mood, then the past and present, the whole planet and everything on it is part of my in-group. Unless I've misunderstood the OP. I have this sense of feeling connected to everything, and can see how it's all connected (at least, in a fuzzy best-guess kinda way), back to when the planet first formed right through to the present. It's the connections and systems and how we got here that make me feel grounded and part of it all.

Um. That sounds a little odd now that I've put it in writing.

Edit: I guess I should have picked 'other' instead of choosing the first option.

that's wonderful and it does not sound odd.
 

Jasz

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Ah. The question you ask is one of tribalism. Typically we all embrace some idea of of tribalism. As our happiness and wellbeing extends we tend to extend our tribe to match it. So a healthy happy human will embrace the human race, all and everything.

As we are attacked, or criticised, or suffer, we close ranks to our tribe of defence.

Ultimately we can have a tribe of one.. but a good example is the family.. we might all be, for example, mongolian... but the moment another mongolian criticises our mother, we retract to the family tribe. That analogy seems to extend right out on different tribal levels...

exactly. i am still amazed that during healthy/happy states, people do not all "extend" their tribe to the same level. i have always felt a clear "tribal" border for me between all humans and all else.
 

Jasz

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In my case, it wouldn't include my family so much as the groups I've chosen to be part of. I identify with the groups I've chosen to identify myself with, which are based on my sense of self. So that could be... self? Or would it be friends? What if I retreat back towards people who defend my particular position on something, but away from those who disagree, no matter whom is whom? I think it's ultimately who ever seems to have the same principles, in my case.

i would put that under "friends"
 

Jasz

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I said everything past, present, and future, but I specifically mean humans and nature. Humans and nature and everything havn't really changed fundamentally over the past, present, and future, so it's all the same.

so you believe in an afterlife? do you believe in a physical connection between those who have passed and those currently living?
 

Jasz

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I either don't know or don't understand the question. Or maybe both. As far as I know, when I'm in a positive state of mind, I don't feel connected in any different kind of way, I just feel positive. I do withdraw into myself when I'm in a negative state of mind, though, so maybe it's just myself.

I have felt the "connected to everything" description before, but that's very rare, and only when I feel happy and at ease.

maybe you should not limit the group to those you feel directly connected to but those you identify with at a significant level because they share certain traits/ideas/desires with you.
 

Totenkindly

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I'm interested in those who branched upwards beyond humans. I am interested how this would play out in priority.

For example, let's say there was a fire in a building, and you could save either a dog you knew and liked, or you could save a human baby. Which one would you save? (if your "in group" goes beyond humans, you should be willing to save the dog you had more connections to, since you have no personal ties to the child.)

Or with science research, with animals being experimented upon in order to implement some great disease cure that would save thousands or even millions of lives. (which, actually, most of our our modern medicine I think was built upon.) Is this immoral? Again, if your group encompasses all animals, human beings have no special significance and are actually committing genocide. Do you think it would be moral to avoid using all medicine and many scientific discoveries for your own benefit in today's day and age, because it was built upon the pain and suffering of innocent animals whom you consider part of your "tribe"? And morally one should not favor part of your tribe (humans) over another (animals).. otherwise your tribe is actually the smaller group you favor.

I am not passing a moral judgment, I am curious to see how consistently one's self-identification with a particular in-group is actually carried out. Are we really part of the in-groups we think we are, or do we behave (in situations where we must prioritize) an inclination to still favor humans who we might not necessarily have a personal tie with?

(If so, then I wouldn't consider the "in" crowd to go beyond human beings.)
 
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