LightSun
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2009
- Messages
- 1,180
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- #9
I think those above quotes can be true a lot of the time mostly because during our early development we tend to take on the traits of our closest family and friends. So, when the people closest to us possess traits that bother us, in those cases we often possess the same traits because they influenced us during development. Also, they influenced us before our sense of self was fully developed.
If you look at simple conflicts like people who like to keep a super clean house and people who are messy, then you see people who are bothered by each other because they are opposite. I don't think that a neat-freak being bothered by a messy person means that deep down the clean-freak has that quality. Also, bossy and compliant people can irritate each other for having opposite traits, and I don't think it means that deep down they possess each others' trait. People who are kind will be upset by cruel people and it doesn't mean that deep down they are cruel. If you are bothered by your mother, brother, sister, father, or childhood friend's behavior, then that is a case where it makes sense to take a look at oneself to see how you are the same. It is also possible to learn how to be the opposite of what we encountered in development because it can be a lesson in what not to be, but that will not stop us from being bothered by those traits.
There are a few ways that people who do the wrong thing like to push their behaviors onto others who are not guilty of those behaviors. One can involve universalizing quotes like the above. People will be upset when someone is cruel and it doesn't mean they are just as bad deep down. It means that the cruel person has crossed a line and has upset people, and it is as simple as that. People can also use religion and the idea that "all sins are equally bad" as a way to make the worst people accuse the kinder people of being "just as bad".
There are a few ways that I think we are limited in our ability to accurately judge another person because we haven't lived their life. One thing I attempt to do (but sometimes fail), is to remind myself that it is possible I would be just as bad if I had lived that person's life. It is possible that we are all equal in terms of circumstance - it might be the case that each one of us is simply what humanity looks like when subjected to a set of genetic and environmental conditions.
However, that is only true if there is no free-will, if we cannot self determine who we are morally outside of genetics and circumstance. To whatever extent we can self-determine, that is the extent to which we are responsible for who we become, and it is the same extent to which we can judge another person for who they became. The problem is that on one level it is not possible to prove free-will absolutely, and so there is one level of judgment that needs to be withheld. There is always a possibility we could be "just as bad" if we had lived another life.
Via labyrinthine
“... traits that bother us, in those cases we often possess the same traits because they influenced us during development.†“Also, they influenced us before our sense of self was fully developed.â€
“Labyrinthine one of the problems in child development is the young child does not have an ego sense and can be molded against his wishes by parental expectation. Then the young man and women spend time finding out who they are, what they were meant to be, what will make them content and complete and finding their gift.†Paul
“...possible to learn how to be the opposite of what we encountered in development because it can be a lesson in what not to be, but that will not stop us from being bothered by those traits.â€
“Yes we can either model the behavior of our parents or else refute it and go in the exact opposite direction as overcompensation.†Paul
“...we are limited in our ability to accurately judge another person because we haven't lived their life.
I would be just as bad if I had lived that person's life. It is possible that we are all equal in terms of circumstance - it might be the case that each one of us is simply what humanity looks like when subjected to a set of genetic and environmental conditions.â€
“It is my belief that we have this seed to activate our potential. If we are thwarted by life and go in a dysfunctional direction there are underlying reasons. There is no point to judge them however they must be held accountable.â€
“...true if there is no free-will, if we cannot self determine who we are morally outside of genetics and circumstance. To whatever extent we can self-determine, that is the extent to which we are responsible for who we become, and it is the same extent to which we can judge…â€
“Again I work with the nature and nurture paradigm of who we are. We do the best we can but unconscious plus unresolved conflicts lead us a sway. I don’t believe in emotional laden subjective terms and labels in judgment placed unto another human being. Will it alter reality and will it change the situation? No, well okay then stick to objective facts and refrain from emotionalism, subjective opinions and labels and judgments. They are divisive and counterproductive. Moreover they lead you off the path of remaining true to your chosen way of life.†Paul