John C. Wright's Blog, page 65
June 6, 2014
The Infinite Brat
Sarah Hoyt has a simply brilliant article up on her journal: http://accordingtohoyt.com/2014/06/06/the-victimy-victim-victimized-competition/
She lists the several reasons and drawback to claiming to be victim while living in the most just, peaceful, prosperous, lazy, fat and happy nation in all human history since the Fall of Saturn and the exile of Adam. One drawback is that perpetual victims give up on attempting to be virtuous and hardworking. The only thing they are taught to think and to do to get ahead in life is roll in the mud shrieking and whining for attention, kicking their legs in the air, and threatening violence they are rarely in a position to carry out. They are not just brats, but brats without boundary, reason, pause, or cease. They are infinite brats, because the whole of the endless universe is so very unfair to them.
The Infinite Brats are eternal losers. They do not want to be winners, because all winners are cheaters, so they adopt the behaviors which make them losers.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
June 5, 2014
Case for the Prosecution
Part of our ongoing, and perhaps endless MARS NEEDS WOMEN discussion.
The discussion took an interesting turn, when a reader asked me about an atheist argument in favor of moral objectivity.
Having been an atheist who was convinced of the objective nature of moral law, and who for that reason was puzzled that my hated enemies the Christians somehow came to the correct conclusion based on what I took to be their superstition and irrational worldview while many or most of my allies among the paragons of logic called atheism could not, I certainly have an argument in favor of the proposition.
So this, in a rather rough form, is what I would give as the argument for the Prosecution in the case of Mars v Craig.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
A Motion For Discovery
Part of an ongoing conversation. A reader with the pseudonymous name of False Keraptis replies to our ongoing MARS NEEDS WOMEN hypothetical with the following:
First, I move for discovery. I’m going to need the foundational texts of Martian Civilization (if that’s too contentious to define, then just give me the 100 most common texts), and a translator, or better yet, some kind of Arisian mind-alteration that gives me fluency in the tongues of Mars.
The Martian has a harem, appreciates the art of dance, calls himself warlord, and looks like Elvis. He’s pretty human-like. I think it should be easy enough to prove the Martian moral code indicts his act of aggression, or at least that Martians are similar enough to humans to be bound to a similar morality by both genetics and game theory.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
June 4, 2014
Quote of the Day. Now with Paint Chips!
From Larry Correia, International Lord of Hate:
Somebody suggested [as an alternate term for Social Justice Warriors, SJW] Perpetually Outraged Cockroaches, but that abbreviates to POC, and that is already being used for People Of Color, which is the supposedly not racist version of Colored People which is extremely racist. Got it?
I seriously hate the term People of Color. I think it is a ridiculous term. It lumps vast groups of humanity together into “NOT WHITE”. So, a Fillipino is the same as an Indian is the same as an Australian Aborigine is the same as a Ghanan because they are all browner than an American white guilt liberal?
My color is Warm Beige (according to these Home Depot Paint Chips) but I’m going to mock any idiot who says I’m a PoC, because that’s just f*cking stupid.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
More on Selfish Gene Theory
In this space, in recent days, we have been paying homage to the Z-grade yet schlocktastic sciffy movie MARS NEEDS WOMEN by posting as many pictures of Yvonne Craig as possible. I have also, between pictures, been discussing and debating whether or not morality is objective rather than conventional.
By objective, I mean the principle of ‘do as you would be done by’ applies to everyone, and is always and everywhere a valid standard for discriminating morally licit from illicit. I do not mean all applications of of all rules have the same force and effect in all circumstances, especially where two principles conflict. Conventional means that the principle only applies by convention, use or tradition, that is, it applies only to your own kin, comrades, clan, tribe, nation, or race, but not to others’.
Now, the most common and most persuasive argument an atheist or materialist can make in favor of universal morality is a genetic argument. The argument is that, as a matter of pure game theory, any races and breeds that develops a gene which imposes an instinct for altruism toward other members of one’s own bloodline, will, as a matter of course, have a definite statistical advantage in the lottery of Darwinian survival, and will come to outnumber those races and breeds that do not.
The argument is that the purely blind and selfish drive of the genes we carry in us therefore mesmerizes us with an instinct to altruism and self-sacrifice which is not in our immediate self-interest, but unintentionally serves the self-interest of the family, clan, tribe, breed, bloodline, and race.
The argument is that this mesmeric spell makes us hallucinate that there is such a thing as a moral code we are bound to obey, but whether this hallucination is true or false, it serves the blind and selfish reasons of the parasites called genes dwelling inside us, whom we much, willy-nilly, serve and obey.
Putting this argument to the test, I asked a hypothetical question about the following rule of behavior: “Abducting Nubile Young Woman to Serve as Concubines, Dancing Girls, or Breeding Stock is bad.” Is this a rule that bind only those who share the non-abduction gene, or does it bind all men, including those with not one gene in common with us? I used the hypothetical example of an abductor who is a Man from Mars. He is not of our tribe, nation, or race. He is, at least during the Obama Administration NASA days, beyond the reach of any reasonable expectation of retaliation from Earthlings.
Is it objectively wrong for the Martian Warlord to abduct a luscious Earthgirl like Yvonne Craig to his horrible harem of terror atop Olympus Mons? Or is it only wrong because the Selfish Gene says it is wrong? Is it wrong objectively, or only genetically?
(Of course I mean to use this as an excuse to post more pictures!)
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
The Unexpected Enlightenment
To any new readers, welcome. Thank you for visiting my humble blog. Anyone sharing my worldview or taste in books, I strongly suspect you will greatly enjoy the novels of my beautiful and talented wife, who writes under her pen name (and maiden name) L. Jagi Lamplighter.
Here is her most recent book. I drew the interior illustrations with my own pen!
Link to first four chapters:
http://www.ljagilamplighter.com/chapter-one-the-treacherous-art-of-making-friends/
Link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937051870/
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
The Wright Perspective: Conservatives are From Mars, Leftists are From Venus
How angels arrange their affairs is unknown. We humans have only two approaches to the puzzles and battles of life: The first is from Mars and the second is from Venus.
It is Martian to confront a problem with blunt speech and unsparing honesty, and yet to welcome unsparing bluntness in return. It is Martian to attack the enemy at the strongest point of the line, and yet to treat a fallen foe with courtesy. It is Martian to command without backtalk, and to obey without complaint. The Mars approach is most useful when confronting problems that require courage, force, majesty, dispassionate intellect. Results matter; intentions don’t.
It is Venusian to negotiate around problems so as not to provoke a clash of wills. Venus seeks compromise, makes sacrifices and expects sympathy in return. Speech is indirect, diplomatic, because feelings are delicate, easily bruised. Venus avoids ultimatums, and uses speech to seek out secret motives. A Venusian does not call adversaries enemies, but patients, meant to be healed of their ignorance and fear.
The Venusian approach is never used between equals.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
June 3, 2014
Mars Needs Women; Earth Needs Men
A follow up to an earlier post found here: http://www.scifiwright.com/2014/05/mars-need-women/
Let me add a leg to the hypothetical in my earlier post, to ask to anyone willing to answer it the following question. If morality is based on genetics, or based on instinct, or based on a game-theory situation where each player is rationally concerned with maximizing his winnings after repeated iterations of a ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ situation, then does morality apply in a case where there is no genes in common, no instinct shared, and no repeated iterations?
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
United Underworld Literary Movement Manifesto
A follow up to a previous post: Well, in the last 24 hours, I’ve had at least fourteen people write me and ask to be members or minions of the Evil League of Evil, Gun Molls and Henchmen, and one guy wanted to be a Evil Janitor of Evil in the Lair.
It seems as if people would rather be Evil than Leftist. Ponder the irony of that for a moment.
At this rate, we can start a new Science Fiction Writer’s guild to compete with SFWA. I have already designed a new heraldic emblem and logo:
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
June 2, 2014
The Evil League of Evil is Given Pious Advice
A certain Mr Damien Walter whose books I have never read (perhaps because he has written none) makes bold to advise me how to conduct my professional career as a science fiction author. The comments are somewhere hereabouts.
“I think Correia did two things. The first was appeal for votes on the basis of a perceived liberal bias in the genre. That was the basis of his campaign, a protest vote against liberal influence. That was divisive and did a lot to spark the backlash he’s still feeling. Secondly, and this is going to be much more damaging for him longterm, he allowed himself to become very closely associated to Vox Day in the process. Ultimately people do judge others by their associations, and both Larry Correia and John C Wright have made very public declarations of support for Day, that I fear both will deeply regret in the long run.
I’m quite serious about my suggestion by the way. I think if Correia wrote publicly to support the new diversity in the genre, and apologised for any perception he was campaigning against it, that might help him a lot. Remember, we won’t know who missed out on shortlist places until after the awards. At that point Correia et al could find the response to them gets much, much worse even than when the story broke.”
Of the suggestion that Mr. Correia should apologize for the perception in passersby that he was or was not campaigning against Deracination, or Divarication, or Dipsomania or whateverthehell Mr Walter is talking about, other voices than mine must speak, since I am choked to silence with contumely.
Once I was trapped in a room by a opium-addled drunk who was hallucinating about trashcans, but I see no need to apologize about what other people perceive, particularly when they damage their organs of perception either with strong spirits, opiates, or the far more addictive spirit of partisanship.
I am confident Mr Correia can speak for himself, with more energy and patience than I can muster.
But I must speak up on my own behalf. If I may say it without offending Mr. Day, when did I ever publicly express support for him, or express anything like it?
Vox Day is not a nervous schoolgirl trying to break into a highschool clique, nor is he running for public office, NOR HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY ASKED ME MY OPINION ABOUT ANYTHING VOX DAY HAS EVER SAID, ergo the deduction of this Walter creature to know my thoughts on the matter would be insulting, if he were of the stature to be worth noticing long enough to take offense.
It is now considered not just to be a public declaration of support but indeed a very public declaration of support for someone to say ‘I decline to heed nor echo malign and false accusations against a man I hardly know, as it is none of my business, and I hate falsehoods’?
Vox Day and I have a professional relationship. He is a publisher of some of my work. It is a situation we both find to our mutual benefit.
The same hour Vox Day and I signed our contact, a small, shrill, cowardly and mentally backward group of anonymous strangers and dank gargoyles wrote me incoherent and gargling notes expressing unsightly yet pathological hatred toward Vox Day for reasons that never were made clear.
(I am under the impression that he had offended their political cult dogmas but not allowing an arrogant leftwingy loudmouth named Jemisin to upbraid him in public, but manfully returned blow for blow. This is apparently an unforgivable sin, even though it pick no man’s pocket and breaks no man’s leg.)
But it is none of my business either way; I am not the father confessor of Vox Day, nor the father of N.K. Jemisin. I can neither hear his confession nor send her to her room without supper. The Morlocks knew this. The Morlocks were crowding my inbox merely to display their political credentials, that is, to pat themselves on the back for supporting Big Brother by dumping insincere ritualized hate on Emmanuel Goldstein.
I answered these uncouth Jacobin sans-culottes with the back of my hand, as any gentleman should do.
How is that a show of support for him? I just wanted the drooling and poop-flinging yahoos off my lawn.
Originally published at John C. Wright's Journal. Please leave any comments there.
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