True or False?

[porphyrian]

If, through conscious inaction, you allow a murder to occur, you are complicit in that murder.
True or False?

Follow up question (respond below to answer):
When the number of murders exceeds 100,000, mostly of innocent civilians, which occurs over a period of years, what is the difference between you and the murderer?

[JacquesMolay]

1. What are you, Ivan Karamazov?

... this issue was debated in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (sp?)

[porphyrian]

6. I had no idea one book closed the subject. - n/t

[Syncronaut Seven]

2. This is a question I struggle with every day

Pretty much speaks directly to the nature of man.

I'm pretty sure that the answers are True, and little.

I doubt questions of this magnitude pass, even briefly, thru the minds of a large fraction of the American electorate.

Something to do with moral codes, empathy and international law. That shiz is so last week.

Narcissistic personality disorder is incredibly ugly on a national level.

I did not know I could be so sad.


:-(

[porphyrian]

7. Yeah, sad isn't my favorite, either, but there's plenty to go around. - n/t

[Nikia]

3. Not necesarily

Sometimes people are truly unable to stop the murderer and are afraid of being the murderers next victim.

[porphyrian]

8. Does fear excuse inaction when the victim is your wife? Your child?

What if you're the only one in a position to stop the murderer and you do nothing, just because you were scared?

[Annces]

4. Myron Eshowsky, a psychotherapist and shaman said there is bloody history

wanting to be atoned for, that is rising up. That may be affecting your life right now, or other more direct karmic events of your recent relatives.

[Syncronaut Seven]

5. In my heart, I know this to be true.

Myron is cherished and loved. :-)

[Annces]

11. Have you heard of Myron?

[Syncronaut Seven]

14. Our circles of friends have intersected.

Spent my 16th summer working with counselors in an N.A. halfway house in Phoenix. It is not important how I found myself there. My struggles with addiction would come later.

My world expanded greatly that year, I am forever grateful for the insight I gained.

We've met thru a common understanding of the human condition, and perhaps, by geographic convergence. :-)

[porphyrian]

9. That's an interesting angle. I'll look into him. - n/t

[porphyrian]

10. He does seem pretty cool.

Here's a link to a bio about him, for anyone like me who had to look him up:
http://www.communityshamanism.com/bio_contact.htm

Here's another:
http://www.shamanism.org/fssinfo/eshowskybio.html

[Annces]

12. He has not written any books

I went to some of his talks locally. He mainly works privately with individuals, and also has been working lately with inner city youths at risk for being involved with gangs.

Here is an article of his I was referring to.

http://www.angelfire.com/dragon2/leavesandtrees/animals/myronarticle.html

[porphyrian]

16. It's very interesting. He describes patterns I've seen...

...but he uses an entirely different language to describe it, which makes sense as he's living as a shaman who has studied the shamanism of many different cultures. I just think nature is beautiful.

[TahitiNut]

13. Very much a question of deontological ethics vs. consequentialist ethics.

I'm in the former camp, of course. :shrug:

[porphyrian]

15. I generally believe that rules are for people who need them...

...but I also believe everyone needs them on occasion, especially in a professional setting. So, depending on the situation, I can be deontological or consequentialist. However, it's almost always act-based rather than rule-based.