http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Re-Nick-and-dishonest-behavior-tp3117309p3140472.html
> the following passage caught me eye:
>
> Half the never-ending hurt in this world seems to come from our
> thinking we know what other people's intentions are from their actions...
>
> Talk to me a bit about what an intention is to you, what an action is
> to you, and how they differ.
>
> Nick
>
> Nicholas S. Thompson
> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
> Clark University (
[hidden email] <mailto:
[hidden email]>)
>
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> <
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Steve Smith <mailto:
[hidden email]>
> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
> <mailto:
[hidden email]>
> *Sent:* 6/21/2009 5:51:13 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Nick and dishonest behavior
>
> I am way too animistic in my instincts to go for most of this.
>
> Eric said:
>
> /Nick's ethical stance would be based on treating things that
> act in certain ways as equal to all other things that act in
> certain ways, and it wouldn't get much more prescriptive than
> that. The acts he would be interested in would be very
> sophisticated actions, or combination of actions - such as
> "contributing to the conversation". This may seem strange, but
> again, it is really, really, really, not that different from a
> stance that treats all things that "experience in a certain
> way" as equal.
> /
>
>
> Yes, I abhor the killing of people (but can think of circumstances
> when I would endorse or practice it) and by extension abhor (or at
> least get really queasy at) the killing of things that look
> anything like people. Apes and Monkeys are obvious candidates for
> the not-kill. Ditto for things that know how to mimic humans in
> any way... or have been selected for these traits (think most/all
> pets, many domesticated animals, etc.). And add in the things
> that tweak my parent feeling (all creatures exhibiting neotony,
> big eyes, large head/body ratios, etc.). Then add in the
> creatures who may not overtly (or recognizeably) remind me of
> humans (think Dolphins and other Cetaeceans... little gray
> creatures from UFO's, etc) that I intellectually (if not
> intuitively) ascribe intelligence and emotions.
>
> But I can feel the same way about cherished possessions or even
> coveted possessions of others. Who hasn't gone to the dump and
> wanted to pull that "perfectly good armchair" out of the pile of
> trash? I am particularly a sucker for machinery, electronic or
> otherwise. Just *try* to throw a "perfectly good"
> printer/computer/bicycle/chainsaw away in my presence. I have a
> boatload (technically a parking-lot-full) of cars that I fell in
> love with and had to rescue... most of them 20+ years old... and
> once you rescue them, you can never abandon them, and you can't
> even foster them out... after all, who is going to love them as
> much as you? And yes, they all drive... though I'm not so sure
> about the old tech in my shed (computers, printers, etc.) but I
> suspect they do... why not?
>
> OK... I'm sure this is totally off-topic... excepting that I claim
> that we *project* so much onto inanimate (or barely animate or
> animate but barely/hardly human) objects that surely we do the
> same with people? I don't trust people who claim they can
> determine my (or anyones) intentions by our actions... it is too
> fraught with the risk of projection. Half the never-ending hurt
> in this world seems to come from our thinking we know what other
> people's intentions are from their actions... and the other half
> seems to come from the resulting feedback loop of revenge.
>
> - Steve
>
> PS... I think it is "OK" to kill Nick, but there are many, many
> reasons I do not. Not the least of which is that I've become
> quite fond of him. So don't anyone else try killing Nick to make
> the point, I would take it personally, project onto you my own
> ideas of your motivations and seek revenge based on that
> projection. (OK... I know... I'm being disingenuous here...)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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