tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post6467195006148895455..comments2024-01-28T09:52:30.550-08:00Comments on Arash's World: Free Will, Neuroscience and Personal ResponsibilityArash Farzanehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-90623096906755139742016-08-24T11:24:30.228-07:002016-08-24T11:24:30.228-07:00Thank you very much for your comment, Helt Privat!...Thank you very much for your comment, Helt Privat! You make an interesting point here and one that has been on my mind, especially lately. <br /><br />First off, I must say that you are absolutely right regarding the perception of the now versus the possibility of the future. What I am now would not (and should not!) exclude what I could be or could be doing in the future. Thanks for pointing that out!<br /><br />Let me rephrase then. I do not have or have not had the abilities to paint or dance. Part of it is genetic, I assume; the other part is a conscious limitation. I am not doing enough to overcome my lack of skills. <br /><br />I think once one has an inkling of what one believes to be good at, one should pursue that. Overall, it comes easier than something that feels unnatural to begin with and would need substantially more effort, i.e. painting and dancing for me.<br /><br />Secondly, to what degree should we let others decide and determine our abilities? That is a tough one. My problem with other people's opinion is that they are often reflections on themselves than on me and my own abilities. <br /><br />In my view, opinions are interpretations and mostly a mixture of desires and shortcomings. So the person who claims you are a musician might either be a musician or have the desire to become a musician and hence music is what is foremost on their mind. It is up to ourselves to decide whether that view is valid for us or not. In your case, I would say yes as it strikes a chord within you (sorry for the pun), and that is perfectly fine. <br /><br />Were the opinion negative, then it would be your choice to either accept it or to reject it and see it more as a commentary on the other person's way of thinking than a comment on what you can or cannot do well. Ultimately, one does what one thinks is best.Arash Farzanehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-77789338484272541802016-08-23T15:43:11.637-07:002016-08-23T15:43:11.637-07:00"I can never be a painter or a dancer "
..."I can never be a painter or a dancer "<br /><br />I disagree. In my world you are a painter if you (continue to) paint. And a dancer if you (continue to) dance.<br /><br />Time has to have a say in order to give value to the (naming of) title ("one who does", not "one who is doing") - but how little or how much is often cruelly, jealously, snobbishly, fearfully, arrogantly etc. decided by your fellow humans, who wish to impose their evaluations onto your present, rather than await your future.<br /><br />Myself as example: I have written poetry for 30 years, always very rhytmically and with great attention to the notational image of the text - that my ideas of breath and music could be reproduced - but I never saw myself as a musician. Then someone, in the middle of one of my performances of a poem, spontaneously said: But you're a musician. <br /><br />Having dreamed of "being a musician" for 30 years, but "only" doing poetry, I suddenly realised HOW much of our outlook on life is within our ability and readiness to name our personal universe in a precise fashion to our own benefit. <br /><br />I "am" now a poet and a musician. Even if I do lots of other stuff too....Helt Privathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01399684593977143542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-32109710018777339292013-05-16T17:48:26.696-07:002013-05-16T17:48:26.696-07:00Thank you, TBM for your very kind words, and you a...Thank you, TBM for your very kind words, and you are more than welcome! Please feel free to stop by and leave comments regarding your thoughts and reflections.<br /><br />Arash Farzanehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-42407583304399984302013-05-07T07:10:31.300-07:002013-05-07T07:10:31.300-07:00The fine but very different line between so and no...The fine but very different line between so and no ... Thanks so much for pointing that out to me, Vincent!<br /><br />It's true ... even if we were an island unto ourselves, as a manner of speaking, we would still be morally responsible for the ecosystem and the coconut trees! Arash Farzanehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000344680925876563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-87443580333830788992013-05-07T00:07:32.846-07:002013-05-07T00:07:32.846-07:00I'd suggest there is certainly morality on an ...I'd suggest there is certainly morality on an island populated by one person. You are still part of an interconnected world. There is an ecosystem to be treated with respect. If you chopped down all the coconut trees, it would not merely be an immoral act. You yourself would be the victim. Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1367161100956691682.post-49234649878096115792013-05-07T00:03:42.232-07:002013-05-07T00:03:42.232-07:00"Then the talk continued and looked at crimin..."Then the talk continued and looked at criminal behavior. Are people who commit evil ultimately responsible for what they do? He claims no"<br /><br />From the context, surely you meant to say "He claims yes".Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.com