Your beliefs, values and opinions

[roseroser]

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
William James

 

[LeBrok]

I believe in God.
I believe that our deeds return to us at last.
I believe that each person has his/her soulmate in this world.
I believe that nothing happens for no particular reason.

You are spiritual to the max! It is interesting that 99.999% of soulmates speak the same language and live in same city.

 

[Dinarid]

I am kind of religious, but I very strongly believe in God and life after death (the soul or conscious entity continues). I believe that some things cannot be explained by science- although I see scientific evidence for life after death as sufficient. I believe that there should be a balance between personal freedom and traditional values, which makes sense being from the eastern half of Europe. For me the family is most important. I believe it is important for society to promote altruism which is an essential human value, but I put my own people first. Other people are the most important thing in life, again most of all family, then friends.

 

[last-resort]

What divides and unites people more than beliefs, values and opinions ?

It may be a double-edge sword to express them, as you never know what reaction to expect from others. On the other hand, everybody has beliefs, values and opinions, and if you have reflected properly about them, you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself for holding them, as long as you can defend them. Once you can't defend them anymore, nothing prevents you from changing them...

So here is a sample of my mind as of today :

.....

I have my response using yours as a basis for comparison/similarity. Mostly we are largely apart. I have a brief version of yours followed by mine. I will add that the fairly common, non-Western practice of killing people for how/what they think is a big change that is needed. Thought that I would emphasize that as I doubt many will read much of the rest. Also, that while I mostly disagree, you set out a nice base.

Beliefs

- universe is eternal (both in past and future) and infinite in every direction.

No. While I have no concept of why there would be a Big Bang, I can accept it. That would be the beginning, even if were part of some type of oscillation – Big Bang –Expansion - Collapse. Reality does not cease to exist - matter/energy just changes form.

- life is a biochemical process….

Yes, but that does not preclude any such thing as a(n immortal) soul.

- believe in life after death in the sense that a life being is composed of eternal matter/energy….

Yes, so that is what a ‘soul’ is.

- do not believe in any god(s), supernatural powers or miracles.

No. Not everything has a scientific explanation, even if we think we have figured it out.

- believe in an infinity of extraterrestrial life somewhere in the universe, …. doubt that any UFO has ever come to our Earth.

Possibly. Belief is too strong a term, The odds are that there are ETs, but life, while abundant on this planet, is very fragile and complex. As to UFO visitation to Earth, possibly also. Our own current advancement in technology allows us to view findings that were overlooked before.

- believe that each individual is absolutely unequal to others in every respect ..., except possibly in rights.

Each individual is born different from each other, except identical twins (excepting birth order, birth defects, early illness, and the like). Nonetheless, differences at birth do not detract from any human’s rights with respect to any other human being. Therefore, all humans are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator (or if you desire, endowed by a common Humanity of personhood) with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and other rights, including the freedom to think and hold beliefs that are different than the group, however defined. But in thinking or being different, a human must be responsible for the consequences of being different, as may be reasonably anticipated.


Values

- value knowledge, intelligence, rationality, creativity, progress, self-improvement, continual change for the better, self-responsibility, peace, beauty, harmony... But peace, beauty and harmony, and especially progress, cannot be solely group norms.

- "Better nothing than something bad." No. “Better tried and failed, than not tried at all.”

- I strongly disregard hypocrisy, dishonesty, and lies (about facts, not feelings or emotions). Almost. I strongly detest hypocrisy, dishonesty, and lies, except humans are too often in conditions that force them to lie. Also, lies in a social context so as to avoid hurt feelings are usually acceptable (there are exceptions). And making up for dishonesty takes more than an apology. It requires restitution as a minimum, and an apology.


Opinions

- for the death penalty for dictators, heads of states, …, who carry the responsibility of the acts committed by their subordinates. In theory, I am for the death penalty for anyone who has taken another’s life, or has permanently and severely disabled a person, or permanently maimed a person so as to make that person socially unappealing. In practice, I would set a high standard of evidence before sentencing a person to death.

- do not donate to humanitarian aid because I consider that too much of it is wasted, goes to the organisations' administrators or to corrupted officials, or serves to finance wars …. No. It is a virtue to extend aid to others. Good for the ‘soul’ or self-worth. Bogus charities abound, but in at least one country, a great deal can be discovered regarding how much of the donation goes to the intend beneficiaries, and who is paid, etc. People who keep donating to virtuous humanitarian funds are blessed.

- for individual freedom to consume drugs (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, chocolate, coffee, etc.) or other addictive products (video games, pornography, TV, music...)…. am against smoking in public places …. am also against any other public behaviour that is harmful or disturbing to others….. Generally agreed as to adults. Adult humans should be treated as adults, responsible to themselves and society at large.

- am pro-abortion, even after 3 months, if it can prevent a child from being born in a negative environment … or prevent the parents from having to raise a disabled child. No. In the trope of treating adult humans as adults, abortion as a convenience should never be approved, nor non-consensual abortions performed absent mental deficiency of the mother (not as eugenics). And, it is very easy to detect and to abort a fetus much earlier than 3 months. Consensual abortions are to be allowed for rape, incest and the life of the mother. In the case of rape, an under-aged woman’s family can insist on an abortion, but not prevail on preventing one. In the case of saving the life of a mother, if the mother has other children at home, then the abortion cannot be refused.

- that parents are fully responsible for their child(ren)'s education and well-being, and should have a minimum of maturity and financial means to be allowed to procreate. Mostly agree, except for the financial aspects. And tough to enforce without compulsory abortion, which can quickly devolve to eugenics. Parenting and parenting skills, fully revealed, ought to be mandatory subjects in about 8^th grade (13-14 years old) for both sexes. Included, or as separate subject, should be ‘domestic finances’, so that the real world is very clear to them. Also, but may be passé, is a marriage class, that explains that ‘marriage’ is not just romance, sex and inter-personal this and that, but is a civil state under the law. The couple is a unit in the eyes of the state (I assume this is true through most of Europe).


From Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life:

Grim Reaper: Shut up, you American. You Americans, all you do is talk, and talk, and say "let me tell you something" and "I just wanna say." Well, you're dead now, so shut up.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085959/quotes

 

[Comrade Petrov]

In Response to your post:


Beliefs

- I do not believe in a God or any supernatural force.

- I do not believe in the immortality of the soul.

- I find the claim of aliens ridiculous but I do not reject the posibility that life exists beyond our solar system. I am "agnosticist" on that subject.

- I believe that every human is born equal, is truly equal and fully entitled on his/her natural, inalienable and sacred human rights. If certain individuals do not pocess an equal status based on gender, age, nationality and wealth that must be changed and it is our duty to strive for a more egalitarian society.


Values

LIBERTY
EQUALITY
FRATERNITY


Opinions

- I am for the death penalty only for war criminals, tyrrants, terrorists, mass murderors and people who have commited abominable hate crimes.

- I do not trust private charity.

- I am for individual freedom to consume everything, although I am reluctant on the use of heavy narcotics.

- I am deffinetely pro-life, abortion is murder, every human has the right to life. Unauthorized abortions should be punished strictly and be considered a serious felony.

- I think that the state is responsible for the raising of good citizens. Parents who can't deal with their children should give them for adoption on early age (that includes the abortion scenario).





Cheers.
​

 

[kdm1984]

Beliefs

- I believe God maintains the universe; unsure of its eternality per se -- not dogmatic about this; the Deity can do what He wants with it

- I believe that human life is both biochemical and immortal

- I believe in life after death

- I believe in God, and believe that science explains how many things work, but doesn't give "meaning" per se -- this is where religion/spirituality/belief in God come in for those of us with faith

- I am not dogmatic about belief in 'extraterrestrial life'; unsure about whether or not it exists

- I believe individuals are highly variable in their abilities, and this is readily apparent as we see the diversity of life -- but I believe all life has value


Values

- I value love, knowledge, intelligence, rationality, creativity, progress, beauty, logical consistency, firm adherence to noble principle, discipline, long-suffering-ness, and refusing to bend to trends or tribes just because they're "popular"

- I strongly disregard arrogance, selfishness, hypocrisy, and partiality/confirmation bias


Opinions

- I am for the death penalty in cases where cold-blooded murder has been unequivocally established

- I donate occasionally to humanitarian aid after careful research to ensure it goes to worthy causes

- I am generally for individual freedom to consume things, but analytic reasoning makes it clear that you need more boundaries for some things than others (for example, alcohol or caffeine in moderation are clearly less harmful than cocaine or meth)

- I am against abortion, except possibly in cases of rape or incest, and I tire quickly of feminists who think this is a women's rights issue -- I'm a woman, and not all of us view it that way; after all, the embryo or fetus can just as well develop into another female as it can a male -- and you knew what could happen when you had sexual intercourse; procreation and reproduction are not rocket science -- a+b=c

- I think that parents are fully responsible for their child(ren)'s education and well-being

 

[Strudel]

My prime values:

fortitude, honour, equanimity, humility, accountability


Belief:


My cosmology is still unfolding, as I am still evolving. However, to summarize: Where I stand is probably best described as fitting with Taoism combined with indigenous belief systems based on nature and Animism. I believe the universe is made of order and chaos, with order being the highest power - this is not intelligent design creationism as is associated with monotheism, but rather more abstract.


I believe life is sacred and thus as living beings, should have a sense of reverence and gratitude for being alive as well as respect for all life forms. At the same time, being someone who sees dichotomies everywhere and that wisdom is extracted from these, there is also the profane. As such, I believe it is important to recognize the profane aspects of existence.


I do not believe that we are born “equal”. Genetics dispels this. Equality as far as values discussion is after all more of a political ideology concept.






Opinions:


In the category of profane for me would be murder and my position on that is that sometimes (only in very specific circumstances) it is acceptable and just. The value this aligns with is honour.


Another area that has been raised by others is the question of abortion. I am anti-abortion on principle, but do not support state control of it, since I am politically on the side of the state should keep it’s nose out of moral (and person lifestyle - except for gross indecencies) decisions. Abortion is a complex matter and as far as I have tweaked it out, ethically and practically there are two types: 1) irresponsible method of birth control, 2) traumatic measure due to rape or incest. In my opinion from my extensive readings abortion (also infanticide in many world areas) is abused too much for the first reason and the first reason is unacceptable due to my value of accountability. In the second instance, I still believe it is an injustice to life, but one that is acceptable if (in cases of rape) and when (in cases of incest) it poses grave extenuating repercussions. The value my position on this aligns with is accountability.




Further, on gross indecencies, I find gay pride parades and for that matter all “pridish” demonstrations indecent - in the sense that I am an equal opportunity prude and keeping the order and privacy where it belongs is where this comes from. But, I do believe homosexuality is not “normal” while also not supporting hurtful state measures upon homosexuals. The value my position on this aligns with humility.




Another area falling into the category of reverence for life, is suicide, which to me is a grave sin. I borrow the word sin from organized religion, but use it in the sense of it being the most reprehensible act, without regard to religion. As for willfully dying or willingly dying and not fighting for self-preservation, there are a only a few exceptions I make as acceptable: 1) conscientious objectors, ie. Socrates 2)protecting a dependent (ie. spouse, child) from imminent threat to their life, 3) protecting one’s home from invasion. I am against assisted suicide for a few reasons. Ask me if interested, this is getting long as is. The value my position on this aligns with fortitude.


I am against capital punishment (in other words state controlled execution). This is another complex/grey area. I support well governed law and order and for swift, fair and accountable dealing with criminality, but I draw the line at state sanctioned killing mainly because in order to curtail abuse of powers, state governance should be limited to the most basic bureaucratic matters. The value my position on this aligns with is equanimity.

 

[Vandemonian]

This was very interesting to read!

- I believe that the universe is eternal (both in past and future) and infinite in every direction. Therefore I do not believe in the creation or end of the universe. Reality cannot cease to exist (except in our minds when we die). Nothing is "created", matter/energy just changes form.

You are confusing the rational with the real. Given the deeply counterintuitive findings of quantum mechanics and relativity, combined with vast remaining problems in physics (e.g. most matter appears to be non-baryonic, yet, we have no real idea what non-baryonic matter is except that it's somewhere out there, and it doesn't interact with electromagnetic radiation) I see absolutely no reason why the universe cannot spontaneously implode before you finish reading my post.

I am for the death penalty for dictators, heads of states, military leaders, leaders of terrorist/criminal organisations, who carry the responsibility of the acts committed by their subordinates. I am against death penalty in most other cases.

I have no idea what to say to this, but it's very compelling. It does resonate with me intuitively, yet, I have some difficulty determining what the outcome of such a policy might be, or whether it is any more just than the reverse policy of killing plebians and locking nobles in their castles (with servants).

Everything has a scientific explanation, even if we haven't figured it out yet.

This strikes me as a leap of faith. As an operating principle, it's practical, but there's a difference between "assume a scientific explanation exists" and "a scientific explanation really does exist."

I do not donate to humanitarian aid because I consider that too much of it is wasted

What do you think about the Effective Altruism movement?

I am for individual freedom to consume drugs (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, chocolate, coffee, etc.) or other addictive products (video games, pornography, TV, music...) on the principle that everybody is free to do what they want with their own body and health.

I am also for these freedoms, but maybe I'm misunderstanding you when you write that everyone is free to do what they want with their body and health. Parents who become intoxicated and die, thus abandoning their children, are failing to take appropriate responsibility for their actions. They may be legally free to do that, but they are not free of responsibility - their actions brought other people into existence and then visited misery upon them.

Why should we sympathise for people who have irresponsible sex, then become irresponsible parents whose children will probably become delinquents or criminals because of them ?

Mmmm. Sex is a serious issue for society.

 

[Salento]

(Right to Life) made to Love you

... this is how it ends for me + do you ever wonder who I’be +

Abortions worldwide this year:

8,146,470 (as of now)
... Gesù Cristo ... is only March,

​

Live Abortion worldwide counter:
40-50 million abortions per year, about 125,000 per day.

https://www.worldometers.info/abortions/

imho Abortion should be rare, ... for mother's health, rape, incest, and serious extraordinary circumstances.

 

[中国韭菜]

I am a Marxist from mainland China，but I see China as a capitalist state.I support self-determination of proletariats of non-Han minorities.

 

[nick6899]

the polarized ideology makes damage, we need to be rational and be able to face the serious discussions

 

[kile]

Beliefs

Most make sense, especially this

I believe that each individual is absolutely unequal to others in every respect

Values

Ye.

- I do not donate to humanitarian aid

Hate it. I do donate blood and do charity work that's private. Went to Petrinja during the 6.4 magnitude earthquake to help, more followed, a 4.9 one was the strongest of the following. One happend before I was about to get on the roof to help with setting up new tiles for some grandpa. 1 boy died by falling as a volunteer. Also applied for more other things. But I despise the Red Cross. They get paid to do "charity" and when I apply to volunteer there's no room for volunteers? But the donations that they get are used to pay the employees very good salaries. They send people abroad for seminars. Have an acquintance who's in it. They sent her to Portugal from Croatia to hold a presentation about child kidnappings or something. That's what people donations for the needy go for?? A bloody power point and a free vacation? :vomitting: There's people that would do this for free. It is charity. Also, during the floods many of the things got stolen by the Red Cross, items were marked by donators and appeared elsewhere.

if it can prevent a child from being born in a negative environment (due to poverty or immaturity of the parents), or prevent the parents from having to raise a disabled child.

I'd say this is a very narrow view. I usually hate when people use their modern opinions to judge something that's timeless and maybe even eternal if other alien species exist. A negative enviroment?
Humans exist for 6 million years.
Electricity (not alternating) was invented in 1882, in 1925 half the US still used candles and gas lights. Most of the world population didn't.
But let's lie and say all of the world had electricity in 1925.
97 years of somewhat positive enviroment (disregard world war).
97/6000000
That's 0.001616667% of the time of existence of humans.
That's not what we're made for.

Humans have always been born and raised and died in "negative" enviroments.
The difference is they weren't such pussies as they are today.

 

[Asil]

I'm a religious Muslim even though i commit sins like adultery, interest etc.