As I've been working on my moral universe of good and evil, one I feel I can follow without being illogical and sensless, I've gone on a bit of a mental tangent and formed a little theory on The People, and Individuals, which was a lot easier.
You see, there is saying "There are [x] types of people in the world". After that, they poorly generalize people based on half-full and half-empty glasses, or those who can roll their tounge and those which can't, or whatever. But in fact, there are two types of people in the world (besides gender), and I intend to make it perfectly clear.
Most people are of 'The People'. The People can be smart or dumb, fat or thin, can be doing any job, and have any stance. However, these people lack one great quality, and that is the special capacity for abstract, individual thought. These people think in patterns, they act predictably according usually to some sort of archetype they feel they fall in. There is nothing wrong with being of the People, they're the overwhelming majority. But they're also usually as impressionable as wet clay. Their lives are completly moulded by their experiences, those they meet, and what they see and feel.
That brings us to Individuals, the one who do the impressing. Imagine humanity as lumps of clay, individuals would be ones who are made of solid steel, capable of impressing upon others their beliefs and thoughts. A stronger individual can overimpress the images and beliefs of a less-powerful Individual. Individuals can THINK, not just think, but can THINK. They Think abstractly, they can percieve and understand their existance so much to know how little they know, and how far less everyone else seems to. Intellectuals, artists, thinkers, these people can understand politics and are either its' chief manipulators or its' main despairers. An Individual doesn't simply change because it has encountered new experiences or new, stronger beliefs. It becomes who it is by thinking, by rationalizing, the combined effort of mental power plus everything the person knows.
Let me give you an example: Soldiers are mostly of The People. They fight wars because they've been told that the war is Right. They kill the enemy because they just followed orders until they had to. Depending on their experiences in life they might feel fine with this, or they may break down, or they may just change. But when an Individual ends up in the front lines, they're trouble. The military tries to grind them down, because someone who thinks for themselves, and thinks in an unpredictable way based on their personal beliefs cannot be relied on in a fight. You can train a Person to kill and respond to orders, but an individual is almost impossible to break down and thus will make decisions on wether to obey or not when orders or not.
Plato was an Individual. Ronald Reagan was a Person. Leonardo Da Vinchi was an Individual. Richard the Lionheart was a Person.
Viren Quell is an Individual. Simon Kain is an Individual. The average GLF terrorist is a Person. Groder Stu is a Person. You see what I'm getting at?
Now there's nothing wrong with being a Person. If anything they're sort of blessed. A Person can live their life according to which system of belief they like, become educated and get a job. On the outside, there is nothing a Person cannot do that an Individual can. But on the inside, there is an incredible difference. An Individual will think, and can make decisions based on the situation and not on their accumulated personal life.
Anyways, its' just a test balloon, I'll probably work on it some more, see if I can refine it, it'll need a little improvment.
You see, there is saying "There are [x] types of people in the world". After that, they poorly generalize people based on half-full and half-empty glasses, or those who can roll their tounge and those which can't, or whatever. But in fact, there are two types of people in the world (besides gender), and I intend to make it perfectly clear.
Most people are of 'The People'. The People can be smart or dumb, fat or thin, can be doing any job, and have any stance. However, these people lack one great quality, and that is the special capacity for abstract, individual thought. These people think in patterns, they act predictably according usually to some sort of archetype they feel they fall in. There is nothing wrong with being of the People, they're the overwhelming majority. But they're also usually as impressionable as wet clay. Their lives are completly moulded by their experiences, those they meet, and what they see and feel.
That brings us to Individuals, the one who do the impressing. Imagine humanity as lumps of clay, individuals would be ones who are made of solid steel, capable of impressing upon others their beliefs and thoughts. A stronger individual can overimpress the images and beliefs of a less-powerful Individual. Individuals can THINK, not just think, but can THINK. They Think abstractly, they can percieve and understand their existance so much to know how little they know, and how far less everyone else seems to. Intellectuals, artists, thinkers, these people can understand politics and are either its' chief manipulators or its' main despairers. An Individual doesn't simply change because it has encountered new experiences or new, stronger beliefs. It becomes who it is by thinking, by rationalizing, the combined effort of mental power plus everything the person knows.
Let me give you an example: Soldiers are mostly of The People. They fight wars because they've been told that the war is Right. They kill the enemy because they just followed orders until they had to. Depending on their experiences in life they might feel fine with this, or they may break down, or they may just change. But when an Individual ends up in the front lines, they're trouble. The military tries to grind them down, because someone who thinks for themselves, and thinks in an unpredictable way based on their personal beliefs cannot be relied on in a fight. You can train a Person to kill and respond to orders, but an individual is almost impossible to break down and thus will make decisions on wether to obey or not when orders or not.
Plato was an Individual. Ronald Reagan was a Person. Leonardo Da Vinchi was an Individual. Richard the Lionheart was a Person.
Viren Quell is an Individual. Simon Kain is an Individual. The average GLF terrorist is a Person. Groder Stu is a Person. You see what I'm getting at?
Now there's nothing wrong with being a Person. If anything they're sort of blessed. A Person can live their life according to which system of belief they like, become educated and get a job. On the outside, there is nothing a Person cannot do that an Individual can. But on the inside, there is an incredible difference. An Individual will think, and can make decisions based on the situation and not on their accumulated personal life.
Anyways, its' just a test balloon, I'll probably work on it some more, see if I can refine it, it'll need a little improvment.
