Sunday, July 26, 2020

Dogmatic Sociopathy


What a Virus Wants


There is a danger in talking about what the virus "wants." It's a virus. It doesn't want. It has no volition. And most importantly, it is not political. It doesn't care what party you support. It is a virus. It cannot care.

So, when doctors talk about what the virus wants, the doctor is speaking metaphorically. Attributing volition where there is none. But the effort to make it more understandable backfires in the minds of the conspiracy minded.
The virus has no dogma, no agenda, no political affiliation. It doesn't care, it cannot care, it doesn't want, it cannot want.
Only humanity deals in normative values. Most of nature doesn't. At all, ever. Repeat that until it sticks. Climate change is the same. The non-human world doesn't care about your political conspiracies. It is what it is, and nothing more. Non-human reality doesn't promote shoulds. It presents musts. No compromise, no mercy, no deliberation, no negotiation, no forgiveness.
It doesn't care about your political hatreds, your desires for a prosperous future, your views or perspectives. It doesn't care about what you care about. It doesn't care about your "freedumb," or mine, or anyone's. It is not the sort of thing that can care about these things.
We, however, can care. We can intelligently react - rationally, reasonably, with clarity provided by our best explorative methodology ever created (science) - deliberately, mercifully, with humility and kindness and concern for your fellow human being.
So wear the damned mask. It protects others from you. Don't be a sociopath. That's why you wear it. It doesn't offer much protection for you. The only gain you get is the pride and confidence that you are not being a vector. But that is worth a lot for human beings who are kind, responsible, and moral.

Anti-Mask Hysteria


Eventually, we will likely have effective treatment for SARS-CoV-2. The oxidative stress mechanism can already be partially offset, but nothing can take the place of avoiding spreading the virus. Wear a fucking mask.

It is time to stop playing nicely with and appealing to the humanity of sociopaths. If they are so fucking stupid that they demand a police state. As long as they threaten the lives of others, make their dystopian dreams come true.
Even in gatherings, large gatherings, people can still wear masks.
You cannot negotiate with, intimidate, or supplicate to a virus. You cannot make it respect your freedumb.


Skepticism vs Denialism


We are now seeing the true danger of the "conspiracy theorist" mentality. This is why we need cautious skepticism, not dogma-based denialism. Remember, doubt is not denial.

It's also why we need science. Science informs us, provides us with a course of action - a way to combat something barely within our comprehension. It gives us personal efficacy in a time when we may be otherwise feeling helpless and afraid. Fear is not the way to deal with the virus. Wearing a mask is that effective personal action. Unfortunately, anti-science conspiracy denialism has convinced people to not wear masks - to try to pretend not wearing a mask is a moral or political stance. It is neither of these; it is merely deliberate sociopathic stupidity.

Yes, I used the word "sociopathic." It applies perfectly. These people do not care about the lives of those around them. Some, perhaps, even want to see others die. There are cases of people deliberately coughing in the faces of others (in one instance, a baby's face). This is neither rational, nor even sane. What kind of person do you have to be to deliberately put other people's lives at risk when it is so easy to just wear a mask when out in public? What kind of garbage is in your thought bubble?

Ground Zero

Ground Zero


When it comes to epistemology, what happens to make you reach epistemic ground zero (when you realize that knowledge is, in fact, impossible) is only a small part of the story. It involves some honesty, but otherwise it is not difficult.

The real test comes after you reach epistemic ground zero. Here we quickly discern honest inquirers from the disingenuous liars.
At ground zero, do you accept that you cannot know and tentatively start suggesting means and methods of inquiry? Congratulations. That is called "intellectual integrity."
...or...
Do make up some shit, declare it the truth, and seek to ram it down everyone else's throat - even using force? Wrong answer. That's called "religion."