Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Pejman Yousefzadeh ·
October 13, 2012 at 8:00am
Here’s Schopenhauer:
It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility, is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counter–an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy.
And here’s Locke:
There cannot be greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the current of his discourse.
Perhaps someday, Joe Biden will be quiet long enough to actually read Schopenhauer and Locke and learn something from them on how to behave, though I presume that we will have to take up a collection in order to send him a carton of Chapstick so that he can get through the two authors’ books.
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Comments:
Dec '11
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Here's hoping he has plenty of time to read starting the last week of January!
Oct '10
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
This must be acquired-late-in-life wisdom from the famously acerbic Schopenhauer, who went out of his way to insult Hegel and others. He paid a career price for it too. As the scion of a wealthy businessman, his financial independence afforded him the latitude to offend the high and mighty. The lesson he conveys here is dripping in cynicism, so it’s clear he learned only a tactical lesson.
Biden seems to have acquired the young Schopenhauer’s scorn for those perceived as lesser lights. It would be remarkable if Biden reads Schopenhauer during his impending retirement. That’s not a place to go looking for plagiarize-able passages. If he does read Schopenhauer, it would be even more remarkable if he gained wisdom from it, be it cynical or otherwise. At any rate, it will come too late from a career standpoint. He has revealed for all to see how 38-years as a Senator and four as Vice President does not engender a disposition towards civility.
Dec '10
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Perhaps they have a pop-up version. He can manage that.
May '10
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Sep '12
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Proverbs 29:9
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
This one has really been making the rounds in the aftermath of the debate. And I can see why; it's a good quote.
Proverbs 29:9 · 58 minutes ago
Jun '10
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Pejman Yousefzadeh:
Actually, that's kinda part of the plan. To achieve a "fundamental transformation" of America, all of it's old economic structures (which, according to Obama himself, have "never worked") must be obliterated. And in an ACORN/OWS/Anonymous view: "By any means necessary."
Edited on October 13, 2012 at 5:42pmJan '11
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Those who show no respect deserve none in return.
Mar '11
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Well said. I'm chuckling at the thought Barack sitting on Joe's lap as they work through the fluffy rabbit's fur and pinwheel diagram version of The World As Will and Representation.
Oct '12
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
There is no wisdom regarding the human condition quite like Proverbs. In the ninth verse of the twenty-ninth chapter, we read:
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Nov '10
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
How rude.
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Maybe it is rude. But also appropriate, I think.
David John
How rude. · Oct 13 at 7:30pm
Re: Arthur Schopenhauer and John Locke Anticipated the Vice Presidential Debate
Maybe it is rude. But also appropriate, I think.
David John
How rude. · Oct 13 at 7:30pm