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Why should I care?

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 4:31 pm
by Joao Pedro
Why should I care?

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 4:39 pm
by cowboy
Who cares?

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 4:47 pm
by Guest
About what exactly Joao?
d'you mean anything?
I bet you do care ..about many things...loved ones..pets....life itself...the most precious thing we have?
I made a new years resolution....that I would value each moment each day..appreciate more thing..count my blessings etc etc..but have I stuck to it? NO.....I still moan about the stupidest things..petty things.
But recently.I was told by a good friend that they had a life-threatening illness with no cure.....that really took a hold of me,,and I gave myself a good lecture.
You should care..about many things..I bet someone cares about you.I hope and Im sure they do :).......Ellie :)

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 4:50 pm
by maddi
Ok now I am going to driven mad with curiosity for ages - damn :?

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 5:03 pm
by Ellie
I hope Joao comes back to tell us Mads!
Im sure he will..if he cares :) :wink:

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 6:42 pm
by Joao Pedro
Papa says millions of years of evolution have given me this information processing device designed singularly to increase my ability to reproduce. It forces me to care about where food and safety are, where warmth and comfort are, and where the opposite sex are. Existential ennui is a consequence of having all my base desires sated, yet my immature dreams of being a rock-star thwarted. He said I should care because there's a lot of needless suffering in the world, and because I'm rich enough to waste time on the internet then I'm are capable of changing things for the better. But I don't know.

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 6:50 pm
by guest2
ยท :o Before asking why you *should* care, perhaps it would be worth thinking about the fact that you *do* care. Human beings are emotional and moral beings - we simply aren't capable of observing other people's behaviour without reacting emotionally and morally (though not always rightly!) to it. Because we are good at thinking, we can learn to override our initial emotional reactions and behave as detached, scientific observers in certain circumstances. But this requires an effort, even if we don't recognise it as such. We care about other people because we can't help it. When we cease to care altogether, we cease to function as humans. The important question, then, is how we live with caring about other people, given how painful and demanding that is.

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 6:58 pm
by digger
I don't care if you care or not - so long as you behave as if you do

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 7:14 pm
by Ellie
Ive been drawn back to this topic..finding it quite fascinating!
I take in all that Joao and Guest 2 say...I can even empathise with Joao on this...in this way;
I dont have to work...we have very good income..well my husband does..and as you say...have shelter,warmth, and can buy any food that takes my fancy. Yet I do work not only to earn a little income for myself but to get satisfaction on something Ive worked on (and in my line) nurtured to fruition.
This is a driving need in me.Why? Because I care.A simple thing like not being able to see a plant dying because it lacks water/nourishment.If I and others feel that strongly about 'a plant'? a bird? animal ..how ..as Guest2 says..we feel so much stronger about our fellow human beings..and indeed we do care!
Im finding it hard to explain myself properly here...except to say...you can have all the material needs satisfied...yet..you will still yearn for something more.
I dont believe you can be happy in the truest sense of the word..unless you care about others...even if ..as guest2 says..its sometimes brings us pain..but pain and pleasure often go hand -in hand :)

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 7:46 pm
by Gerry Cullen
This is where spiritual fulfillment comes in,ellie,a sense of being needed in the great plan.

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 10:34 pm
by redwinegirl
You should care, because there are too many that don't :?

By the way - I'm intrigued :shock:

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 11:36 pm
by Matt K
hmmm, anyone else think that maybe joao has spent a little too much time with his old friend Jack Daniels?

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2004 12:51 am
by Ellie
How d'you know what Joao drinks Matt?
Is he a friend of yours? :)
suppose..if we all had a few J.daniels..we wouldn't have a 'care' in the world? :P

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2004 2:35 pm
by Joao Pedro
Caring must come near top of the list of how we do things which help define us at our most empathetic, giving, tender, reflective and nurturing, something most often seen within the same species of the animal world, and something increasingly sacrificed by man at the altar of consumerism.
Or so mama says, but what can she mean?

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2004 5:29 pm
by Ellie
If you ask me Joao..youre mama sounds a wise woman.. and someone who obviously cares..for you..amongst others...lucky fella :)
Yes ..we can often learn from the animal world about 'caring'..though there are some species..the male of which will 'eat' their young..cant remember which at the moment ! :shock: