The boasts of atheists (Atheist self-deception)

I love the look on the faces of respectful sales people who gush on about how important to our excellent process and products their new machine would be:"Lets face it guys, what we produce here is rubbish. Mutton dressed as lamb. If we and those like us closed down tomorrow the world would a better place. Your not trying to tell me that processed food is anything but crap are you. C'mon - lets get real here! The world wants it, they fall for the convenience and packaging - but you and I know its all a con - but I agree, you machine will help us produce this crap cheaper and more efficiently"When they trust that I'm not kidding them they look relieved - its like they too can say "the emporer has no clothes on!!"So far I have all but the MD here in real mode about what we produce. You would be proud of me Robin

It's not about being unhappy or unhappy. Happiness is no problem. If I want to be happy, I can just buy myself some beer, and I'm perfectly happy.But one ought to have a realistic philosophical position. I have been noticing for some time what we can call the creeping sentimentality of my culture. Thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that the cause of this malady is the dictates of the business world--the world of work. Now in business, one must be pleasant. One must smile. One must pretend to like one's customer.Another characteristic of the world of work is the constant congratulations, the giving out of awards and such. One is reminded of Hollywood, where they give out an award daily it appears.This is all a practical necessity, and I have no quarrel with it as long as one realizes what one is doing. It is a necessary pretence.But we must not let our pretensions get confused with an honest view of life.

Why? What would it do for me?

Excellent!

Uphold your honor.

You've lost me. What honour?

My despairing Polish neighbour had good news a few weeks ago. She works for Microsoft and out of the blue she got this bonus thing. Not much - about a $1000. She was over the moon - not because of the money but because of the pat on the back for a good job done.Thing is, nobody in her division put her up for the award. Not her boss or her bosses boss. She got a standard letter from some HR head office in the States congratulating her.The pat on the back is come computer generated thing based on some programme or other they have for measuring a persons key performance indicators such a projects arriving on time, time keeping, sick days etc.And she still sees it as a her being valued by people - rather than be valued by a well worked out cost-benefit HR system.Its so sad

Yes - which is why with work - the only recognition I'm interested in is the "goodfellas" one:"F**k you pay me".

By what you've said "honor" would seem to be just another "pretence". If CK claimed to be "honorable" why would that be anything more than one of those allegedly self-deceiving boasts you are complaining about ?

Of course one would not boast about such a thing as personal integrity or "honor." For one thing, it's rather hard to maintain.Admittedly, this idea about honor is just my own subjective system.

It seems to me that this thread is largely congratulating yourself for having a "realistic philosophy" and "being honorable" - as opposed to "dishonest" - in accepting it.But by that very "realistic philosphy" neither of these are worth anything. Which would reduce this thread to the "dishonest" "boasting" and "pretence" which you are congratulating yourself on avoiding.

I'm sure I don't avoid it; in fact I know I don't. But one can have good principles without having good practice.

But I am beng honest when I say those things, what makes you think I am not?These are not just things that I have made up on the spur of the moment, it has been a long journey that has led to these and other conclusions.How can you imagine that I am being dishonest when I think it is a waste of people's precious time to worship an imaginary being?IMO, to spend 5 minutes worshipping God is a waste of five minutes of your life.Nothing dishonest about it.Brian.

But by your standard your principles aren't "good". They might at best happen to be factually correct (which is something that I have yet to see a good argument for). But according to your principles that, too, is of no value. So really all I see is that you are using your "principles" to attack others, and in doing so committing the same offence you accuse others of.

I don't think so. "Boasting" means making self-praising comments (whether true or not) about ONESELF, not about an idea.If you argue that your IDEA is right, this is not boasting, the way I am defining it. Of course one argues that one's idea is right.But that's not the same sort of comment as saying, "I have exemplary moral character."Edited by robinrohan, : No reason given.