Human Nature

Re: regulate with culture, not law

bpkowal — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:55:25 GMT

My point was largely that "irrationality" is a loaded term. I think it is commonly used as a short cut to thinking through a full explaination of why someone might do something we don't see ourselves doing.

In economics, irrational means something completely different. That is, it suggests an inconsistency in preference across similar contexts. Preferring a $1 vs. a 50% chance of losing a dollar is consistent with preferring $1 vs. a 100% chance of losing 50 cents and demonstrates rational behavior. Preferring a $1 vs. a 50% chance of losing a dollar is inconsistent with a 100% chance of losing 50 cents vs. $1 and demonstrates irrational behavior.

Now, I would argue (economically speaking and not personally) unless you always wear flats it is irrational for you to prefer being 2" shorter. Personally, I get it. Further, it would only be rational for a gold digger to fornicate for cash if they were sure that at no point during their relationship they will become friends or make an emotional attachment to their prey. Personally, that is not something I am capable of pulling off - but even if I see it as morally abhorrent it is still rational - economically speaking.

Re: regulate with culture, not law

maxo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:26:31 GMT

What do you mean by irrationality? Is it irrational for regular women to get boob jobs in order to make more money by being more attractive to wealthy men?

The difference between strippers, hookers, gold diggers, and regular girlfriends can be very thin. It's still a difference.

I'm too tall at 6'5". I'd like to drop about 2".

Re: regulate with culture, not law

bpkowal — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:15:35 GMT

What do you mean by irrationality? Is it irrational for strippers to get boob jobs inorder to make more money?

It is also questionable whether or not height is strictly speaking a socially constructed idea of human perfection. It may be a completely natural preference. When female birds prefer male birds with longer tails is it unnatural, irrational, and superficial?

As far as shallowness goes, it sounds to me as if your analysis of this topic is about as glib as Saletan's was and relys more on opinion than any type of intellectual rigor or scientific fact.

Harmony may be a worth goal but you must try harder to make an effort to understand rather than simply fear what you are attempting to balance out if you are to be successful.

regulate with culture, not law

monroe — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:55:34 GMT

The government should never subsidize it, and insurance companies would be right to deny all claims related to elective cosmetic surgery. But if people want to spend their own money on it then they should be permitted. However, I think it should be socially taboo. We should relentlessly criticize the shallowness and irrationality of these surgeries (in most cases). The main reason people do these things is to better fit socially constructed ideas of human perfection, which are given so much weight by modern cultures around the globe. We need a counterculture that accepts and respects nature, to counteract the destructive social pressures to fit into idealized categories, which harmonizes with environmental destruction and frankensteinian agribusiness.