tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post116994620534475917..comments2024-03-18T03:40:39.185-04:00Comments on The Curious Jew: Mockery and ReverenceChanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655144434904957767noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-14520797446662161272007-02-01T04:19:00.000-05:002007-02-01T04:19:00.000-05:00in my experience mockery is usually an indication ...in my experience mockery is usually an indication of a lack of knowledge and or wisdom. it's an easy way out to explain something away because any other way would just be too bothersome.Lela Harbingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16252413323199579989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-61399166779011034842007-01-31T01:00:00.000-05:002007-01-31T01:00:00.000-05:00Some feelings may indeed get hurt when the child a...<i>Some feelings may indeed get hurt when the child announces that the Emperor has no clothes, but sometimes this is the only way forward.</i><br /><br />But see, this is NOT mockery. The child is announcing a truth, a fact, that everyone else is too scared to see but that is nonetheless so- that the Emperor has NO CLOTHES ON. But the child's aim is not to insult or mock the emperor so much as it is to point out the truth everyone else is trying to erase from their minds.<br /><br />With regard to Voltaire- his use of hyperbole and satire is excellent. <i>Candide</i> is a masterpiece, I agree. However, as another commentator here brought up, here Voltaire is using mockery responsibly (the same way one could use a reductio ad absurdum argument, Voltaire takes Liebniz's ideas to the extreme and shows us how laughable they are.) He is not using mockery without having full knowledge of the material at hand.<br /><br />This is in contrast to students who do not even have a basic grasp on the Bible/ texts and yet feel themselves equipped to mock.<br /><br />I suppose what I mean to say is that one must earn the RIGHT to mock, and responsibly mock, and this takes quite a long time.Chanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17655144434904957767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1781318656463984142007-01-30T21:52:00.000-05:002007-01-30T21:52:00.000-05:00Mockery kills ideas. It laughs at ideas, tradition...<i>Mockery kills ideas. It laughs at ideas, traditions, questions- it is not kind to anyone. It is antithetical to curiosity. The curious person who is mocked for asking questions grows red in the face and will perhaps learn not to question aloud again.... Reverence and respect only leads to further learning, alternatively. </i><br /><br />Obviously, no one enjoys being made fun of. But mockery nevertheless has considerable value. Mockery punctures pretense, erodes illusion. Sometimes this is not to our liking, especially when the pretense and illusion are flattering to ourselves. But mockery is also crucial to tearing down the false idols that we are so effective at creating. Mockery is the anti-venom for the adoration of power and mindless deference to authority that is part of our inheritance as social animals. Some feelings may indeed get hurt when the child announces that the Emperor has no clothes, but sometimes this is the only way forward. Look at the example of Voltaire and the Church. <br /><br />For that matter, I think that Islam also will only emerge from the middle ages when a Muslim Voltaire steps forward and speaks the truth about the hyper-pious clerics pretending to know God's plan for the universe. "What a fatuous windbag you are!" ibn Voltaire will yell in the middle of the imam's frothy harangue. Some people in the audience, knowing it in their hearts to be true, will giggle in spite of their fear. Then more. Soon the crowd is laughing. The illusion has dissolved, and the people can see clearly that what is in front of them is not the "Voice of God" but just a guy in a robe getting high on all the attention. <br /><br />That's the Hollywood version, of course. But in reality the process of "de-sanctification" is much the same, just slower. It would be nice if reverential attitudes could lead humanity inexorably toward "the good," but it's just not the case. Reverential attitudes lead to <i>slavery</i>, eventually. If we didn't have that irreverent soul who says "That's a load of crap" and snaps us out of the daydream, we'd all be in big trouble.Big-S Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11592881477466761046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1170024962028177672007-01-28T17:56:00.000-05:002007-01-28T17:56:00.000-05:00:-)Knew I could depend on you for the source!:-)<BR/><BR/>Knew I could depend on you for the source!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1170010528667135072007-01-28T13:55:00.000-05:002007-01-28T13:55:00.000-05:00While I share your contempt for the use of mockery...While I share your contempt for the use of mockery in the world today, I believe the fault lies in people rather then the notion of mockery itself. <BR/>Mockery does have a legitimate place in argumentation. One of the ways in which you refute an argument is to use reductio ad absurdum. You argue that a claim made by your opponent, when taken to its logical conclusion, would force your opponent to consent to a claim that is ridiculous and that “she herself” would never agree to.<BR/>Being able to mock is an essential characteristic of having a sense of humor and in the art of satire. One picks up on the element of the ridiculous in others and in oneself and displays it for all to see. <BR/>The problem with using mockery as an argument is when you stop respecting your opponents and their ideas. Once that happens then it stops being an argument and starts to be satire. Satire is dangerous once you mistake satire for an argument. Satire requires the creation of a straw person. Anyone can be transformed into a straw person and a straw person is easily destroyed. Arguing against people in this fashion creates the illusion that the straw person is the real individual. This in turn creates a cycle of greater contempt for ones opponent and the fashioning of more and more unrealistic straw persons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1170004451136956132007-01-28T12:20:00.000-05:002007-01-28T12:20:00.000-05:00I don't know what to say other than that "I agree"...I don't know what to say other than that "I agree".<BR/><BR/>you can't have an intelectual thought out discussion with someone who mocks you or your ideas. An idea that is not treated as legitimate cannot be discussed.<BR/><BR/>Unfortuantely people are taught to do this to anything that makes them uncomfortable as a way of releasing the tension.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169991454825964222007-01-28T08:37:00.000-05:002007-01-28T08:37:00.000-05:00Arora,I agree with you.---, Megillah 25b. :)Howeve...Arora,<BR/><BR/>I agree with you.<BR/><BR/>---, <BR/><BR/>Megillah 25b. :)<BR/><BR/>However, it is quite questionable whether Christianity/ Islam is categorized as avodah zarah, hence I say we still treat their sacred texts with respect.Chanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17655144434904957767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169959429146188412007-01-27T23:43:00.000-05:002007-01-27T23:43:00.000-05:00Leitzanus is a bad middah, for sure. Leitzim are ...Leitzanus is a bad middah, for sure. Leitzim are a major problem. <BR/><BR/>But leitzanus for avoda zara is a mitzvah. Yep.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169959283778694872007-01-27T23:41:00.000-05:002007-01-27T23:41:00.000-05:00As we've discussed in the past, IIRC, I think that...As we've discussed in the past, IIRC, I think that everything has its time and place. While I think you are correct 99% of the time, I think even mockery has its place on (rare) occasion. For the ideas which are despicable and which debating serve no purpose, mockery helps to keep them from gaining any credence - which can be especially important when one thinks about the easily impressionable.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169956299997426032007-01-27T22:51:00.000-05:002007-01-27T22:51:00.000-05:00I hear you. But, lakol zman vaes.When one has been...I hear you. <BR/><BR/>But, lakol zman vaes.<BR/><BR/>When one has been indocrinated with values and ideologies that were harmful and antithetical to their very nature from a very young age, a phase of mocking those *ideas* (not those who may have been sincere in promulgating them) may be necessary and healing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169948327398670422007-01-27T20:38:00.000-05:002007-01-27T20:38:00.000-05:00sad, indeed :(sad, indeed :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12970718.post-1169946732728356982007-01-27T20:12:00.000-05:002007-01-27T20:12:00.000-05:00Reminds me of the time that I was at a large Shabb...Reminds me of the time that I was at a large Shabbos meal on the West Side. I said a short dvar torah/story. When I finished, someone mockingly called out "OK everyone, now we're going to break into discussion groups."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com