Comments on Creative code and cuisine: conspicuous charity

I find it fascinating that there is a gender split...

2009-08-04T15:13:30.506-04:00

I find it fascinating that there is a gender split in the attitude toward conspicuous charity: erotically aroused woman are more inclined toward conspicuous charity (see references in 'Spent' by Geoffrey Miller), while aroused men do not change their attitude toward charity and prefer conspicuous consumption (BMW, Rolex, etc.) instead.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T23:31:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

I will just say that I'm not big on people knowing...

2008-12-22T15:08:00.000-05:00

I will just say that I'm not big on people knowing that it was me that gave some time or money or anything else. I strongly believe in Matthew 6:1-4 that things shouldn't be done so that others see them and then that even your right hand shouldn't know what your left hand is giving. That's not what true "charity" is all about...

And Melville is right, mankind IS innately depraved. Though he may have a different idea of what that entails than others.

"One of those tenets is that philanthropy is a dut...

2008-12-22T12:55:00.000-05:00

"One of those tenets is that philanthropy is a duty, and giving selflessly is a virtue."

Philanthropy has been a difficult thing for me to properly get my head around. Here is what I think now.

Philanthropy is not a duty. It's not a duty because if God decides to intervene in someone's life and provide them with assistance, He doesn't need your time or money to make it happen. After all, He's God.

You work hard and without your hard work, you wouldn't have as much. But you could work just as hard but have nothing because you were born in poverty in a third world country. You might consider your time your own, only to have it cut short by dying in a car accident going to work one day. Are you more deserving of time or an opportunity to get a lot of stuff than anyone else?

Philanthropy is the method by which we give our life a more proper perspective. Giving away your time and your stuff to people who aren't family or friends is to acknowledge that you have no right to either. The philanthropist is not the benefactor, he is the beneficiary.

@Nate - I have a very strong sense of "fair" and w...

2008-12-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

@Nate - I have a very strong sense of "fair" and when that gets tweaked I get pissed off. Probably irrationally so. I don't think I analyze people's motives up front, I assume that what I see is what I get. I lose it when they do something that seems magnanimous then turn around and ask for (or demand) a reward of some type. That type of hypocrisy is insufferable to me.

I think I'm with Melville. Mankind is innately depraved.

@Marc - I'm not offended. :) The Christians who launch protests against me getting married are not doing as their religion teaches them as far as I am concerned. As you said, they have corrupted the teachings to fit their own world view. I'm okay with people believing whatever they want, just own up to it and don't hide behind a flimsy excuse.

And I said I agree with many of the tenets put forth by Christianity. That whole "love your enemy" thing isn't one I can buy into.

I meet many people who say something like what you...

2008-12-22T09:31:00.000-05:00

I meet many people who say something like what you said, "Despite my disdain for most people who call themselves Christians". You must have distain for most people since us Christians are no better or worse than anyone else. We are all sinners and fall short. Christians may stand out a little more since they know what they should be doing and make pronouncements of what they are going to do but fall short. Many also corrupt the teachings of Christ, either conciously or unconsciously, to fit their needs.

For those Christians who are not living Christ's teachings, do not distain us. Do as Christ teaches:

Romans 12:20

On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

I'm sure you do not consider us all an "enemy" but those buring coals can melt the most hardened heart of the people you distain.

Back to the talk of charity ...
Being the human I am, some of the best moments in my life have been when I have done something charitable and due to circumstances had not been able to take my rightful credit. After getting over the "pain" of not being able to take credit, I do feel the beauty of pure love. The trick is to do it by design not by mistake!!!

If you are not offended, Merry Christmas... if so Happy Holidays!!!

Who do you think you are to tell people how to con...

2008-12-22T07:35:00.000-05:00

Who do you think you are to tell people how to contribute!?

Oh... wait... wrong thread. ;-)

In all seriousness, this is one reason I lean towards moral consequentialism. All this fretting over whether someone's motives are "pure" leads to any number of things simply not getting done in the first place.