“When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.”(Lao Tze)

submitted by GeorgeCarlin from self.quotes

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[–]Katelyn_Bell 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

I love this quote. I also think that the human tendency to perceive moral relativity from a continuum is an evolving practice. With patience, a deep dive into self-discovery is all it takes.

IIRC Taoism is rooted in ancient naturalist philosophy. We don’t need to dethrone what was once beautiful in order to recognize and appreciate beauty elsewhere. There is always more beauty. The quote itself isn’t about what is being said. More of a mirror into the process of personal transformation, because people only wake up when they stop agreeing to things that insult the soul.

[–]GeorgeCarlin[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

^

[–]Markimus 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Indeed this is how distinctions work

[–]ID10T 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Yes we are attracted to that which looks healthy and ultimately good for reproduction. That's why we didn't go extinct.

[–]HongKongPhooey 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Good quote

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

That's not true. Nearly nothing is black and white.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Like all good proverbs, there tends to be some truth in them. Besides, proverbs are meant to be short, to not generalise to some degree you'd need an essay and it would lose its charm.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

But this one is literally wrong.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

In a literal sense, perhaps. But figuratively, depending on the context? This was written a millenia ago so would not be applied to modern politics or ideology, after all.

[–]dwo 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

That's... literally what the quote is saying. It's warning that when some people pedestalize one thing, they create its negative binary - that they risk black and white thinking if they elevate one thing as superior.

[–]Canbot 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

And it is wrong. Bianary thinking has nothing to do with prefrences, or decernment, or descrimination.

Finding something to be better than the rest does not mean you think worse of everything else, and it does not mean you think everything else is bad, or even equally valued.

The entire quote is nonsense.