What do you believe it means to have respect for something? I believe that to have respect for something you understand, you must demonstrate sincerity when relating to it. I believe that to have respect for something you do not understand, you must either indicate a lack of understanding or continue to study the object of your respect. Anything else is punk shit.
I can jive with this. Everybody talks about "give respect to get respect." This is where we fall short- we get slighted by someone, or offended by someone else's ideas, and we lose respect for them/their ideas. How much better of a place would this world be if everybody truly understood how to respect and to love? Respect should not be earned. It should be an intrinsic part of our day to day lives, something that just 'is.' You can have the same amount of respect for that which you don't understand as you do for that which you do understand. Anything else is, as you put it, punk shit.
yeah. i totally agree. if you have respect for something, you either understand it--how it functions/thinks whatever-- or you want to understand it. to give respect, in my opinion, requires being humble.
to respect something is to ultimately exhibit the need/want to relate and understand the complex/subject material. this requires humility, curiosity and NO hubris. to respect something, you have to be willing to lose, in order to gain.
well, while being key, it is a descriptor; in the sense that people wantonly show/strive for respect because they want to be closer in understanding and establish a connection with the subject matter. without respect, interpersonal exchanges/relationships would be impossible. art would have no meaning, music would be pointless, etc.
Oh, so you believe having respect is a choice? Do you innately have respect for the source of that choice then?
talk about mind fuck, doctaj! respect is MOST CERTAINLY a choice. but to say one innately has respect for their choice of being respectful... is well, hard to grasp. how can one opt to respect a decision, they themselves (one would think) think is justified? by saying i respect my decision to respect, i basically just say that i feel i am right and justified in my decison, not that i respect myself.... fuck man, i dont really know..
thank you for the stimulation, doctaj. you da man for your time and place! not that everything i said was coherent and relevant..
im going to ponder on this issue for awhile, as it sparked my interest... now hopefully i can come up with something that makes sense and answers your OP.
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. - Arapaho Proverb To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge. Erich Fromm i conveniently have those quotes posted on my desk.. funny how the world works eh? knowledge, and the intrinsic human characteristic of curiosity, is the catalyst behind respect, i would reason to believe. the only reason respect dare show itself (now entering world of anthropomorphism.. lol) is because we want to know the subject. if respecting it, we can learn. if one chooses to not respect the individuality and amount of information that one can gain from the complex presented, then they will not gain the knowledge that that thing has to offer, because they chose to not take it 'seriously'. honestly, in all candor, i think respect can boil down to (at least in my case) the love, and unfleeting need for knowledge. Respect means a lot of different things. On a practical level it seems to include taking someone's feelings, needs, thoughts, ideas, wishes and preferences into consideration. We might also say it means taking all of these seriously and giving them worth and value. In fact, giving someone respect seems similar to valuing them and their thoughts, feelings, etc. It also seems to include acknowledging them, listening to them, being truthful with them, and accepting their individuality and idiosyncrasies. Respect can be shown through behavior and it can also be felt. We can act in ways which are considered respectful, yet we can also feel respect for someone and feel respected by someone. Because it is possible to act in ways that do not reflect how we really feel, the feeling of respect is more important than the behavior without the feeling. When the feeling is there, the behavior will naturally follow.
More important than need, which suggests hierarchy and implies peripherality, is focus. Dedication of sincerity and willpower within the context of ruled energy flux.
You think you need. But what do you think it means to need? Are your thoughts about what is necessary necessary? Elaborate your request.