Mike,
Your questions are legitimate. In brief, this is how I see the problem:
For some reason that is beyond my ability to understand, intelligent people sometimes tend to become dehumanized. That's not true of every intelligent person, not even the majority of them, but it's certainly a common phenomenom. I have never met a "dumb" person who believes they have no soul, but I have met many "intelligent" people who think the concept of soul is foolishness. I suppose I could say they in fact have no soul, and by their own argument they would necessarily have to agree with me.
Dick has a soul, he explicitly told me that in private. He would probably never say that here, as the "intelligent" soulless people would chastize him.
Now on Ted. Have you read his manifesto? I did, and I was quite impressed with it. From a purely rational perspective, I think he's absolutely correct in his assessment, and fully justified in acting the way he did. I will probably be crucified for saying this, but that's what I think.
However, if you ask me, do I agree with Ted, my answer is "not in an eternity". I think he's a soulless monster, and I'm very concerned about the possibility that he lost his soul as a result of being too intelligent. And once you lose, it's a lot easier to become a monster than a cherub.
Oh well, I think I got myself in more trouble than I asked for. If anyone is upset with anything I wrote here, that only means I'm not making myself clear, so I apologize in advance. |