un: xspire

[synthsized]

At what point does something get the right to be called a person? What do they need to do to deserve that?

Has anyone ever thought about it?

Comments

[deuteranope]

nah wasn't dunking on that, just your "maybe, maybe not" shit

think it's interesting you're asking, too

[synthsized]

So only things with souls are people...

I see.

[synthsized]

It's interesting to see what people think.

[medaling]

or maybe just not anyone's business except for the one in question
and they have no right to get their answer after that person/not is gone just because they still remain

[silksoul]

There's no reason for it.

[ She might strike down people, in self-defense or hunger, but she's no fool. She doesn't think their deaths were just; it's a mechanism of conflict. In the deadly clash between predators and prey, or even other predators, it was inevitable that someone would fall. ]

Sometimes it's the people they considered lesser or beneath them that make them pay in blood. Sometimes they come to blows with their 'equals'.

Sometimes it's their own guilt that eats them up inside and forces them to face what they've done.

[ That's a yes. ]

[deuteranope]

yep

think it'd be interesting to see what not people think too or nah?

[schmott_guy]

"What makes something a person" is actually a pretty good example.

UN: SevenVoyages

[conquerorofwaves]

If you can think, if you can feel emotions - and those things are real despite what anyone says, that's a person.

Screw anyone that says you're not a person because you don't look right, or don't have the right-looking soul, or what the hell ever. So, I guess? You do you, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

un: jaybird

[nor_iron_bars]

i swear to god i figured out the answer to this one last time i was high, but then i forgot like two seconds later.

if i'm gonna be honest, i got no clue how you'd tell for sure.
could fuck around and see if you come up with a soul, i guess?
or do a brainscan.
but honestly if they might be a person it's probably better to just assume they are.
worst-case scenario, you get scammed by a really good chatbot.
best-case scenario, you avoid committing war crimes.
it's just smarter to play the odds there.

[imitationsoul]

Though there is something to be said for names and address-ability in the power dynamics of the world (see: Judith Butler "Excitable Speech"), I can't agree with the thought that someone else gets to define your entire being.

Society is always trying to mold you one way or another, but the mold will forever be incomplete and its hold over a person is rooted in their very minds.

Not that I would discredit being in touch with your animal instincts and labeling yourself accordingly.

[ Just some strong feelings about being dehumanized around here. ]

[hawkwardness]

I don't know. Why would you? Because others have been saying you're not?

It shouldn't depend on what others call you, because I feel like the only reason they'd take personhood away from someone is to make themselves feel better about doing awful things.

[imitationsoul]

Making a decision to repress an impulse does not eradicate the impulse itself. We select against our innate desire for pain all the time, that's a lot of why society hasn't collapsed yet. But the desire remains ever-present.

[trademark_skull]

Other things can have souls too! But yeah it's kind of like that.

[synthsized]

Do you think you're a person?

not here

[deuteranope]

["worst-case scenario, you get scammed by a really good chatbot."

laughs hollowly, alone]

[synthsized]

I see. I suppose that's a comfort.

[Justice, if you could call it that, being served.]

Have you seen this yourself?

[nor_iron_bars]

[SOMETIMES CHATBOTS ARE ALSO PEOPLE. LIFE IS WEIRD LIKE THAT.]

[synthsized]

If any not people want to share what they think they're more than welcome to.

[synthsized]

I see. I suppose that's fair enough.

Do you often discuss what makes something a person?

[medaling]

[Hmmmm. He's less sure about this answer than he used to be, that was for sure.]

I think I'm invested in living my life

[Either continuing to live, or to find a way to be alive, if nothing so far had been enough. And it was never enough, for a Greeed.]

[silksoul]

If I hadn't witnessed it I wouldn't speak of it.

[ Hypotheticals and metaphors are for other people who aren't Hornet. She doesn't see any point in wasting time recounting things she doesn't know to be true. ]

[aibolition]

A fair point. Though I wonder how that applies in a case where any mold is shattered to bits. There's always exceptions to these little rules everyone's coming up with.

I'm tired of bullshit psuedo scientists playing experiment, which is a shame because I'm sure there's at least one secret or bold-faced sociopath here I could find who'd kick off some real chaos in this discussion. Oh well.

[synthsized]

Thinking and feeling...

Is that truly enough? Some people believe animals can think and feel. Do they count as people, too?

[synthsized]

[Aha...ha...]

So you're taking a better safe than sorry approach.

[synthsized]

That's one way to avoid the question, sure.

[Sounds like someone's conflicted.]