• Elliot Temple
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I am an American, atheist, libertarian, and philosopher. I like William Godwin, Karl Popper, David Deutsch, Richard Feynman, Ayn Rand, and Edmund Burke.

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Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is a heavily criticized fault.

But should it be? Why do the personal attributes of the speaker matter to what he's saying? The truth of a statement is independent of its speaker.

Consider what avoiding hypocrisy means for a man. It means never to advocate for ideas that are better than himself. It means never to reach beyond himself -- or at least never to admit doing so. The hypocrit is the man who imagines a better world, and says people should be like that, before he has fully attained it himself. All good men must be either frequent hypocrits, or frequently silent.
Elliot Temple at 10:27 PM on May 29, 2009 | Permalink

Comments

Intention makes a difference

If the speaker is advocating an idea that applies to himself, but has no intention of implementing it... then either he's knowingly advocating a bad idea, or he's knowingly not improving himself. Both are faults.

- Richard
Anonymous at 1:02 PM on June 2, 2009 | Permalink

Re: Intention makes a difference

"No intention of implementing it" is not what constitutes hypocrisy. "Has never implemented it in the past" is. Although I agree with your comment, it is not directly applicable to the matter of hypocrisy.

- Rihatsu
Anonymous at 6:18 AM on June 5, 2009 | Permalink
Is it right for a person to drive a car while wearing this T-Shirt?
http://www.newint.com.au/shop/no-fuel-tank-t-shirt-1670.htm

The car improves this person's life and allows him to do things he couldn't do without one, yet he thinks the ideal is something else than what makes his life good right now.

I liked Atlas Shrugged and I learned a lot with Ayn Rand, but I thought twice before getting myself a T-shirt with the John Galt oath. I can say I live for myself, but I asked others to live for me. Benefits allowed me to be a full time mother and it was a national healthcare system that paid for my son's medical care. People that resent paying taxes think we deserve to die, but I don't see what is selfish about giving them the pleasure.
Anonymous at 1:42 AM on July 11, 2009 | Permalink
> People that resent paying taxes think we deserve to die

People who resent paying taxes think that taxes are inefficient, both in wasting some significant portion of the money taken in, and in taking the wrong amount of money from some people.

No one wants you to die. They want private companies to give you better medical care, cheaper, and for you to be richer.
Elliot at 9:11 AM on July 11, 2009 | Permalink
You think I deserve to die because I don't work.

Free is better than cheap. Nothing was inefficient about my son's treatment. You simply don't want to pay for it.
Anonymous at 1:46 AM on July 14, 2009 | Permalink
I think people who don't want to work should *persuade* others to support them, and not *force* anyone.
Elliot at 7:02 AM on July 14, 2009 | Permalink
I didn't force anyone. If the goverment was supporting me, it's because many people wanted me to be supported, many people thought it was a good idea, and through the a democratic goverment they did just so.

Of course now people don't want to support us anymore, thanks to people like you persuading them that paying taxes is the same as being robbed at gunpoint.
Anonymous at 1:55 AM on July 15, 2009 | Permalink

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