Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James. A funny philosophical book with very interesting thoughts on the cascading effects of (spreading and culling asshol-ism) some of our personal, cultural and social preferences which always seems mundane.
Definition of an asshole:
Thinking like an asshole:
The man takes it as given(perhaps subconsciously or inchoately) that he is justified in allowing himself special advantages in social relations, in light of his special entitlement to them. That is, his sense of special entitlement tells him that he has no reason or insufficient reason to abide by the expectations of conduct that normally apply among moral equals.
Asshole Management:
Assholes are a given fact of life. They are fact of life we must somehow make peace with if we are to be at peace with life itself.
Aaron rejects the complete resignation of Stoics and embraces the "reasonable hope" of John Rawls.
If humanity had a body, it would have an asshole - namely, the asshole himself. Life invariably has a certain foulness, and he embodies it. All too often, fair is foul and foul is fair. Yet the witches of social life cannot foretell our fates. Social life can be fairer and less foul, if, but only if, cooperators of the world unite.
A final plea - letter to an asshole:
In their hearts even the most generous souls would be thankful for your demise. It pains to tell you that, just so many who know you will find your death relieving. There will be a quite a celebration. I imagine your do care about that. You would not like the epitaph that I would write for you, for example. Or maybe you aren't bothered. Either way, please accept my honest concern for your health and safety. One can easily pity your condition, and so I hope you change it.
Definition of an asshole:
- The asshole allows himself to enjoy special advantages and does so systematically
- The asshole does this out of an entrenched sense of entitlement
- The asshole is immunized by his sense of entitlement against the complaints of other people
Thinking like an asshole:
The man takes it as given(perhaps subconsciously or inchoately) that he is justified in allowing himself special advantages in social relations, in light of his special entitlement to them. That is, his sense of special entitlement tells him that he has no reason or insufficient reason to abide by the expectations of conduct that normally apply among moral equals.
Asshole Management:
- Don't try to change an asshole and corporate only on your terms
- Take a stand at the right time.
- Incentives - it affirms expansive entitlement (e.g., to unbound personal enrichment, even at the social cost) that create powerful incentives for thinking like an asshole.
- Under-management - It lacks a reliable system for dampening asshole profusion (e.g., the family or the rule of law is overpowered by the entitlement-based incentives)
- Destabilization - The resulting profusion of asshole undermines the cooperation needed for a capitalist systems healthy functioning, according to its own founding values (of freedom, opportunity, and general prosperity). The system, in that sense, deteriorates or degrade.
Assholes are a given fact of life. They are fact of life we must somehow make peace with if we are to be at peace with life itself.
Aaron rejects the complete resignation of Stoics and embraces the "reasonable hope" of John Rawls.
If humanity had a body, it would have an asshole - namely, the asshole himself. Life invariably has a certain foulness, and he embodies it. All too often, fair is foul and foul is fair. Yet the witches of social life cannot foretell our fates. Social life can be fairer and less foul, if, but only if, cooperators of the world unite.
A final plea - letter to an asshole:
In their hearts even the most generous souls would be thankful for your demise. It pains to tell you that, just so many who know you will find your death relieving. There will be a quite a celebration. I imagine your do care about that. You would not like the epitaph that I would write for you, for example. Or maybe you aren't bothered. Either way, please accept my honest concern for your health and safety. One can easily pity your condition, and so I hope you change it.
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