“The Australian man accused of killing 51 people and wounding dozens more as they worshiped at two mosques in New Zealand in March pleaded not guilty to scores of counts — including murder and a terrorism charge — in a brief court hearing on Friday.” (NYT). Note: bold markings in quote by LO.
His “not guilty” plea makes perfect sense for someone who holds extreme beliefs. Most likely, he would have answered “yes” to questions whether he is accountantable and/or responsible for his act. A “no” answer would be deemed as betrayal to the cause of white supremacy, which is an example of Philosophy as one of the 7 Belief systems.
This guy believes in his act of murdering muslims, similar to Islam terrorists murdering Christians and Jews, whom they even consider as “non-believers”. His logic probably runs like this: if you follow a (good) cause then your acts are always right, and you cannot be guilty in courts of law.
A similar principle – more or less – applies to wars: the winners are (often) considered the good guys, while the losers are deemed to be criminals, insurgents, rebels and/or terrorists. In other words: the winner takes it all (lyrics, video).
His absence of feeling guilt will – most likely – extend to a lack of shame, regret and remorse. The contrary is probably true: he would do it again, feels joy, and is proud of his act. His only solution is to reach the 4th stage of Awakening and losing his beliefs.
However, losing your beliefs is far from easy. It requires a crisis of faith (eg, a burnout). Please have a look at my concept of Faith > Beliefs > Willpower (eg, my 2016 blog).
After a recent blog, I’ve been wondering whether there is also an Arrow in my concept of Needs > Wants > Beliefs & Awakening, similar to Time (past ==> future) and Evolution (simplicity ==> complexity).
I am still hesitant – and even reluctant – to accept this thought, largely following a diagram in my 6 March 2018 blog (see left).
Any arrow in Needs-Wants-Beliefs & Awakening is always temporary following the arrival of new generations who make the same “mistakes” again. Hence, the arrows become a circle and history keeps on repeating itself.
A long and short quote from The Life of Reason (1905) by George Santayana (1863-1952), American/Spanish philosopher:
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the first stage of life the mind is frivolous and easily distracted, it misses progress by failing in consecutiveness and persistence. This is the condition of children and barbarians, in which instinct has learned nothing from experience.”
History Repeating (1997) by the Propellerheads featuring Shirley Bassey
artist, artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2, Wiki-3
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise.
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