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normality is measured by majority? on Vegan Forum

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WarChild

AndyBa wrote: MomoPeach, vegans aren't normal because they are pioneering a new level of human morale... and normality is measured by majority i.e. by the crowd. Not all vegans are vegans for ethical reasons. I would also argue that normality is measured by majority.

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AndyBa

WarChild wrote: AndyBa wrote: MomoPeach, vegans aren't normal because they are pioneering a new level of human morale... and normality is measured by majority i.e. by the crowd. Not all vegans are vegans for ethical reasons. I would also argue that normality is measured by majority. I agree about not all vegans being vegans for ethical reasons. But I would also argue about normality. In an isolated society, a country or a city for example, normality is judged by the majority, imho. May be I'm wrong, can you give an example where this is not true?

WarChild

AndyBa wrote: But I would also argue about normality. In an isolated society, a country or a city for example, normality is judged by the majority, imho. May be I'm wrong, can you give an example where this is not true? Normality is judged by following or breaking some rules. Official (laws) or not (some common-sense moral rules). A citizen is considered "normal" if he's not dangerous for the ones who rule.

AndyBa

I think you are mistaking normality with sanity here. And in spite of this I would like to point out that you used the words, common-sense - which implies the majority.

WarChild

AndyBa wrote: And in spite of this I would like to point out that you used the words, common-sense - which implies the majority. I disagree. Common-sense implies a subjective point of view.

BigBecka

Interesting... :) In the scientific/mathematical sense, normal refers to the normal probability distribution. This includes 99% of the population, which isn't particularly helpful. I guess when people talk about what's 'normal' in society, they're talking about the average point of view. However, the average will vary depending on your sampling population. So, if you live in a population who are vegan, that is the average behaviour and it's "normal." If you live in a popuation who are inbred axe-weilding mass murderers with blue noses, that is normal. It depends entirely on who and where you are. (Though Warchild has a point - a version of normality is often imposed by those who rule, which must be confusing for the mass murderers) I don't have a suitably nerdy definition of Common, I'm afraid 8) Though in my experience, common sense is often used to describe reactions that are intuitive and practical, rather than mathematically or scientifically based. For example, on a building site, most of the workers may not bother wearing their safety equipment, but it would still be common sense to make sure you wear yours. Or have I been programmed to think that? [Pause to feel exceptionally paranoid] :wink: I'm off to raid the fridge...

WarChild

I would say common-sence is an NLP trick :) Like freedom, democracy, god, religion. People are made to believe this and to think it is normal to believe because other people believe too.

AndyBa

:) What does the word "Common" mean then? Here are some synonyms: social, public Like common knowledge - is something known by majority. Common sense - is a subjective view generally accepted by majority. ;)