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Barlow's Principles of Adult Behaviour

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Re: Barlow's Principles of Adult Behaviour

#51
post #16

This will get down voted, but a lot of this is mostly cliff notes from things like Sermon on the Mount. We are mostly godless here on HN, so I suppose the message has to be carried via agnostic vehicles. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205-7&v... It's all kind of in there, here's a piece I like: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, an…

I'm not saying I will give Barlow a pass, but since my first awareness of him in the '80s was as one of the Grateful Dead's lyricists - to me he is a psychedelic poet. TBH I prefer Robert Hunter's GD lyrical work, but I see their drawing upon the world's wisdom traditions as a feature, not a bug, and in line with bardic practice since time immemorial.

I'd suggest "Throwing Stones" or "Estimated Prophet" as good places to get JPB's more fully digested take on judging others.

https://www.dead.net/lyricsby/John%20Barlow

Re: Barlow's Principles of Adult Behaviour

#52

> Never lie to anyone for any reason. This always makes me think of: “Are there Jews hiding nearby?” “Why yes, I’ve been hiding them for a long time, but nobody had thought to ask. I’m sorry to give them up but I cannot lie.”

How many such extreme situations do you encounter in your daily life? Most people will not face situations like these, so "never lie" is reasonable.

Re: Barlow's Principles of Adult Behaviour

#53
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel that "don't lie, just omit the truth" totally misses the point. It's "rules lawyering", not being an adult as the author seems to envision it. At least that's my reading.

"Don't lie, just omit the truth" is not even close to what I said. (It could be argued that putting words in someone's mouth is a form of lying...) If you ask me for some information that I don't want to share and I say I don't want to answer that, or it's not important, that is not lying by omission. Or lying at all. That's me protecting my privacy. Giving an incorrect or misleading answer instead would be lying.

Yes yes, you are very knowledgeable about the precise rules of what is lying and what is not. I tip my hat to you.
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