Humanity “does not exist”? The lessons from 7/7
Compare and contrast:
1/ “ The idea that humankind has a special place in the scheme of things persists among secular thinkers. They tell us that human beings emerged by chance and insist that ‘humanity’ can inject purpose into the world. But, in a strictly naturalistic philosophy, the human species has no purpose. There are only human beings, with their conflicting impulses and goals. Using science, human beings are transforming the planet. But ‘humanity’ cannot use its growing knowledge to improve the world, for humanity does not exist.” - John Gray, ‘Humanity doesn’t exist’, New Statesman (10/02/11)
2/ ” Adrian Heili, whose intervention almost certainly helped to save the life of Danny Biddle, who lost both legs, an eye and his spleen in the Edgware Road blast, had served with the Austrian army in Kosovo. Group Captain Craig Staniforth, an RAF wing commander, smashed a window in his undamaged train, which had pulled up alongside the bombed Edgware Road carriage, and swung from the handrails to climb into the wreckage to help desperately injured survivors. He talked to John Tulloch, who had serious head injuries, telling him about his daughter’s university applications in a desperate bid to stop him going to sleep.
“Others, however, were not professionals. Events organiser Steven Desborough was being evacuated from the Aldgate train, when he turned – ‘I don’t know why’ – and climbed into the wrecked carriage. He cradled 24-year-old Carrie Taylor in the moments before she died” – Esther Addley, ‘Seven Lessons From 7/7′ - The Guardian (06/05/11)
Hume said,
May 8, 2011 at 7:51 am
Were the human beings who blew themselves up on 7/7 part of humanity? Was the RAF wing commander still part of humanity when on previous occassions he was massacring other human beings from the sky?
charliethechulo said,
May 8, 2011 at 9:08 am
Yes and yes.
Hume said,
May 8, 2011 at 9:41 am
In that case what is the contradistinction between John Gray’s text and the Guardian report above?
maxdunbar said,
May 8, 2011 at 11:10 am
The point of Charlie’s post was to illustrate the huge disconnect between the bland, overmannered and pretentious article by a pseudo-philosopher, trying to get attention by saying ‘Humanity does not exist! Ahahaha!” and the heroism and sacrifice of which every human being is capable.
The point is that humanity is more than semantics and language games and scrambling for an original thought.
SteveH said,
May 8, 2011 at 11:19 am
Cannot stand Gray.
But why use the tag fascism in relation to this article? If fascism means blowing people up then Shiraz should stand up as Fascist apologists and the USA and Britain should be upheld as the most Fascistic regimes on the planet.
jim denham said,
May 8, 2011 at 12:45 pm
” If fascism means blowing people up…”
Ehhh…who says it does?
PS are you a paciifist, Steve? (No: thought not).
sackcloth and ashes said,
May 8, 2011 at 5:32 pm
‘Was the RAF wing commander still part of humanity when on previous occassions he was massacring other human beings from the sky?’
Fuck you.
‘If fascism means blowing people up then Shiraz should stand up as Fascist apologists and the USA and Britain should be upheld as the most Fascistic regimes on the planet’.
And fuck you too.
You are both symbols of all that is contemptible in this country’s politics, in that you can’t pass even this opportunity to insult the dead by your fatuous and insulting remarks.
SteveH said,
May 8, 2011 at 8:22 pm
SackCloth and ….oh I cant be fucked to write his full title because I am so lazy and anyway I just don’t have the time said,
“in that you can’t pass even this opportunity to insult the dead”
Coming from an apologist for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands your words ring hollow (to put it mildy).
charliethechulo said,
May 8, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Coming for an apologist of clerical (Islamic) fascism, Steve, your words really count for nothing…except as the words of a filthy collaborator with, and apologist for, fascism.
sackcloth and ashes said,
May 8, 2011 at 9:13 pm
‘Coming from an apologist for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands your words ring hollow’
Oh really? Perhaps you can quote my apologias for the regime responsible for the slaughter of untold numbers in Darfur? Or maybe you can quote me on my justifications for Saddam’s barbarity in Iraq? Or perhaps you might want to quote my endorsement of Rwanda genocide denial, or even my attempts to escuse the crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese junta, the DPRK regime, and the Iranian theocrats.
Maybe you might want to point to the excuses I offered for the carnage caused in former Yugoslavia by Slobodan Milosevic, and his courtship of Greater Serb nationalism. Maybe you’d point out the justifications I made for Chechnya. Or perhaps event the serial crimes committed from 1917 to 1991, whenever totalitarian leftist cunts like yourself have seized power and inflicted state terror on millions.
Or maybe you should actually take my advice, and go and fuck yourself.
Mr Jelly Jah wobble said,
May 9, 2011 at 1:01 am
wot a laff.
lyapunov said,
May 10, 2011 at 12:28 am
john gray is waxing ironical at this point you muppet. everything in the quotes you provide about 7/7 can easily be taken as confirmation of his point – that secularism is in practice no guide to morality or behaviour and humans can behave with decency regardless.
jim denham said,
May 10, 2011 at 1:03 am
“john gray is waxing ironical at this point you muppet”…eh: don’t think so, lyap. The Thatcherite isolationist Gray’s not exactly renowned for his irony.
Mr Jelly Jah wobble said,
May 10, 2011 at 2:55 am
i see Hitchens C has a new piece up at Slate where he takes the piss out of Chomsky. You should look it up Jimbo.
maxdunbar said,
May 10, 2011 at 5:13 am
Irony’s a lovely thing, but doesn’t beat actual wit.
baldric said,
May 10, 2011 at 7:07 am
Did you see the palace kiss,did you see the fly over of our past and present humanity.One of the new ones cost 90 thousand per hour to keep in the air,how many giro!s was that .Humanity eh!,all depends how you value it it seems for,some.
jim denham said,
May 10, 2011 at 9:37 am
Thanks Mr Jelly: the Hitch article is, indeed, very good:
http://www.slate.com/id/2293541/
SteveH said,
May 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Sackcloth,
Your bile means only one thing, that for some you welcome their mass slaughter (Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan for eg) and for others you shed tears (as above). So my point stands, you are an apologist for mass slaughter, so cut the guilt trip.
ChuChuTrain,
So your enemy’s words count for nothing, ah, welcome to enlightenment values!
charliethechulo said,
May 10, 2011 at 3:34 pm
“Your bile means only one thing, that for some you welcome their mass slaughter (Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan for eg) and for others you shed tears (as above). So my point stands, you are an apologist for mass slaughter, so cut the guilt trip.”
“Welcome mass slaughter”? You are a fucking liar. Justify that statement or withdraw it NOW , you fucking lying piece of shit.
Love and Hate: A Post About 9/11 « Max Dunbar said,
September 11, 2011 at 1:35 pm
[...] is summed up with more impact and economy than I can manage by my Shiraz colleague Charlie who juxtaposed an essay excerpt from the overrated celebrity philosopher John Gray telling us that [...]