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Did anyone else watch that documentary on Discovery called Wild Child?
I felt it was awesome!
It talked about feral children, and how they can/did survive, and how they're different, blah blah blah.
I thought it was awesome... and what being held in captivity does to someone, etc.
Anyways... my point is this..
do you think it's possible/feesible, to imagine that wild/feral children still exist?
Are they out there right now?
For example, once case was about 30 years ago in fact, a father, who's mother had recently died or something, decided to keep his daughter in a room, all by herself, during the say, she was kept on a potty chair, at night, she was kept on a bed. When they found her, she was 13, but uttering sounds like a newborn, couldn't walk, and had never seen anything outside the room. The only natural light that was allowed in, came from small spaces above the curtains.
Do you think people do this? to that extreme? This girl had so little contact, she spoke like a newborn... i mean.. she knew NOTHING at the age of 13. Now it is questioned whether she will ever speak....
Just wondering what others think of this...
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if the whole of happiness generated in society
was dependant upon one individual in consistant
misery.... is it worth it? is the value of happiness
that important?
this is a question once prompted in a certain
story created many years ago. if i can find it,
i'll post it.
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I knew this would get taken off topic, but on the first reply...
[img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img]
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<a href="http://pencible.tripod.com/pande/omelas.htm" target="_blank">READ -- IF YOU FEEL LIKE
TAKING THIS THREAD TO
THE LEVEL YOU MEAN</a>
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okay, wasted my time reading that, as it left me thinking WTF was that about?
I'm not trying to take this to any level...
it was mearly a question..
christ.
but now you'll probably either offer me a one word response, or no response at all.
Apparently I wasn't clear about the point of this thread...
*grumbles*
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it is very applicable to your initial post.
the story of omelas provides a very deep introspection
into ethics... even personal ethics... especially
in regards to other individuals.
the story of omelas poses several questions:
1) if you lived in omelas, would you attempt
to free the child in the cellar, keep things
as they are, or walk away from omelas?
2) is it valuable to inflict all of the suffering
onto one person (for the rest of their lives)
in order to free the rest of the people of their
suffering?
#2 is a very valid question.
if you could rid the world of all its negativity,
all of its pain, and all of its suffering -- by
putting it all on one individual, would you?
in relation to your initial post --
you asked:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#000000"><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">
1) do you think it's possible/feesible, to imagine that wild/feral children still exist?
2) Do you think people do this? to that extreme?
3) Just wondering what others think of this... </font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
of course they exist... everyone is a feral child.
it would seem that many people reading issues
about 'wild' people feel prompted to compensate
by saying how terrible it is.
but how terrible is it?
is it really legitimate to ostrasize a feral person
from conventional social structures due to the
fact that they cannot speak? cannot function
by normal means?
just like the omelas story... you are naturally
inclined to 'hope' for the 'wild' because they
are different... you feel 'sorry' for them because
they have not received the same abilities we have.
the problem i have with the implications of such
a story as omelas and your documentary is the
simple fact that we are inclined to pity based
on the emotional ploys therein.
we are all born feral.
isn't is just as inhumane to reconfigure a human's
natural motivations in exchange for this pompous,
arrogant entity we are today?
the only difference between your story and mine
lies in the fact that the 'apparent' motivations
behind leaving the child barred from human interaction
has nothing to do with saddling them with all of
the world's suffering....
or does it?
does the recognition of such 'inept' individuals
allow us to concentrate on more baser abilities
that we misuse and taint... and see them as positive?
does not the death of an individual remind you of
how precious life is, how to enjoy your time,
and how to appreciate all of the senses??
there are thousands of 'omelas monsters' out there...
that bear the brunt of suffering... so that we
may take a new perspective on our own lives....
but there are many more 'wild and feral' people
out there... that have no friggin concept of
anything i just said.
.................
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btw.... i feel sorry for you.
if you feel that you have 'wasted your time' in
reading the deeply philosophical quandry of the
omelas story... then i have no choice but to
re-evaluate some stance.
it is unfortunate that you think that.
and no, i do not have pity for your 'wild child'.
in fact, i almost become jealous.
without having known human feeling... he or she
is instantly spared a life of consistant bullshit
dished out from other people.
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Philosophical quandries *like that story* well, are... kind of a waste of time.
There's no right, no wrong, same as everything, yada yada yada...
so, feel sorry for me if you must.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#000000"><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">... then i have no choice but to
re-evaluate some stance.
</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
ermm... okay..
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#000000"><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">without having known human feeling... he or she
is instantly spared a life of consistant bullshit
dished out from other people</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>
She knows human feelings, she must, after all she is indeed, human. However, she has retained the mental state of a very young human. But instead of dealing with the constant bullshit dished from others, she must live now with a life of constant frustration that she can understand concepts, can grasp ideas, but has NO way of relaying ANY information, that she may understand, or not understand what is going on.
It's not a better life, it's a life of frustration now. Perhaps had she not been found, she would've been "better" as you call it...
but if you wanna be jelous of someone who's internaly frustrated, for the rest of their being, go for it!
[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
The whole point of this was... i was curious as to if anyone knew any other stories OF feral children, had heard folklore of such.
I had absolutely no philosophical intention with this...
I just like to hear stories...
Sorry if it sounded philosophical, it wasn't meant to be by any means.
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if she has been locked up for 13 years, how can she understand anything?
i assume she's been let out into the world, and if so, i see her learning to be 13 years behind everyone else's.
it would be like being in a foreign country where language, gestures, everything are incomprehensible. i have no doubts that she will learn to speak. eventually.
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Originally that is what I would've thought too soulfilms... however, after majoring in psychology i've learned differently, as well as they explained this on the show.
There are certain "windows" for people to learn things if you will. It seems that if these windows are missed, it can be VERY hard, impossible in some cases, for that person to learn that certain thing. Doctors have long wondered if language was one of those things. Because the brain, if not using that part, actually deteriorates and withers away in certain parts.
A person who is deficient in having interaction *like that girl* has a noticably less evolved brain, and they believe that because it has been so long since that "window" has been past it's prime that it makes it impossible for people like her, to aquire the necessary tools that are open mainly in that "window" of time.
Basically the stages of infant/childhood developement. They're a "must have" if you will for certain things to be learned... her learning cannot just be retarded by 13 years, unfortuantely it doesn't work that way.
Which is why kids like this are of such interest to doctors... extremem isolate has always fascinated, however doctors cannotdo this to humans, because of the obvious moral and ethical implications.
I find this fascinating. (the windows and what not)
There was a doctor who used his own son as an experiment...
He had his young son hang out exclusively with a young monkey... the monkey was the boys only friend, and was kept to a minimal interaction with anyone but the monkey (except for feedings, etc.)... but he put the program to a halt, when the boys learning was retarded, and he was not learning certain neccessary things. Instead the boy began chirping, and yelling like the cries of the monkey.
I love this stuff.... [img]smile.gif[/img]
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she is only faced with a deficient ability when
put into conventional society.
