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For dante, qtns2di4 and Baldur

Posted by lee lette on 2012-July-18 10:51:46 EDT, Wednesday
In reply to Exceptionalism posted by Dante on 2012-July-17 23:00:57 EDT, Tuesday
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I see the debate about paedophilia very much the same as for religious belief such that if one is disposed to the latter then very few will be open to the possibility, seen by those with no religious belief, myself included, that they are all mistaken since they are unable to step outside of the belief system to look with a different set of eyes. Not being religious I am not sure what exactly is the barrier to seeing differently but possibly it is because the desire to believe remains such that all evidence will not be perceived without some attached value. We do know it is extremely difficult to be able to even gather a suitable amount of concrete evidence let alone look dispassionately at this.

Regarding our thinking, I think much the same applies to paedophilia since unless one is capable of removing the sexual attraction and looking at the issue from the perspective of one without such an attraction then it will probably not be possible to perceive paedophilia and all surrounding issues differently. What determines how we see issues and form our opinions will vary no doubt but is largely related to how much information we have acquired over the years, the breadth and depth of this information, and how much credence we give to such information together with our ability to make sense of it all. No doubt many here will have seen the same information that I have seen but essentially come to different conclusions just as we do in the religious context. I will grant I am not the best at framing my reasoning in a decent intellectual manner but often I will spot flaws in reasoning or in areas where such reasoning might not apply.

I know we do tend to think in a binary fashion and this is not often helpful but for the case of religious belief it is really a basic requirement. One might tolerate every religious belief - but we might feel miffed when their beliefs infringe on our liberties such as Sunday opening or the right to terminate one's life though - but it is not possible really to hold in one's mind a religious belief and a non-religious belief at the same time. It is possible to be agnostic, which I am with regard to some matters, but one has essentially to run one's life with either a religious view or a non-religious view. I think much the same applies to paedophilia and unless one is able to step outside the sexual attraction then it is as likely for a paedophile to do a 180 degree turn as it is for a religious person to suddenly abandon their religion, although fortunately that does happen quite frequently.

Because I am aware of my limitations I think you will find that many intellectual arguments and the finer points of reasoning will be wasted on me so it is probably fruitless effort although I do appreciate the attempts. Since I do myself still have such an attraction to children I am not a particularly judgemental person with regard to this issue and so I hope I do come across as courteous and respectful to the members here even if I will disagree on many points. I know there are some very intelligent people on this forum but I personally would rather see them applying their minds in other ways rather than trying to defend what I see as a faulty attraction but I will grant the possibility I am just as wrong on this issue if those here would do the same. I may be wrong in my perception of my attraction but I have come to a satisfactory resolution such that I accept this, that it might fade away completely perhaps later in life but even if it doesn't it does not and will not cause me problems or heartache since it is playing much less importance than it once did. Much of the compulsion regarding various activities are simply no longer there anymore and I can take or leave many things much like I did before I became so driven by the attraction.

Since it is unlikely that any here will be able to change my mind on these issues and I see little prospect for doing the same regarding their views it might be best not to debate too intensely since I am really here to learn more about this attraction than anything else.

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