- Joined
- Feb 7, 2021
If there is anything we can take away from this thread, it is that the based-cringe dichotomy is a fluid, non-static prescription used to judge actions, and is relative to the individual/group casting the judgement. This should be intuitively obvious to anyone in online fringe political circles. Radlibs/breadtubers will call mass immigration based, and inversely, the alt-right cringe. And vice-versa for immigration restriction.So I started typing up something about whether or not n act or an object can be intrinsically based or cringe, from my own perspective as a lukewarm deontologist. However, while drafting it out, I realized I was getting on to, like, five paragraphs of sheer autism, which given the shitpost nature of the GD forum, is in itself quite cringe. In accordance with the categorical imperative to act in a based manner, I shall instead present a brief outline of my current position vis-a-vis the question of intrinsic basedness:
- For a given act or object (x), I believe the condition of basedness and not-basedness (cringe) to be extrinsic to x itself.
- The basedness of x is derived, not from the inseparable qualities of x, but from a set of rules delineating that which is based from that which is cringe.
- I believe that the basedness of x can be analyzed objectively, in the sense that - for a given a set of rules delineating that which is based from that which is cringe, we might evaluate whether x satisfies those rules.
- However, in regards to the moral dimension of basedness, where we assume that "the based" is synonymous with "the good", I tend to agree with GE Moore in that "the based" would an emotive judgement and indefinable. (is the based the good? Is the cringe the bad? How can we resolve things when, for example, a soyboy would define "the woke" (i.e. "the cringe") as the good, and "the based" as "the cringe" (or the bad)? I am not a moral relativist, but I must admit, as a non-philosophy major myself, it is a complex question that I may be unequipped to fully answer.)
As for the question, "is getting AIDS based or cringe?", I think the most obvious answer is cringe. I think a case can be made that AIDS itself can be based, in the sense that AIDS - actually, shit, you know what? Hang on. Let me just finish this point - AIDS itself can be based, in the sense that AIDS can, and most often does, fulfill a set rules delineating that which is based from that which is cringe. i.e. killing troons is based, AIDS kills troons, ergo AIDS is based.
Now, I was about to say that getting AIDS is cringe, on the grounds that the act of getting AIDS almost always involves actions that fulfill a set of criteria for cringe. While there may be certain rare outlier actions (again, I maintain that basedness is extrinsic to the act; each act much be evaluated for basedness on its own), the majority of actions proximate to AIDS contraction (or more specifically, proximate to HIV contraction) are cringefests like sharing needles, getting blood transfusions, and buttsex in a San Francisco bathhouse.
However, as I'm writing about AIDS itself being based, it dawns on me that getting AIDS might be a really elegant case of consequentialism vs non-consequentialism. After all, while the virtues underlying the acts which precipitate AIDS are mostly cringe (sinning against God is cringe, getting pozloaded is a sin, ergo getting pozloaded is cringe), the consequences of getting AIDS tend to be based (they are not universally based, as for example, the need to increase taxes or insurance prices in order to offset the costs of AIDS medication, which is cringe and even cucked, but I think of the balance it's fair to say they are based).
I guess the answer will hinge on how you construct your Theory of Basedness. Are you a utilitarian? A virtue-ethicist? In order to evaluate the basedness of getting AIDS, we'd need to settle this first (or at least be clear on what Theory of Basedness we are using in any given post; as per my earlier points regarding intrinsicity above, it may be fruitless to seek a universal answer. If we have different sets of rules delineating that which is based from that which is cringe, then each set of rules may have it's own distinct answer).
With this in mind, it should be an obvious revelation that the based-cringe dichotomy as a tool of measurement exists exclusively in the political realm of competing groups. And therefore, based-cringe is less an objective moral-ethical delineation of actions in isolation and more a simple political mechanic used by both the far-left and far-right to enforce their dogma from within and maintain cohesion.
Other than that, good post.
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