Thread: Philosophical Survey

lol,

Originally Posted by quicksilver girl.

if they got physical, i'd scream bloody murder.

It all really depends on the situation:

If it were police, i suppose there would be more than one and i'm not going to get anywhere if it's just me trying something like resisting, so i would turn and leave. Although if it were not the police, and it seems to be something nefarious in nature, i would speak in a loud but normal voice so that others would turn there attention to me and i would proceed to inquire as to his role in authority and his purpose for such actions. If he could no provide adequate proof that either warrant him the right to tell me to do anything, and he actually seemed truly capable and willing of further hostility i would then slow down my reaction and get focused and ready to drop him to the ground and disable him from further aggressions. If their were more than one of them, i would first take in account of my surroundings and calculate my chances of coming out successful from a physical encounter with them. Provided enough objects in the vicinity and plenty obstacles i would then proceed to follow suit. If not then i may just turn and find a new path.

But for sure if they put their hands on me they would have them broken in a matter of moments. Now if they had guns, then that's a different story, if i feel real ass-holish and real dumb that day and it's something serious i'm liable to find something big like a car and clip one of their legs with it... lol picture Crank, that's how most of my fights go except for the whole guns shoot out deal, although i'm not prone to leave that out if it comes to it.

Edit: thinking it through entirely, i would first do a full assessment to see if i truly need to go through this area, the actual importance of it. In most cases it wouldn't be necessary and i would just find another way. Physical altercation would occur only in the stance of self defense or the defense of an innocent

So I'm having a hard time thinking of the best way to word what I want to ask next. It may or may not work out the way I want it to.

How much does the reaction of all the other people around affect your response? How does your response differ if they act fearful towards you? Fearful towards the aggressors? If they ignore the situation entirely?



And the last question is, what do you believe my intention is in asking the questions in this thread? How much did your perception of my intention affect your answer(s)?

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

How much did your perception of my intention affect your answer(s)?

Completely?

Hmm...I assumed people were going on with their business, completely indifferent. If people were acting fearful toward me, my first thought would be, "oh, crap." At that point, I'd likely give up and hope the jury found me innocent. If they weren't doing a damn thing, I'd maybe assume that this was a fairly routine occurrence, and nothing to panic over, and would likely leave. If the masses were ganging up against the agressor, I'd tell him to step off; if he kept coming, I'd sock him in the gut.

So, yeah, the assumed perception of others made a big difference, I'd say.

Well, I thought about it, visualized it, and I'm quite sure my response wouldn't differ at all. I would continue focusing on the aggressors completely, in a way.... it would be great if other people helped me, but I would continue relying only on my self.

Wondering about your intention didn't affect my answers at all.

Originally Posted by RequiemForADream

Completely?

You didn't even answer the questions..

Questions:

1. Not much, unless I realize there's quite a few others paying close attention to the situation. Then I would start to feel mildly uncomfortable and more alert. I pictured everyone else as being indifferent by default, though.

2. If the others around were fearful towards me? I'd be genuinely suprised considering at a glance I'm not exactly an intimidating person. Then I'd be more concerned as to why I'm being asked to leave.

3. All systems alert at that point. I'd try to prepare myself for some unpredictable outcome, and try to engage as little as possible with the aggressor by default.

4. Then my answer from before still stands. I assumed others would be indifferent anyhow.

5. A guess would be something to do with how fear affects rational judgment? The thought process involved in an unexpected situations? How to deal with strangers? Not really sure.

6. Not a whole lot; at least not in a conscious way. Honesty is key. It leads to the most accurate analysis. I tried to visualize first and interprete the purpose afterward.

I would feel that it was unjust and attempt to get past the person in anyway I could.

I would take cues from the crowd, but my basic strategy would remain the same: focus, connect, defuse the situation. If people were fleeing in terror, I would join the herd, but otherwise I would try to direct the situation rather than react.

As for your intentions, I assumed you just wanted to see what people's answers revealed about their personalities, ethics, response to authority, place in the pack...whatever. For my answer, though, I just thought about how I've responded to aggression and hostility in the past (I've had enough practice ) and tried to place myself in the situation. Like a lot of others, I did assume other people were minding their own business, because you painted the picture to suggest that the aggressor was the only element out of place.

OK so if confronted like this, my response would most likely be "My bad. I'll leave." If no one noticed, or they stared and were fearful, or even if they started showing aggression to the stranger, I'd still leave. If they were fearful of me, I really wouldn't care. It would be a little... odd to see people backing away from me and staring, but I wouldn't try to justify myself because I didn't knowingly do anything wrong to merit that.

I think you asked because you were curious, and it didn't really affect my answer at all.

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

Please describe an immediate reaction (before any change in behavior) you might have to the following scenario;


You are on foot and in transit through a public setting. It is a place that you have been to before. There are people you do not know in your general vicinity, and some of them pass close by you, but they do not readily provoke your attention.

As you pass through this place, you notice that there is at least one person who is paying close attention to you, and it is possible that they are moving towards you with intent.

They do approach you and display aggressiveness. They assert themselves as authorities and ask you to remove yourself from the local premises. You ask for a reason, and their only reaction is to move in your direction displaying hostility.

Say "It's cool man there must be some reason i can't come over here." And walk away.

Who owns the property?

Originally Posted by Laughing Man

Who owns the property?

A faceless bureaucracy. Named Tim.

How does your response differ if they act fearful towards you? It would't effect it.

Fearful towards the aggressors? I'd probably be more inclined to do what he or she says


If they ignore the situation entirely? No effect.



And the last question is, what do you believe my intention is in asking the questions in this thread? I have NO idea.

How much did your perception of my intention affect your answer(s)? 0/10

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

How much does the reaction of all the other people around affect your response? How does your response differ if they act fearful towards you? Fearful towards the aggressors? If they ignore the situation entirely?

It determines whether or not I stand my ground or "go along with it" (the aggressor's demand) in order to bring police back to the scene. If the people were fearful towards me, I would not act violently against the aggressor unless he/she made it obvious that they wanted to attack me. If they acted fearful to the aggressor (unwilling to help me), I'd leave, as I said. If they ignore the situation... I may try to make a stand.. And run if they happen to be armed, or significantly more threatening than I am (I'm not going to challenge a guy that looks like a Navy SEAL, for instance).

Originally Posted by Xaqaria

And the last question is, what do you believe my intention is in asking the questions in this thread? How much did your perception of my intention affect your answer(s)?

I believe you were either in a similar situation or imagined what your own response would be, and wanted to compare it to others. I did not consider what your intention may have been in asking this. I assumed it could be possible that you might attempt being the aggressor in real life as some sort of psychological survey of the general public.

I think that the point is to gauge people's beliefs and intuitions about the extent to which their decisions and behavior are contingent on or influenced by other people. We'd like to think that it's not very much. It is very much.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

A faceless bureaucracy. Named Tim.

Well then Tim is the only one who could tell you to get off. If this individual isn't the individual in the example or an agent of this individual then they can't say jack.

They have proof they are a police officer or other official- I continue to press why, making sure I intend to get some sort of reason, although I am still cooperating.

They seem like they are just a crazy person- I get out of their way, stay near enough to see them and call the police.