This meetup consists of quotes I either read or heard somewhere.
What do they mean/imply?
Is there a hidden meaning behind each?
We will attempt to explain them and perhaps then challenge them. If our understanding of each differs from person to person, so much the better. Discussing the differences may open new windows of understanding. We will need to give examples from life to justify our understanding and/or interpretation.
After the quotes I write a few questions to facilitate our approach. However, the questions need not be the focus of our approach.
Note: I decided not to mention the source of the quotes as this might prejudice our acceptance and interpretation of them. It doesn't matter who said/wrote them. The focus should not be on the person but on the quotes and their meaning. Please resist looking them up.
There are no links to read or listen to. Therefore we all need to spend some time considering the meanings in preparation for the discussion.
1. 'You can't make a mistake if you have no choice'.
How often do we have no choice for this quote to be significant? And is it true that when we don't have a choice we can't make a mistake? Refer to cases you are familiar with. How does any truth in the quote affect or should affect the way we deal with crime?
2. 'Jazz has parameters and in between improvisations'.
Apart from jazz, does this apply to life? If yes, explain how. If not, say why? If may be easier to say what the parameters in life are, but what about the improvisations? Which among these are acceptable?
3. At the end of a trial
- Congratulations! Justice was done.
- No, right was done.
What's the difference? Can justice be done outside a court? Can right be done outside a court?
4. 'Humans are the most intelligent and at the same time worst of all animals'.
Is this true? If yes, what does it imply about intelligence and the way we value it? Do we do so at the expense of other values? What are the consequences of this?
5. 'We didn't like our reaction to it (a film) because we found ourselves empathising with this man (a paedophile) and we didn't like that'.
This is from a group of ladies who were asked to rate the film.
What do you think of their reaction and of the way paedophiles are viewed? Do you think a film like that should be made at all?
6. 'You should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly'.
How does being in the dark help us see more clearly? Or does it?
If we have time, I will read out a few more quotes to discuss. It will be interesting to see how we cope with them unprepared.
