Having been raised in the Southern Baptist tradition as a child, I remember the admonitions to avoid alcohol consumption. It was part of the moral training dispensed in any Southern Baptist church. More importantly was the good example set by our parents who quietly cautioned us against any mind-altering or behavior-altering substance whether it be alcohol or drugs. It was good advice then and now. I make no distinction between alcohol or mind-altering drugs and have never understood the appeal. 50+ years of total sobriety, no regrets.
John Wesley must be so proud
- Thread starter LDB
- Start date
Getting back to Wesleyan University and its infamous safe house for their mentally ill and sexually confused students. The students aren't the ones to blame for this PC nonsense - it's the University; they're the ones condoning and in fact encouraging these culturally deviant behavior patterns. Wonder if pedophiles and zoophiles will also be welcomed? Maybe they'll let NAMBLA sponsor a specially furnished room or plant a tree in the yard.
Antisocial does not mean the opposite of social. It means "not conforming to social standards". Hazing, binge drinking, and rape culture are antisocial activities. Except, of course, when the antisocial activities are widely engaged in by young men of some social standing - then it's just "sowing wild oats" or whatever excuses it.
I wouldn't say that fraternities serve no useful purpose, but it seems the main one is to provide member a network for later in life - another advantage successful people don't mention when explaining how hard they worked to succeed.
I wouldn't say that fraternities serve no useful purpose, but it seems the main one is to provide member a network for later in life - another advantage successful people don't mention when explaining how hard they worked to succeed.
RLENT
Veteran Expediter
Well, I suppose they could just round all them "deviants" up and burn 'em at the stake or something ...Getting back to Wesleyan University and its infamous safe house for their mentally ill and sexually confused students. The students aren't the ones to blame for this PC nonsense - it's the University; they're the ones condoning and in fact encouraging these culturally deviant behavior patterns. Wonder if pedophiles and zoophiles will also be welcomed? Maybe they'll let NAMBLA sponsor a specially furnished room or plant a tree in the yard.
There's probably a whole class of fruit cak ... errr... folks ... that would get major wood on something like that ...
Actually it does.
Which is the opposite of social.
You can keep saying it, but it won't be true because of it.
People misuse the word antisocial, just as you have. It doesn't mean not social [or friendly, or communicative], it means not exhibiting a social concern for the welfare of others. Fraternities are social in name, but quite antisocial in some of their traditions, behaviors, and their chosen recreational activities.
You can continue to say that hazing, binge drinking and rape culture [women are to blame for making men want sex, then refusing to participate, so they deserve to be overpowered] are social activities, but that won't make it true.
You can continue to say that hazing, binge drinking and rape culture [women are to blame for making men want sex, then refusing to participate, so they deserve to be overpowered] are social activities, but that won't make it true.
Alcohol is a double edged sword: it can be a blessing when used in moderation to relax, but a curse when it becomes a crutch. I can't think of an upside for illicit drugs, though - the feelings of euphoria and power are pretty short lived, while the cost is higher than the drugs could ever get one.
Social
adjective
1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations:
a social club.
2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious.
3. of, pertaining to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society:
a social event.
4. living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation:
People are social beings.
5. of or relating to human society, especially as a body divided into classes according to status:
social rank.
6. involved in many social activities:
We're so busy working, we have to be a little less social now.
7. of or relating to the life, welfare, and relations of human beings in a community:
social problems.
Antisocial
adjective
1. unwilling or unable to associate in a normal or friendly way with other people:
He's not antisocial, just shy.
2. antagonistic, hostile, or unfriendly toward others; menacing; threatening:
an antisocial act.
3. opposed or detrimental to social order or the principles on which society is constituted:
antisocial behavior.
4. Psychiatry. of or relating to a pattern of behavior in which social norms and the rights of others are persistently violated.
adjective
1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations:
a social club.
2. seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious.
3. of, pertaining to, connected with, or suited to polite or fashionable society:
a social event.
4. living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation:
People are social beings.
5. of or relating to human society, especially as a body divided into classes according to status:
social rank.
6. involved in many social activities:
We're so busy working, we have to be a little less social now.
7. of or relating to the life, welfare, and relations of human beings in a community:
social problems.
Antisocial
adjective
1. unwilling or unable to associate in a normal or friendly way with other people:
He's not antisocial, just shy.
2. antagonistic, hostile, or unfriendly toward others; menacing; threatening:
an antisocial act.
3. opposed or detrimental to social order or the principles on which society is constituted:
antisocial behavior.
4. Psychiatry. of or relating to a pattern of behavior in which social norms and the rights of others are persistently violated.
No exhibiting a social concern for the welfare of others? Where do you come up with this stuff? I haven't misused the word at all, I've used it the same exact way it's defined in the dictionary. Granted, I only looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary, and double-checked it at dictionary.com. I admit I didn't check the New Liberal's Dictionary for Redefining Crap, but I'd be surprised if it's not in there, too.
The instant I saw "exhibiting a social concern for the welfare of others" I realized what you'd done. You're taking the term "prosocial" and its definition (exhibiting a social concern for the welfare of others) and then jumping to "antisocial" as being the opposite, using the same definition with a "not" in front of it.
The terms "antisocial" and "prosocial" have very different word origins, which can't happen if they are antonyms of each other. However, "social" and "antisocial" are, in fact, antomyms of each other, and not coincidentally both have the same word origins.
"Prosocial" is an invented word born in the 1970s out of the new field of sociobiology developed by Edward Wilson. Wilson's sociobiology examined the social behaviors of organisms as motivated by their biology. Wilson and others have documented examples of “helping” in several animal species, supporting the notion that prosocial behavior is genetically predisposed. He didn't invent the term to mean the opposite of "antisocial," since the word "social" already existed for that. He invented "prosocial" to specifically mean exhibiting a social concern for the welfare of others, but more specifically, in the precise context of "characterized by helping that does not benefit the helper."
E.O Wilson has several books published, all of them fascinating. His book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis caused a real feces storm when it came out in 1975. It brought Darwinian evolutionary biology into the the mechanisms of social evolution and social behaviors, showing that some social behaviors are hard coded in the DNA, so to speak. The book and it's notions were immediately lambasted by, like, everybody, as being a load of crap (the religious crowd literally crapped themselves over it - reducing humans to that of mere animals? Preposterous! ). His notions have since been proved correct.
Another book of his, On Human Nature (which won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize, by the way), explains how different characteristics of humans and society can be explained from the point of view of evolution. He explains how evolution has left its traces on the characteristics which are the specialty of human species like generosity, self-sacrifice, worship and the use of sex for pleasure. The book is successfully completes the Darwinian revolution by bringing biological thought into social sciences and humanities. It and the other book mentioned above are two books which I cannot recommend highly enough. If you want to really understand humans and human nature, and how social behaviors work (and can be predicted), they're must-reads.
That's not true even using your own special definition of antisocial.
I've never once said that.
Apparently, the rise of "social media" has given legitimacy to the way the original term 'antisocial' was misused. It used to mean detrimental to social order, but people thought it meant [and used it as] meaning unfriendly, or just withdrawn. Not wanting social contact, rather than disdaining the rules for living in a society of people.
Having been a 'bookworm' my whole life, I was often accused of being antisocial, because people didn't know what it actually meant. I guess the definition has changed to accommodate the general perception, but I use it as originally intended. Binge drinking, hazing, and rape culture are inherently antisocial activities, largely engaged in by groups of men. Whatever else they do doesn't make that ok, IMO.
Having been a 'bookworm' my whole life, I was often accused of being antisocial, because people didn't know what it actually meant. I guess the definition has changed to accommodate the general perception, but I use it as originally intended. Binge drinking, hazing, and rape culture are inherently antisocial activities, largely engaged in by groups of men. Whatever else they do doesn't make that ok, IMO.
I don't do social media, so I can't say one way or the other, but the original term 'antisocial' was created specifically to be the opposite of 'social'. Leo posted the definitions of both.
It has never meant that.
The word origin of 'social' is from the mid-1500s and comes from the Latin socialis (soci -meaning "us, comrades, partners," and alis - meaning "all"). It was originally used, just as it is today, to mean exactly what Leo posted above.
The word origin of "antisocial' is exactly the same as "social' except the prefix "anti" from the Latin, Greek and Sanskrit for "opposite of" or "against" was added in the 1700s to denote the opposite of social. It was used then as it is today to mean the opposite of social.
The word origin of Prosocial is from the 1970s and was coined from "pro" (advocate for or in favor of) + social to mean, specifically, what I typed in my previous post, so I'm not gonna type it again. It has never meant anything outside of the context of sociobology in helping others without benefiting the helper.
That's one of the definitions yes. Did you not read Leo's post? It contains a wealth of information about both social and antisocial. It's fascinating reading. Seriously. Very educational.
It generally means both of those things, as they are not mutually exclusive, and are often one in the same for those who are antisocial.
They knew. It meant the opposite of social. People who are social like to be social, and associate in a social setting. People who are antisocial like to do the exact opposite, like sitting there by themselves and reading a book instead of interacting with others.
Being the bookworm you are, you really should check out EO Wilson's books.
No you don't. You keep using it to mean the opposite or prosocial, which is incorrect usage. We're circling now.
You keep saying it like if you say it enough times it'll magically be correct. It won't. Binge drinking, if done in a social setting, is by definition a social activity, as is anything else done in a social setting. Because the explicit purpose of hazing is to initiate someone into a social group, it absolutely positively cannot be inherently or in any other manner an antisocial activity. Rape culture... don't make me come back there and explain what "culture" means in relation to "social." Culture is defined in part as the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies. That's the exact opposite of antisocial.
Clearly, you didn't spent a lot of time in sorority houses in college. They can binge drink like fish, and sometimes the hazing would make men blush.
It should come as no surprise that according to today's pop culture, "social media" - by consensus of its illiterate and ignorant participants - thinks it can redefine the English language. Is this "New English" similar to the "New Math", a form of communication where words and phrases can mean anything anyone wants them to mean? Maybe we're witnessing the transition from ebonics to a yet unnamed social media language to outright babble.
These social groups of college girls, and even high school girls for that matter can be vicious. They would be especially so in elite colleges like Wesleyan U. where wealthy and influential parents send their spoiled brats for a so-called liberal education. See how well the kids fit in socially who are middle or upper middle class students and are there on scholarships because they're just plain smart.
Hello; this forum is social media. l don't get your point, Pilgrim. (never thought l'd call someone pilgrim.)
dude u betr ck out #TwitterHello; this forum is social media. l don't get your point, Pilgrim. (never thought l'd call someone pilgrim.)