"What?... How DARE you not fall for my obvious scam? Do you know how difficult it is to come up with something like that?!"
I'm looking forward for an opportunity to use the phrase "...In that case, your ability to catch hidden implications seems awfully selective" as an insult.
"Dear you-don't-know-who-you-are: I gave you more credit than you, probably, deserve, and took your "lol wut?" response seriously. My detailed, reasonable, well-founded and properly sourced reply is stated below."
You are your own person not when you do everything unlike everyone else; You are your own person, when the way anyone — or everyone — is doing it is not even part of your consideration.
Radical individualism in religion: "My relationship with God is mine alone; And nobody else — including you — has any say in the matter."
What do you mean "...Because God said so"? Didn't say anything [like that] to me, he didn't.
If philosophy is an argument of logic and science is an argument of utility, then religion is an argument of comfort.
"We find such behavior unacceptable, and we shall tirelessly work to root it out — through its universal permission."
The problem with having "avoid absolutes" as a guiding principle is not having a compelling argument to explain your behavior to those, who live by another — likely, absolute — principle.
It is widely known that sleep deprivation negatively impacts one's critical thinking ability. It is also known that most traditional religions include some form of sleep deprivation as part of their practices. Which, if you think about it, sounds awfully convenient.
For avoidance if doubt, i don't think i'm smarter than everyone else, and i would really appreciate if my immediate surroundings stopped trying to prove otherwise.
I have an issue with the "raindrop and the ocean" allegory; In my opinion, rather than wanting to return to the ocean, the raindrop should strive to BECOME the ocean.
"Simon, what are you on about?..." — "Generally speaking, some of today's or yesterday's stimuli."
Freedom of choice is such a daunting thing, that many people would — and will! — happily choose to do without.
"I prefer to live someone else's life; That way, if something goes wrong, I will at least have someone to blame!"
The essence of life is change; To say someone changed yours is to deny your own agency; To insist you changed someone else's is to claim their feat as your own; And to claim there is none is to ignore the obvious.
A changed life is rather the accomplishment of the one, whose life was changed than the one, who, allegedly, changed it.
Considering how most people play video games, someone simply must make an MMO, where you play as a member of a horde of extradimensional invaders, which is going through the land with fire and sword, working to overcome an increasingly desperate and inventive opposition.