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I can, and do. "Bad actor" is a term. "Bad" is an adjective. It's like saying "apple" and "pine apple" must be the same fruit. We're smart enough to give diffe
by PieterH 11y ago
I can, and do.
"Bad actor" is a term. "Bad" is an adjective. It's like saying "apple" and "pine apple" must be the same fruit. We're smart enough to give different meanings to the same word, in different contexts.
Bad actors act in a specific way that we can observe, model, understand, and predict. This is independent of perspective. "Bad" is a moral judgement that only exists in the head of the target.
A beetle parasite of an ant colony is a "bad actor." It is not "bad."
- stefantalpalaru 11y ago> It's like saying "apple" and "pine apple" must be the same fruit. No, it's like saying that a "bad apple" is not necessarily bad.
- PieterH 11y agoIf you're making cider, then a "bad apple" is essential. I'm not making this up as I go along. Almost four years ago I wrote (http://hintjens.com/blog:18 http://hintjens.com/blog:18) "The Economics of Evil" explaining why bad actors (I used "bad guy" in that post) were necessary (so "good" overall). Nothing radical here. Predators are bad for individual prey animals yet essential for the health of the prey species. I'm curious what you are trying to argue here because while this is interesting stuff, it seems quite random.