4 ms·
> living in captivity That's a big leap, and you've given no explanation for it. Perhaps we have different understandings of what captivity means, so it'd be
by xapata 6y ago
> living in captivity
That's a big leap, and you've given no explanation for it. Perhaps we have different understandings of what captivity means, so it'd be helpful if you define your terms. To me, captivity is a location (or metaphorical location, so a situation) you want to leave, but can't. In the article, the narrator does not indicate a desire to leave, or any difficulty doing so if they wished. The bit about being recorded hints at it, but we'd have to assume there are no other cities in the world, or some other unstated bit about a police state.
- godelski 6y agoMy cat almost never wants to go outside. She also isn't allowed outside. So is she captive or not? What if I let her out? She's still my pet and while I love her, she's captive. I'm not sure it would be different if she was an outdoor cat except her life expectancy would drop. Would you not define my cat (a pet) as captive?
- xapata 6y agoFor most pet cats, no. In my own experience with a pet cat, if he really wanted to run away, he could have. The opposite would happen. He'd sneak out when we weren't paying attention and then we'd accidentally lock him outside. We'd eventually hear the meowing and let him back in.
- godelski 6y agoI find this odd, because despite my cat wanting to live inside, I find it very clear that she is a pet living in captivity. The fact she wants to live inside seems something more akin to stockholm syndrome or apathy. I think the difference is when it is humans we consider this kind of thing to be more Hukley-esk. My cat doesn't really have free will if I make her think she can go outside but I just give her that impression when she doesn't want to (good tactic to keep them from running out all the time btw. But why it is a good tactic is kinda the heart of this discussion).
- xapata 6y agoI have a dog right now. He enjoys my company. I don't think he's a captive. I love him, he loves me. I let him off leash and he generally stays nearby. Am I a captive of my wife? I don't think so. Are children captives of their parents? I wouldn't use that word to describe the relationship.
- godelski 6y agoI think it is fuzzy. How do we define this line? Cults will often confine people to a location until they have been sufficiently brainwashed. At which point they will let them loose, often used to gain more followers. Are these people captive? But maybe using captive in only a pejorative sense is the problem. I don't think my cat hates me (quite the opposite!), rather she follows me around like a puppy dog and is clearly excited when I get home. But it is difficult for me to conclude that she is free. I really think the term is fuzzy and the boundaries are not clearly defined. If that is true, then hyperbole can be useful for us to question and refine that boundary. Questioning if we ourselves are captive when we don't realize it. After all, that's what Huxley portrayed. I don't think people in his story would consider themselves captive, but outsiders would. We could say the same about cults or certain followings. To one faith may be shackles and to another it may be liberating. The boundary isn't clear.
- xapata 6y agoExactly. I'd use a different term than captive in this case. The situation isn't as extreme as for a cult member.
- godelski 6y agoBut you'd agree that your dog isn't "free," right? At least not in the sense that you are. I think it is reasonable to consider domestication a form of capture. And are you sure your dog doesn't have Stockholm syndrome?
- 6y ago
- pmiller2 6y agoMy dog is not a captive, either. I can leave my door wide open, and she won't even try to leave.