thatsandwizard

thatsandwizard t1_ix77fco wrote

He lived in the warring states era, in which a very strong hitler analogue was active. For context, general Bai Qi and the great Qin he served were about equal to Nazi brutality. The Confucian school of thought was decimated, the books burnt and scholars slaughtered, every other nation eventually fell to their expansion. “Ren Tu” (Human Butcher) was the name given to Bai Qi after he killed more than a million people during the warring states period, most of whom were non-combatants and surrendered enemies if my memory serves.

In other words - Chaung-Tzu absolutely had an example of the worst we can imagine, and still held these beliefs

12

thatsandwizard t1_ix75shg wrote

Curious what field you study, as my understanding of PhD research is that it is highly personal and interest driven. Now, I do know people who chose their research based on grants (oh hey, saw-whet owls are getting extra funding, I can eat more than ramen while doing my thesis and similar stories exist) but it’s still a choice/topic of interest in the end

14