Gorgias Discussion Week #8

Respond to the following statement:

To be superior is to be better

Definitions: Superior: higher in rank, status, or quality Better: of a more excellent or effective type or quality.

If someone is superior in a certain subject then they must be better than another person since they would be superior to them. A Professional athlete is a great example of being superior. That Athlete has worked all is life to be a professional at what sport he plays. It can be baseball, football, tennis, golf, soccer, literally any sport. All of the professional athletes have worked hard to be able to get paid millions doing the thing they love. Another great example of being superior is better is anywhere you work. People who are superior at your work like your boss, supervisors, or team leaders have obviously earned that position because they have worked hard and they got noticed by a higher position in the work place. The boss is also a good example because he or she has worked hard enough to where they can own there own businesses. To be superior you have to leave your comfort zone and work as hard as you can to become better then everyone at the certain subject/activity.

"The superior man thinks only of virtue; the common man thinks only of comfort" - Unknown

Mrs. Martin wrote:Respond to the following statement:

To be superior is to be better

I'd have to disagree with this statement. As others have pointed out, there are various definitions that seem to contradict for these two terms. So, I'm just going to use my own reasoning on this one

To me, superior is a specific term whereas better is a general term. To be superior is to be of higher quality in a specific instance. To be better is to be more preferable in general.

This makes more sense when we start looking at specific examples. Like Jacob said, a professional athlete is superior in their sport. They are higher quality than an amateur or recreational prayer. Does this make them better people? I wouldn't say so. They aren't better in music, education, and most certainly not in character judging by today's athletes. We can also look at slavery, as Elijah talked about. A master is superior over his slave in money, possessions, and authority. Does that make him better? Again, no.

Ultimately, I think this is an example of a post hoc ergo propter hoc (bonus points to anyone who wants to figure out what that means .) Basically, just because one may be superior doesn't cause someone to be better. The correlation between the two terms does not equal a causation of being better simply because one is superior.

egrabrick wrote: Whether or not I agree would depend on the definitions we use. According to Merriam-Webster, superior means "better than other people." As you can see, that definition clearly states that superior and better are basically synonyms. However, according to another definition, also from Merriam-Webster, superior means "of higher rank, quality, or importance." If we use this definition, I would disagree with the statement. Just because someone has a higher rank in the military, or in the workplace, most certainly does not mean they are a better person. Oftentimes, the additional power superior people have can corrupt them. Take slavery for another example. Just because the white people were considered superior didn't make them better people. In fact, I'd say slaves were often better people than their masters. So, I would say that this statement can be interpreted as either true or false, depending on how we define the terms.[/justify]

Interesting points Elijah, I'd be inclined to agree that quite a few definitions do conflict. My question would be, then, on which side do you fall? I'm curious as to which view you hold, seeing as there is evidence for both sides. So, in your own opinion, does being superior mean being better?

Mrs. Martin wrote:Respond to the following statement:

To be superior is to be better

superior - of higher rank, quality, or importance
better - more agreeable, favorable, or commendable

I think that superior is used more professionally. When superior is used we are normally talking about someone having a superior rank in something (job/military/education...). For example take people in the medical field. Somebody who has more education/qualification like a doctor is superior to someone who does not have as much edu./qualification like a nurse. So I think that people can be superior to others. However, just because someone has more edu. does that make the better than someone else. I don't think so. So I would disagree with the statement. To be superior does not mean that you are better.

Superiority is not necessarily a bad ting, it is inly harmful when abused and used to hurt others r for excessive personal gain. Whether we like it or not, there are always those who are superior to us in some way. A commonly cited phrase is "The grass is always greener on the either side of the fence". Superior and better are in essence synonyms. Both mean to be more advanced in a positive directing. When teaching competing in the sport of equestrianism, trainers often tell riders not to feel badly about loosing because there is always a girl who has a better horse, a better trainer, more experience, more expensive tack etc etc. Whether we like/ accept it or not, if someone is superior to you in a specific skill or moral attribute, they are better in that area. Thats not to sayt hough, that they are better in bevery sense. If theres a girl who beats me at a show and is a better jumper, that doesn't mean she's better in school than me. I could be superior morally, in my charter or so many other things. Superiority is circumstantial.

Mrs. Martin wrote:Respond to the following statement:

To be superior is to be better

So looking at this statement, I was kind at first unsure of what my opinion is, then I decided to look up the definitions of of the key words, superior, and better. They are as follows:

Superior - Of great value or excellence; extraordinary, higher in rank, status, or quality.

Better - more excellently or effectively.

At looking these definitions it confused me at first, because at first glance they seem to mean the same thing. But then I noticed the definition of superior, which had a few key words, higher in rank, and status, of greater value. That got me thinking, and after thinking for a little bit I have to disagree, they are not the same thing. When looking at the words I see one main difference. The context. Yes! All you context people out there listen up, because I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY BOUT' CONTEXT. So I say that these two words have a different point of origin. If you look at the definitions I have provided, you will see that better is something that is obtained due to practice and time, while superior is a higher quality given without effort. One is natural, and given. One is obtained through effort. That is the difference. You cant interchange those two for that reason. When looking at these kind of statements it is important to identify the point of origin, the context. And with these definitions I have picked them so the terms cant be case specific. And that we are looking at the basic meaning, nothing more. So in the end I disagree for one important reason, context! I hope that makes sense! Let me know if it doesn't and I will gladly respond

egrabrick wrote:

_forsaken_secrets wrote:Definitions: Superior: higher in rank, status, or quality Better: of a more excellent or effective type or quality.

If someone is superior in a certain subject then they must be better than another person since they would be superior to them. A Professional athlete is a great example of being superior. That Athlete has worked all is life to be a professional at what sport he plays. It can be baseball, football, tennis, golf, soccer, literally any sport. All of the professional athletes have worked hard to be able to get paid millions doing the thing they love. Another great example of being superior is better is anywhere you work. People who are superior at your work like your boss, supervisors, or team leaders have obviously earned that position because they have worked hard and they got noticed by a higher position in the work place. The boss is also a good example because he or she has worked hard enough to where they can own there own businesses. To be superior you have to leave your comfort zone and work as hard as you can to become better then everyone at the certain subject/activity.

"The superior man thinks only of virtue; the common man thinks only of comfort" - Unknown

What would your opinion be in the case of slavery? Would you say that the master is better than the slave since they are viewed as superior? They would have a higher status, but would they be better?

The master would actual be better, at directing what to do. The slave is better at taking and completing orders. The Master is superior in the subject of directing people what to do. The slave is superior in taking orders. Now slavery is most commonly thought of as White people Abusing Black people. But there were some slave owners who did actually treat there slaves properly. They gave them the right supplies to complete tasks, good sleeping conditions, and even proper nutrition. My point is here people are Superior in different subjects then others. Another example of superiority, but bad out come, is the Nazis and Hitler. Hitler was superior in convincing people and directing them. He could have used these great qualities for a different subject but he didn't. Now saying all this i want to clarify to everyone that I DO NOT SUPPORT SLAVERY OR HITLER.

[quote="egrabrick"]

Hi Elijah! Interesting point here. What do you mean by better people then their masters? Are you talking about how black's had a better experience of work ethics or was better on a scale of person to person?

Mrs. Martin wrote:Respond to the following statement:

To be superior is to be better

The first thing I should probably do is define some terms.

Superior- Higher in rank, status, and or quality.

Better- Of a more excellent or effective type or quality.

So lets change up the resolution a bit. To be higher in rank is to be more excellent. Lets give some examples of a way it could be interpreted right v.s. wrong. We know that a general of an army is superior to an army private and is better than the private at what he does due to all of the training and experience the general has gone though. In this way, the resolution could serve as true, since one can be more talented and gifted in some areas than another person.
Where I believe this resolution stands wrong is if you were to compare a person to another person. Just because a general is better than the private at what he does, doesn't mean that he is a better person. We are all equal to say that we are all sinners and that no one is greater than another except God. Why? Because God and everything that He is, is perfect. Does this mean that in order to be better than someone else you have to be perfect? Perfect in strength? In humility, in love, in everything? I would say yes. And we all know that, no not one on earth is capable of being perfect, and who knows only but God and those in heaven, whether we will have perfect traits. So, in conclusion, I believe that the resolution could be agreed upon and or disagreed upon. It all depends on the circumstance.

LivvyT wrote:Superiority is not necessarily a bad ting, it is inly harmful when abused and used to hurt others r for excessive personal gain. Whether we like it or not, there are always those who are superior to us in some way. A commonly cited phrase is "The grass is always greener on the either side of the fence". Superior and better are in essence synonyms. Both mean to be more advanced in a positive directing. When teaching competing in the sport of equestrianism, trainers often tell riders not to feel badly about loosing because there is always a girl who has a better horse, a better trainer, more experience, more expensive tack etc etc. Whether we like/ accept it or not, if someone is superior to you in a specific skill or moral attribute, they are better in that area. Thats not to sayt hough, that they are better in bevery sense. If theres a girl who beats me at a show and is a better jumper, that doesn't mean she's better in school than me. I could be superior morally, in my charter or so many other things. Superiority is circumstantial.  

Interesting points Olivia! But I have one question for you.. Your examples seemed to talk about physical things, how someone can be superior/better in physical things. So my question would be, can someone ever be superior/better spiritually? or in other words, can someone be of a higher quality spiritually? Let me know if you want me to clarify

JACK ATTACK wrote:

LivvyT wrote:Superiority is not necessarily a bad ting, it is inly harmful when abused and used to hurt others r for excessive personal gain. Whether we like it or not, there are always those who are superior to us in some way. A commonly cited phrase is "The grass is always greener on the either side of the fence". Superior and better are in essence synonyms. Both mean to be more advanced in a positive directing. When teaching competing in the sport of equestrianism, trainers often tell riders not to feel badly about loosing because there is always a girl who has a better horse, a better trainer, more experience, more expensive tack etc etc. Whether we like/ accept it or not, if someone is superior to you in a specific skill or moral attribute, they are better in that area. Thats not to sayt hough, that they are better in bevery sense. If theres a girl who beats me at a show and is a better jumper, that doesn't mean she's better in school than me. I could be superior morally, in my charter or so many other things. Superiority is circumstantial.  

Interesting points Olivia! But I have one question for you.. Your examples seemed to talk about physical things, how someone can be superior/better in physical things. So my question would be, can someone ever be superior/better spiritually? or in other words, can someone be of a higher quality spiritually? Let me know if you want me to clarify

Hey Jack! Interesting question. I would say, that yes people can be superior in the realm of spiritual and characteristic maturity. Lets say two girls are faced with the same situation of the death of a parent. Girl 1 is walking closely with Jesus and is overall a mature person. She accepts the death and moves on with their life, but Girl 2 is not walking as closely with The Lord and has a significantly harder time accepting the loss, and instead of seeing this as his plan she gets angry with God and demands to know why this happened. Girl 1 is "superior" and can come along side Girl 2 and help her out. I think that superiority used correctly can actually be very helpful. Do you see what I am saying?

i would not agree with this statement. Becuase not everyone who is superior can be better. i mean look at Obama. he was the president of the united states, i would consider him superior, but was he better. No! say your cooking with a master chef. yes he is superior to you because he is the master. but you don't agree with way he is cooking his omelet and other people may prefer your omelet over his in that case he is superior bucks he is the aster chef but he is not better because you do not agree with him and your omelet is enjoyed by others more. or in a case of morals lets take a pastor. the pastor is preaching Gods word to everyone in church. telling them this telling them that but you don't exactly he is saying it. he is superior because he is the head of church but he is not better nor worse (if i might add) because thats not exactly how you would interpret whatever he may be preaching.

Lets start by defining superior. To be superior is to be higher in rank, status, or quality. I would also like to define better. Better can be defined as a more effective type or quality. So according to the definitions listed above if you are superior then yes you are better. I would even like to point out that superior is a synonym of better visa versa. Now this is all based off of google definitions of the words. Biblehub.com defines superior as Higher or greater in excellence; surpassing others in greatness, or value of an quality; greater in quality or degree. God is superior to us, thus making him (and this is a bit of an understatement here) better than us. For you to disagree with this statement, at least on a spiritual level, would be going against what hopefully we all believe in. That God is Perfect and Holy.