When you start studying philosophy, one of the first things you find yourself doing is asking, not just what people say, but also, why did they say it?
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What is their motive?
We all have motives.
Can we know people's motives?
It's been said "you can judge actions, but not intentions".
Still, my philosophy lectures beckon: "Ponder not what people say so much as why they say it".
I first woke to my new philosophical musings watching late-night TV.
In an old TV ad for steak knives some fool uses one of these knives to cut the top off a shoe and then uses this same knife to cut a tomato.
Hmm. I've always wanted a knife that can cut off the tops of my shoes, especially now that I'm getting taller.
Obviously that's not what I thought.
I did ponder though why the man on the ad was shouting at us at this time of night and wonder: who at 11.53pm would be motivated to buy very sharp knives that cut through people's shoes, apart from your neighbourhood Jack the Ripper?
The exercise machine ads were worse. Young and fit male and female models using this piece of junk for their first and last time.
One late night I even saw this ad for an exercise machine where all you do is sit on it and slide from side to side while you're watching TV.
It's almost like the R&D department designing these exercise machines have said: "Look, people aren't buying this 'fits neatly under your bed' line anymore, and if these lazy bums won't even go to bed at 11.53pm because they're too lazy to even turn off the TV, get up out of a chair and fall into bed, then we need to make an exercise machine where they'll think they don't have to."
Unfortunately, while I'm thinking "I'm not blowing my money on that piece of junk!", the guy on the ad shouts even louder than he's already been shouting: "And if you purchase the Be Skinny Again Machine in the next 10 minutes, we'll send you a second machine absolutely free!
Now I'm in a quandary, because two minutes ago I didn't want one of these pieces of junk - now I'm considering having two of them.
Perhaps the advertiser's motives are not complex.
Perhaps they want your money in the next 10 minutes because all bad decisions are rushed into.
But, sometimes, it's not the person speaking you need to worry about, but rather the people behind them.
Why were the GWS Giants, who only joined the comp in 2012, in the Grand Final on the weekend? In 2016 the Western Bulldogs won their first premiership in 62 years. Now that's a Grand Final!
Why did a 16-year-old pro-climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, address the United Nations last week on climate change?
She acknowledged at the beginning of her speech "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here."
So why was she?
Given the concerning links between climate change activism and socialism, could it be because the top man at the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party in Portugal (1992 to 2002) and President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005?
Why were the GWS Giants, who only joined the comp in 2012, in the Grand Final on the weekend?
In 2016 the Western Bulldogs won their first premiership in 62 years. Now that's a Grand Final!
The AFL - clearly motivated by their desire to grow the game in the huge Western Sydney populous dominated by rugby league - have been giving GWS money hand over fist.
The Giants have received favouritism in the draft and ridiculous salary cap concessions making their appearance in Saturday's Grand Final a mockery of the game and an insult to all other clubs.
I was hoping Giants' captain Phil Davis would start his post-game speech on the podium like Greta did: "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here."
So what are my motives? An honest unbiased GWS critique? Not really. GWS destroyed my Collingwood's road to glory in the preliminary final the week before. Well, we all have our motives.