From: Ian Glendinning (ian@psybertron.org)
Date: Mon Jan 03 2005 - 13:10:18 GMT
Ham says to Platt
I assume this is not a rhetorical question, and that you are sincere in
asking for my opinion.
Ian says
You wouldn't be the first to make that mistake.
Ian.
----- Original Message -----
From: <hampday@earthlink.net>
To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2005 7:18 AM
Subject: Re: MD Universal Moral Standards
>
> Hi Platt:
>
> > Now I know you reject the Biblical story and all things religious as
> > "moral authority." So my question to you and to preacher Edington and to
> > anyone else who considers the taking of a human life to be evil is:
"Where
> > did you ever get that idea?" After all, killing other human beings has
> > been considered acceptable moral behavior by societies for millennia.
>
> I assume this is not a rhetorical question, and that you are sincere in
> asking for my opinion.
>
> What I call 'evil' is an act that is contradictory to Essence. Because I
> understand the individual as an agent of Essence, I believe it is
generally
> wrong to take the life of any living creature. But like all existential
> morality, that principle is also relative. I'll swat a mosquito, kill a
> spider, or trap a mouse in the attic with no particular remorse, because I
> place a higher value on my personal well-being than on the lives of
insects
> and rodents which interfere with the quality of my life. Yes, this is a
> (relativistic) value judgment. However, I am an anthropocentrist. I see
> the taking of a human life as the greatest evil because I believe every
> human being is (potentially at least) a center (locus or agent) of value
> itself. It's his purpose in life; if we terminate man we destroy his
> essence-value, which ultimately is an act against ourselves.
>
> The fact that my value system "reflects Commandment #6, 'Thou shall not
> kill'', does not mean that I accept the Bible as my moral authority. I
> think most religions subscribe to the sanctity of human life, and offer
> scripture or commandments to support this tenet. Admittedly, having been
> brought up in a nominally Christian household, I was undoubtedly
influenced
> early in life by such teachings. Had I been raised in a Greek household
in
> the time of Plato or Aristotle, I would have been taught the same values.
> But if we believe in the sanctity of man, we don't need an 'authority' to
> make us behave accordingly. That's why I have a problem with so-called
> ethical philosophies designed to tell us how to live and act. By
> standardizing ethics we diminish individual freedom. And freedom, as I
see
> it, is essential to the autonomy of man and the development of his
> value-sense.
>
> > You see, Ham, although this site brings up all sorts of philosophical
> > issues, it all got started with Pirsig's "Inquiry into Morals" and his
> > metaphysics which sets out the initial premise that the universe is
> > structured morally, that is not put together by chance combinations of
> > masses and energies as scientists claim, but by " . . . the principle of
> > "rightness" which gives structure and purpose to the evolution of all
life
> > and to the evolving understanding of the universe which life has
created."
> > (Lila, 30)
>
> That's a nice thought, Platt, and it has a certain poetic ring to it. But
> if it were really true, why would men have committed atrocities throughout
> human history? Is the human being somehow "out of touch" with this moral
> world structure, or is the world structure itself defective? Possibly
man,
> unlike lesser creatures, is simply too stupid to know right from wrong.
If
> the universe was created for man, and morality was predesigned into its
> structure, what then do you think man's role is? Or do you accept the
> atheistic nihilism of your comrades here who would deny any purpose beyond
> the Lilatic "evolving understanding of the universe"? I had given you
more
> credit than that, so please don't disappoint me again!
> .
> After all, it was you who questioned my moral integrity --
>
> > God help us all
> > because in your philosophy, who is to say anything is good or evil?
>
> Essentially yours,
> Ham
>
>
>
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