I read posts here that call different things, "harmful to humanity." Others call something, "good" or "bad" or "evil."
A very simple question, who gets to decide the definition of "harmful to humanity" and what is there critieria? The same for "good," "bad," and "evil?" These are not material terms. If everything is material isn't there just "is" and not these moral declarations if one is being thoroughly atheist?
Help me understand your position so I am fair and honest about the views. Thanks.
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Permalink Reply by John Major on June 15, 2012 at 2:04pm Yes, it's clearly an emotional reaction.
Permalink Reply by Unseen on June 13, 2012 at 9:55pm Ethics is tied to a culture in a certain time in a certain place and based on a human's personal and social experience. Thus, conscious is different things for different people. One person may feel bad about accidentally stepping on a worm. Another person may feel bad about not finishing off a wounded enemy soldier.
Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 13, 2012 at 10:11pm @Unseen (One can only wish --) - I assume you're referring to situational ethics - personally, I would never step on a worm, and I would administer first aid to a wounded enemy soldier, and have.
Permalink Reply by Unseen on June 13, 2012 at 10:54pm You want a pat on the head? Good boy!
No, I was referring to the fact that whenever people say ethics is based on empathy they forget that empathy isn't a cosmic constant. One person will have pangs of conscience over something (whether they should or not) and someone else won't give it a thought.
Situational ethics is a joke, isn't it? You either conform your behavior to a standard of some sort or you're just doing what you want to do, which isn't ethical behavior in any sense of the word.
Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 13, 2012 at 11:21pm Don't touch my head, you don't know me that well!
RE: "Situational ethics is a joke, isn't it? You either conform your behavior to a standard of some sort or you're just doing what you want to do, which isn't ethical behavior in any sense of the word."
No, it isn't. I will not, as mentioned above, step on a worm, but - depending on the situation (i.e., "situational ethics") - I will kill a man before I will allow him to kill me.
Much like Chewbacca, the word, "wrong," really isn't in your vocabulary, is it?
Permalink Reply by Unseen on June 13, 2012 at 11:30pm If you didn't want to kill the man for some overriding reason, you wouldn't kill him.
What do you mean "wrong" isn't in my vocabulary? I just used it in a sentence! And not just for the first time.
If you mean that I don't think anything is ever wrong, no I don't believe that. What I do believe is that nothing is ever really wrong in any kind of cosmic sense. Things are wrong in a way contingent on a time, a place, and person with a unique personal history.
Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 14, 2012 at 12:04am I think we both know I mean that YOU could be wrong, and yes, I know that that concept is not in your vocabulary.
Permalink Reply by Dogly on June 15, 2012 at 2:13pm Unseen, do you mean "conscious"? Aware? Or did you mean "conscience", that basket in which we file our chosen ethics and principles?
Permalink Reply by Unseen on June 15, 2012 at 3:13pm I meant "conscience." thanks for pointing that out. I suspect, given the context, most people probably figured that out. I know that when I read another poster making a similar mistake, I end up understanding what they intended to say.
Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 13, 2012 at 10:08pm @Lonely - RE: "how we can easily deceive it?"
I don't believe this is what you meant to say - re-read your post and re-phrase, if necessary.
Permalink Reply by thelonely on June 13, 2012 at 10:29pm @archaeopteryx
deceive or mislead as if when a human does wrong things (not moral) he knows that is wrong and not moral even though he does it intentionally.
Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on June 13, 2012 at 10:48pm I'm sorry Lonely - I think you know me well enough by now, to know that I would never make fun of you because of the language barrier (despite what "Molly" might think), but I truly do not understand what you're saying. Could you possibly rephrase and repeat?
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