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| Post Number: 201
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Pravus Angelus 
Codito Ergo Sum
Group: Members
Posts: 81
Joined: May 2002
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Posted on: Jun. 01 2002,06:46 |
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| Quote (CatKnight @ 31 May 2002,12:49) | | You are wrong. Coming from a positivist attitude, just because something is arbitrary, doesn't mean it can't be objective and correct. For example, in modern physics, many new theories seem very strange and do not coincide to with how we experience reality (p-branes, imaginary time, etc). It doesn't really matter whether the mathematical model is arbitrary or not, because if it can accurately make predictions about reality then it is correct. My whole point of this argument is to show that those people who think that September 11th was justified are whackos, and they aren't right, and that those actions can't be justified. |
Yeah but there's one very important difference between the physics example and an example of morality. Theories that may seem arbitrary can still be tested in observable reality. Since theories make testable predictions, one can determine whether those predictions are accurate or not.
This isn't the case for arbitrary moral principles...there's no way to test if they're "right" or "wrong" (since your test for "right" or "wrong" with regards to morals is based on those same arbitrary principles). The difference is you can test seemingly arbitrary theories of math of physics and determine in a very non-arbitrary way whether or not they made accurate predictions
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"Lately, the only thing keeping me from being a serial killer is my distaste for manual labor"
--Dilbert
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| Post Number: 202
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CatKnight
Jedi Republican
Group: Members
Posts: 3807
Joined: Dec. 2000
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Posted on: Jun. 01 2002,07:59 |
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In an abstract line of reasoning, there is no way to proove whether the laws for basic ethics are truly right or wrong using logic alone. In order to continue in that line of thought, faith of some sort would have to be introduced.
If you create a social-contract, that everyone should follow, that is based on mutual self interest, it shouldn't matter what society you are in, the mutual self interest should be the same and thus identical for anyone, therefore it is an absolute moral of a sort. This reasoning works for those who do not believe in a higher power.
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[url=http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/d/b/dbl125/dfa.jpg]If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful that you can possibly imagine.[/url]
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