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Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 8:07 am
(This post was last modified: July 25, 2013 at 8:27 am by Magnum.)
The work of neuroscientist Sam Harris about The Science of Morality have been widely criticized. The question remains however if such objections are valid or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_morality
Considering the subjective limitations of Higher Education and normative morality, thinking outside the box might just be the way to solve the worlds problems.
I tend to agree that morality can not be subjected to the God idea.
Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.
Bertrand Russell
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.
Bertrand Russell
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 8:12 am
I notice you have a thing against higher education, as evidenced by your quote from Bertrand Russell.
I actually want to address the signature. You took it out of context, see.
The important thing to remember is that Russell didn't mean this as a general-purpose aphorism.
This comes from Russell's account of historical developments in philosophy, the part where he's describing the theories of Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715-1771).
Helvétius held that differences in intelligence - between genius and stupidity - were entirely down to differences in education (as opposed to differences in inborn capacity). Hence, if someone is stupid, in Helvetius' view, a poor education has made them that way.
Source is from Google Books, The basic writings of Bertrand Russell, 1903-1959: http://books.google.com/books?id=gO1IP81...&q&f=false
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 8:26 am
(July 25, 2013 at 8:12 am)Creed of Heresy Wrote: I notice you have a thing against higher education, as evidenced by your quote from Bertrand Russell.
I actually want to address the signature. You took it out of context, see.
The important thing to remember is that Russell didn't mean this as a general-purpose aphorism.
This comes from Russell's account of historical developments in philosophy, the part where he's describing the theories of Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715-1771).
Helvétius held that differences in intelligence - between genius and stupidity - were entirely down to differences in education (as opposed to differences in inborn capacity). Hence, if someone is stupid, in Helvetius' view, a poor education has made them that way.
Source is from Google Books, The basic writings of Bertrand Russell, 1903-1959: http://books.google.com/books?id=gO1IP81...&q&f=false Try and keep to the topic of the thread. You can take up your personal issues in a new thread.
Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.
Bertrand Russell
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.
Bertrand Russell
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 8:39 am
My personal issues, eh?
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 9:02 am
(July 25, 2013 at 8:07 am)Attie Wrote: The work of neuroscientist Sam Harris about The Science of Morality have been widely criticized. The question remains however if such objections are valid or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_of_morality
Considering the subjective limitations of Higher Education and normative morality, thinking outside the box might just be the way to solve the worlds problems.
I tend to agree that morality can not be subjected to the God idea.
I find it extremely amusing that you are the one making this post, given that a lot of its content goes against your own position.
First of all, given that study of neuroscience, psychology and sociology seem to be the basis for the science of morality - so I'd say that it sits squarely inside the box of Higher Education.
Also, the idea here is to develop a normative ethical system using science, so whatever "subjective limitations" you imagine for any normative morality, would apply here as well.
And then there is the fact that its method of resolving Hume's is-ought problem is setting the goal of morality as "maximizing welfare".
But the part I find funniest of all - the part that really cracks me up - is this bit right here.
Wikipedia Wrote:science of morality instead tentatively advocates general values (like high degrees of free speech) or rules of thumb (like the Golden Rule).
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 9:10 am
This is the thing about assumptions. There is a lot of assumptions about my opinion on education but none of you know what my opinion or my education levels are. Am I willing to go there? No!
Somehow stupid arguments pulls the rug from underneath those that so gets "cracked up" by it.
So the GR is still bullshit and moving outside the box is the way I'm happy to be. You can call me whatever you like but fact remains that I disagree!
Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.
Bertrand Russell
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.
Bertrand Russell
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 9:22 am
(July 25, 2013 at 9:10 am)Attie Wrote: This is the thing about assumptions. There is a lot of assumptions about my opinion on education but none of you know what my opinion or my education levels are. Am I willing to go there? No!
If your signature quote happens to say that men are made stupid by education, then anyone's view on your opinion of educations is not an assumption but a reasonable deduction.
(July 25, 2013 at 9:10 am)Attie Wrote: Somehow stupid arguments pulls the rug from underneath those that so gets "cracked up" by it.
So the GR is still bullshit and moving outside the box is the way I'm happy to be. You can call me whatever you like but fact remains that I disagree!
So, you think the golden rule is bullshit and yet you post an article about something that advocates the golden rule. Am I the only one sensing stupidity here?
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 9:29 am
(July 25, 2013 at 9:22 am)genkaus Wrote: (July 25, 2013 at 9:10 am)Attie Wrote: This is the thing about assumptions. There is a lot of assumptions about my opinion on education but none of you know what my opinion or my education levels are. Am I willing to go there? No!
If your signature quote happens to say that men are made stupid by education, then anyone's view on your opinion of educations is not an assumption but a reasonable deduction.
(July 25, 2013 at 9:10 am)Attie Wrote: Somehow stupid arguments pulls the rug from underneath those that so gets "cracked up" by it.
So the GR is still bullshit and moving outside the box is the way I'm happy to be. You can call me whatever you like but fact remains that I disagree!
So, you think the golden rule is bullshit and yet you post an article about something that advocates the golden rule. Am I the only one sensing stupidity here? Sure you're the one sensing stupidity, but there could be many more like you. It does make your sensing any more or less valid if you keep missing the point of the argument.
Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.
Bertrand Russell
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.
Bertrand Russell
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 9:43 am
Actually that makes two so far that have deduced from your signature and also things you have said in other threads that you seem to have beef with higher education. That's just that I know of, and if I look through those threads a bit closer, that number will probably be higher.
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RE: Scientific Morality! It's about time!
July 25, 2013 at 10:19 am
Everything I needed to know about life I learned on Dagobah.
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