RE: Morality from the ground up
August 3, 2017 at 4:10 pm
(This post was last modified: August 3, 2017 at 4:17 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Do I require a rationale for why we care about harm? We're incapable of not caring about it. Our avoidance of harm is a brute fact. In a sense, the object of a rational morality is to consistently apply that aversion to the betterment of ourselves and our societies.
-If- we care about harm, and we do...then we should do x and avoid y. If someone else doesn't care about harm, and that happens, that does not nullify the concerns of the rest of us.
Similarly a rational morality can suggest that we -endure- the harm we seek to avoid precisely to prevent some other harm - and that;s where it breaks (but, more accurately, where -we- commonly break), and where what is natural may not be right, and what is right may not be natural.
(I did, btw, provide a comment as to why we care about harm....it's referred to as rational self interest, and our evolutionary baggage gets in the way of that all the time.)
-If- we care about harm, and we do...then we should do x and avoid y. If someone else doesn't care about harm, and that happens, that does not nullify the concerns of the rest of us.
Similarly a rational morality can suggest that we -endure- the harm we seek to avoid precisely to prevent some other harm - and that;s where it breaks (but, more accurately, where -we- commonly break), and where what is natural may not be right, and what is right may not be natural.
(I did, btw, provide a comment as to why we care about harm....it's referred to as rational self interest, and our evolutionary baggage gets in the way of that all the time.)
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
