(October 5, 2018 at 9:16 am)Mister Agenda Wrote: Society itself evolves. In societies, we have tried many, many bad ideas; and those societies that married themselves to them suffered for it, particularly when they overrode our 'moral sense' of innate understanding about things like fairness and reciprocity that even other social primates have. We don't 'cull the weak' because not only do we perceive it as unfair to kill people for things they can't help; it's a bad idea that doesn't actually promote our survival as a species. The key characteristic that's the basis of human survival is our ability to cooperate. Even ancient tribes found a use for the weak or old, finding a way to make those who could be perceived as useless, useful is part of our strength as a species. The tribe that kills off its old people as soon as they have trouble keeping up loses their wisdom. The tribe that finds a way to help them keep up knows what to do when they run into a situation that hasn't come up since 50 years ago. The tribe that finds a way to help them keep up has babysitters.
There's a reason why the 'arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice'. As time goes on, we very slowly find better ways to order our societies for the benefit of both the society and the people in it. It's frustrating trial-and-error; but the ethics and morality we've arrived at today is better overall than what prevailed 3,000 years ago, or 200 years ago. Things that used to be considered fine are now considered reprehensible. And there are things considered fine today that will be considered reprehensible in 50 or 100 or 200 years. And those people in the future will be, to at least some degree, better off for it.
I tend to agree. However, this statement appeals to objective morality; in order to say that we have a better understanding in compared to a moral ideal.
It is said that an argument is what convinces reasonable men and a proof is what it takes to convince even an unreasonable man. - Alexander Vilenkin
If I am shown my error, I will be the first to throw my books into the fire. - Martin Luther
If I am shown my error, I will be the first to throw my books into the fire. - Martin Luther