RE: Does the positive side of tribalism/racism outshine the negative side?
August 12, 2020 at 11:03 am
An instrumental good can be and very often is a moral evil. That's the essence of the OP q.
We're compromised, but not completely incapable. In the same way that we can acknowledge an instance in which we have knowingly and willingly done a bad thing for some desired end, we can decide that the instrumental good would certainly work...but carrying it out would be unacceptable.
We could eradicate hereditary disease by eradicating the populations which carry it. We can solve our labor problems through slavery. Only after satisfying ourselves of somethings efficacy and necessity do we know what we're weighing against it's moral nature. Both of the above fail by necessity, and personally...I don't think that they get to stage three if they've already failed at stage two. The final analysis is entirely one sided. The moral weight of evil is at least present, and often immense.....the instrumental weight is zero. They may work, but other things do the same job without the moral baggage, and the entire point of the comparison is to help us pick the least bad option, at least.
A compromised agency navigating exclusively sub-optimal decision fields.
We're compromised, but not completely incapable. In the same way that we can acknowledge an instance in which we have knowingly and willingly done a bad thing for some desired end, we can decide that the instrumental good would certainly work...but carrying it out would be unacceptable.
We could eradicate hereditary disease by eradicating the populations which carry it. We can solve our labor problems through slavery. Only after satisfying ourselves of somethings efficacy and necessity do we know what we're weighing against it's moral nature. Both of the above fail by necessity, and personally...I don't think that they get to stage three if they've already failed at stage two. The final analysis is entirely one sided. The moral weight of evil is at least present, and often immense.....the instrumental weight is zero. They may work, but other things do the same job without the moral baggage, and the entire point of the comparison is to help us pick the least bad option, at least.
A compromised agency navigating exclusively sub-optimal decision fields.
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!
