RE: Maximizing Moral Virtue
June 26, 2022 at 12:08 pm
(This post was last modified: June 26, 2022 at 12:22 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Is there any such thing? Some people think so. I like turtles. Delicious - especially softshells - I absolutely will stop if I run one over. I'm accustomed to cleaning turtles - a brutal method - all you need are needle nose pliers and a bolo - the turtles are commonly uncooperative. I enjoy trapping them and flushing them out, and I tend not to feel guilty about eating them. I still knew it was wrong to eat softshell turtles growing up. They ended up getting delisted (or listed as of least concern) due, in part, to conservation efforts and regulations. They're still protected seasonally. Outside of those issues - it's fine to eat them now and every time I go back to visit there's turtle soup. So, what happened? My personal feelings, my individual tastes and preferences, my general disposition hasn't changed. The state of their population changed. Objective moral values aren't quite as complicated - or near as impressive..as alot of people have in mind when considering them. I think it's difficult to conceive of a more egregious and demonstrable harm to any creature than it's extermination as a species. If you can harm a creature - if harm is a thing - then it definitely includes that, at least.
Hilariously - midway through typing this out I had to run out onto my steamy ass driveway to beat a snake to death for my youngest son. I appreciate snakes-but I don't like them. It was a harmless snake. Ish. Longer than he is tall. Been playin snake along time. Second one this year. I didn't do a good thing, I did a bad thing to rid a barefoot kid of a specific fear. If I were maximizing moral virtue we'd have relocated into the woodlot beyond the fenceline. In fact, despite both me and my child beating the ever living shit out of that snake, we'll both be able to tell you that there were better - more moral ways- to handle that situation.
-It just wouldn't help with the fear.
Hilariously - midway through typing this out I had to run out onto my steamy ass driveway to beat a snake to death for my youngest son. I appreciate snakes-but I don't like them. It was a harmless snake. Ish. Longer than he is tall. Been playin snake along time. Second one this year. I didn't do a good thing, I did a bad thing to rid a barefoot kid of a specific fear. If I were maximizing moral virtue we'd have relocated into the woodlot beyond the fenceline. In fact, despite both me and my child beating the ever living shit out of that snake, we'll both be able to tell you that there were better - more moral ways- to handle that situation.
-It just wouldn't help with the fear.
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