RE: is procrastinating immoral ?
August 21, 2014 at 7:13 pm
(This post was last modified: August 21, 2014 at 7:16 pm by bennyboy.)
I would say that an immoral act is one which is either known to have a net negative effect, or can reasonably be expected to. The problem is that in order to determine the polarity of an effect, you need to know what goal you're talking about-- and not all people hold as "good" the same goals.
For example, some people see humanity as a disease-- a scourge on an otherwise healthy planet. In their case, death and disease among humans might represent the best net positive effect one could hope for. Others see humanity as gods incarnate-- the only animal truly capable of understanding and eventually taking care of Mother Earth. They might think we should create as many humans as possible, extending the reaches of the bell curve and increasing the chance that some genius will exist who can solve all of our technological problems.
In both cases, I'd say procrastinating as immoral. It is a failure to contribute your efforts toward achieving that goal.
However, if, as most here, you see the entire goal-choosing process arbitrary and ultimately without meaning, then it doesn't really matter what you do, or do not do, in moral terms.
For example, some people see humanity as a disease-- a scourge on an otherwise healthy planet. In their case, death and disease among humans might represent the best net positive effect one could hope for. Others see humanity as gods incarnate-- the only animal truly capable of understanding and eventually taking care of Mother Earth. They might think we should create as many humans as possible, extending the reaches of the bell curve and increasing the chance that some genius will exist who can solve all of our technological problems.
In both cases, I'd say procrastinating as immoral. It is a failure to contribute your efforts toward achieving that goal.
However, if, as most here, you see the entire goal-choosing process arbitrary and ultimately without meaning, then it doesn't really matter what you do, or do not do, in moral terms.
