Good and Evil

[Whateverist]

I feel like it's completely pointless to even attempt a discussion about morality if we concede that it has no basis in reason. All it will boil down to is "I feel this way," "I dislike that," and nothing could be more unproductive than a back and forth involving nothing but assertions that don't even carry the possibility of being assessed as correct or incorrect.

Perhaps it is like in Star Wars when Obi Wan tells Luke to consult his feeling. A moral claim amounts to a request that the other person consult their feeling. (That is why anyone who ends the request with "you asshole" is almost never successful.) No one is required to consult their feeling (empathy). We can all invite the other person to stick it in their ear instead, but what really is the alternative?

Suppose you make an airtight case why your your iron pumping prison bunkmate ought not to anally rape you. What description of "morality" best describes what is likely to happen next?

Hopefully that doesn't mean we shouldn't appeal to each other's better lights over moral matters, especially when we find them morally significant. Perhaps the only one who feels the force of our moral oughts is ourselves. Nevertheless we ought to try, whether or not we expect the other person to always be reasonable.