RE: Atheist/Philosopher here.
October 2, 2010 at 5:42 am
(This post was last modified: October 2, 2010 at 5:46 am by Edwardo Piet.)
I don't believe justice is really attainable. We have to make do with the lesser of many evils and that's about the best we can get the way I see it. Since I consider even punishment to the commiter of a horrible crime as a 'lesser evil', but a necessary one usually. Because: I don't believe in 'desert' (as in 'just deserts') in philosophy, since I do not believe in free will so it makes no sense whatsoever to me. No one ever really 'deserves' anything good or bad. It's just nicer to experience pleasure and not so nice to suffer. And those who cause suffering to others may need to be dealt with (preferably humanely) so they don't do so in future - desert shouldn't come into it at all in my view.
There is no justice or 'fairness' in this world ultimately, it all comes down to choosing the best option available. In practice. Practical ethics.
That's my view anyway.
The anthropic principle can answer that question. You are you because if you weren't it wouldn't be specifically you asking that question, you'd be someone else asking that question. You have to be you and not someone else because you can't be yourself and somebody else at the same time, and you have to be somebody, so why not you?
There is no justice or 'fairness' in this world ultimately, it all comes down to choosing the best option available. In practice. Practical ethics.
That's my view anyway.
(October 1, 2010 at 10:09 pm)R-e-n-n-a-t Wrote: [...] If I experience life from first person, then presumably everyone else does as well, but then why am I me?
The anthropic principle can answer that question. You are you because if you weren't it wouldn't be specifically you asking that question, you'd be someone else asking that question. You have to be you and not someone else because you can't be yourself and somebody else at the same time, and you have to be somebody, so why not you?
