The Problem of Evil and the Free Will Defense

[bennyboy]

I'd disagree massively here. I'd say it [sex] can provide a lifetime of pleasure. Of all of the ways we have come up with for stimulating the pleasure centres of the brain its one of the least dangerous compared to drugs / alcohol etc.

Individuals often make this argument, but I think if you look at society as a whole, much of the suffering, much of the anger, much of the loss of life, of motivation, etc. is related to sex. People often start off seeking simple pleasure, and end up getting tied to situations which are damaging to their progress in other aspects of life.

You've ignored a very important alternative: acting on ideas, and NOT choosing to seek activities that stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain.

I'm not saying it's WRONG in an absolute sense to seek pleasure: however, I think to form actions on ideas and values is better.

Also you conflated fixation on food, possessions and power with sex. How is that even valid?

They all involve the satisfaction of instinctive desires without regard to the effects of gluttony on health (the biological purpose of eating), or the effects of a disproporionate interest in sex on other aspects of life that are more important.

No squeaking here. The trouble with taking a view on biblical morality is that it is totally unacceptable in the modern world. If you attempted to follow biblical morality in any country in the Western World you would find yourself in prison. The only way to look at them would be as the random whims of God. Even the most benign commands are morally neutral, for example, why is it morally more acceptable to eat a steak than a pork chop?

The definition of what actions are pragmatic has changed a lot. I've heard that pork and shrimp are more dangerous when spoiled, and that this "commandment" represented awareness of that fact.

I'm not here to defend all Biblical expressions of morality. The 7 Deadly Sins are actually not in the Bible-- I think they're an invention of the Catholics. However, if you take out the God mythology and look at the nature of many of the commandments, I think you'll find that many of them involve messages that are sensible (not absolute) takes on morality:
-we are all part of a bigger whole, and are not more important than others.
-instinctive actions have purposes, and avoiding those purposes while carrying out the acts is likely to lead to discomfort later

Look at gluttony. A person can get a lot of repeated pleasure from eating many times a day. It is understandable how people get overweight-- it feels good to eat, so they eat and eat. However, the activity is based on a moral weakness-- the inability of the person to disengage from the pleasure/behavior cycle and to make decisions based on more worthy ideas than "mmmm donuts." This doesn't mean the person is bad, but I think it's reasonable to define a 400lb person as dysfunctional, and that this dysfunction is due to a lack of willpower.