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Alonzo Fyfe
Graduate Usergroup: Members Joined: Sep 27, 2003 Total Topics: 4 Total Posts: 136 |
 #1
You seem to be a philosophically minded group of people. I spent 12 years in college studying moral philosophy -- mostly because I was interested in a specific question. I wanted to make sure that I left the world better than it would have otherwise been. Unfortunately, when it came to what counts as 'better than it would have otherwise been', I got a bit confused. A lot of people seemed to be in heavy, sometimes violent, disagreement. So, my quest, was to see if I could sort through the fog and find the answer. Like I said, that effort lasted through 12 years of college -- and beyond. I put a lot of time and thought into this. I hope that I have come up with at least one or two insights. In fact, the journey has not ended. I have written a series of essays describing that journey. I beg the indulgence of the participants of this forum to post the details here, where philosophically minded people can examine them and let me know what makes sense and what does not. I would appreciate any feedback that those here may have. |
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Alonzo Fyfe
Graduate Usergroup: Members Joined: Sep 27, 2003 Total Topics: 4 Total Posts: 136 |
#2
This chapter concerns my rejection of relgion as a moral guide at a very young age. There are a lot of problems with the idea that one can look to religion to determine how to make the world better than it would have otherwise been. This chapter does not discuss all of them, but it discusses the ones that influenced me as a child. I actually start this chapter with a description of how my journey itself started, the first time I have an actual memory of wanting to make the world better than it would have otherwise been if I had not been in it, and wondering how to find out what 'better than it would have otherwise been' is. That wondering caused me first to look to religion to answer the question, and to discover that religion had no reliable answers to give. Ultimately, this means looking elsewhere. But 'elsewhere' is where future chapters will go. As always, as I wrote in the introduction, I am interested in any feedback you may care to give about whether my arguments are sound. A fair number of people have read these essays, resulting in a fair number of sometimes significant changes. There is always much more to be learned. |
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Alonzo Fyfe
Graduate Usergroup: Members Joined: Sep 27, 2003 Total Topics: 4 Total Posts: 136 |
#3
Libertarianism was the first systematic theory of ethics that I encountered as such. It promised what seemed to me at the time to be a viable alternative. At one point, I went to one of my libertarian friends and said, "Hey, I know that a lot of people disagree with this theory, and a lot of them are a lot smarter than the people we discuss this with at school. I want to see something scholarly that explains where an intelligent person might find a problem." He showed me an essay -- I do not remember the title or who wrote it, but I remember it talked about something called an 'is/ought' gap -- a fallacy that David Hume unearthed that can be attributed to all common forms of morality. I read the article, and realized that I, and my libertarian friends, were all guilty of making this mistake. My libertarianism died a quick and bloodless death. This was not the only problem that I came to see in the libertarian way of thinking. I had a number of reasons for rejecting that ideology. This chapter concerns my journey into, and out of, the land of libertarianism. |
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NorseHeroine
banned Usergroup: Members Joined: Jan 27, 2004 Location: Norway Total Topics: 25 Total Posts: 546
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#4
Alonzo Fyfe wrote: ...and find the answer. Did it ever cross your mind that your question might not have ONE asnwer? I have not read the chapter. I just noticed this sentence. Sexual liberation is sexual exaggeration |
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LeFev
Usergroup: Members Joined: Apr 12, 2004 Total Topics: 1 Total Posts: 49 |
#5
NorseHeroine wrote: Did it ever cross your mind that your question might not have ONE asnwer? How many answers can there be that are true? |
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rabeldin
Probabalistic Philosopher  Usergroup: Members Joined: Oct 06, 2003 Location: Puerto Rico Total Topics: 29 Total Posts: 5427 |
#6
LeFev wrote: How many answers can there be that are true? As many as there are reasonable definitions for the terms used in the question. Leave no assumption unquestioned. |
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Alonzo Fyfe
Graduate Usergroup: Members Joined: Sep 27, 2003 Total Topics: 4 Total Posts: 136 |
#7
NorseHeroine wrote: Did it ever cross your mind that your question might not have ONE asnwer? I have not read the chapter. I just noticed this sentence. Yes. It even crossed my mind that I was asking the wrong question. Both of these options will be discussed in future chapters. |
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Ladon
Graduate  Usergroup: Members Joined: Mar 26, 2004 Location: Urbana, Illinois Total Topics: 2 Total Posts: 223 |
#8
Are you asking, "Can an absolute moral theory exist without DCT?" Or, are you asking, "Is morality dependant on God?" "The more metaphysical categories we have, the merrier we become." - "Ladon's Rogaine" |
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Objulen
Aspirant Usergroup: Members Joined: Apr 11, 2004 Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 25 |
#9
Alonzo Fyfe wrote: You seem to be a philosophically minded group of people. I spent 12 years in college studying moral philosophy -- mostly because I was interested in a specific question. I wanted to make sure that I left the world better than it would have otherwise been. Unfortunately, when it came to what counts as 'better than it would have otherwise been', I got a bit confused. A lot of people seemed to be in heavy, sometimes violent, disagreement. So, my quest, was to see if I could sort through the fog and find the answer. Like I said, that effort lasted through 12 years of college -- and beyond. I put a lot of time and thought into this. I hope that I have come up with at least one or two insights. In fact, the journey has not ended. I have written a series of essays describing that journey. I beg the indulgence of the participants of this forum to post the details here, where philosophically minded people can examine them and let me know what makes sense and what does not. I would appreciate any feedback that those here may have. I think it is possible to have morality without ethics, but for most people it is more difficult. Human beings are more likely to follow more obviously self satisfying impulses than altruism, and religion appeals to these on one level or another. Follow these rules and gain this. Do this and be punished with that. It makes being a good person (or at least socially acceptable) easier, since it promises rewards and punishments for colpiance and deviance, respectivly. The problem is the often politically motivated interpretations of various scriptures and the lack of morality of the application (or even in the religon itself, one could argue) of the religion's teachings and scriptures. |
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Alonzo Fyfe
Graduate Usergroup: Members Joined: Sep 27, 2003 Total Topics: 4 Total Posts: 136 |
#10
Ladon wrote: Are you asking, "Can an absolute moral theory exist without DCT?" Or, are you asking, "Is morality dependant on God?" Neither. These are both relevant components of the question, but the question is broader than this. |
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