The Wizard: Philosophy Forums

Page: 1 2 3 4 5

The Wizard

Odin
Graduate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Sep 09, 2009

Total Topics: 4
Total Posts: 205

Posted 10/21/09 - 05:09 PM:	#11
lol sounds like a very objectivism-inspired story. To show that benevolence is immoral? But aren't you manufacturing a 'consequence' of benevolence, violence, and really claiming that its the violence that is immoral? Because violence may be immoral does not prove that benevolence, a mindset in one person that may have the consequence of producing a violent mindset in another person, is immoral. It could easily just be a case of the bad taking advantage of the good.

Odin
Graduate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Sep 09, 2009

Total Topics: 4
Total Posts: 205

Posted 10/21/09 - 05:16 PM:	#12
ben_tam64 wrote: The moral of my story is to live for yourself, and in accordance with the things that you value. That it is natural to be rationally self interested. It is irrational to live to satisfy the needs or desires of others, though they may damn you evil and selfish. How about to live for the needs and desires of your children? The helpless being you bring into the world who relies entirely on you. Are we content to allow infants lives to be conditional on the self-interest of their parents, or do we recognize the natural, fundamental obligation that arises in creating human life? If you say 'it is irrational to live to satisfy the needs or desires of others,' you include children, and you disinclude from your philosophy the survival of the human species completely. Interesting, though, that none of the characters in Atlas Shrugged had children. What does this tell you about the gaping hole in Ayn Rand's philosophy that she was unable to fill?

ben_tam64
An inquisitive individual

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Mar 01, 2009

Total Topics: 15
Total Posts: 63

Posted 10/22/09 - 10:51 PM:	#13
Morality is a personal thing. It is the measure of what one values. And what one values is a matter of choice. A personal decision. Intergrity has worth. That is what I am trying to say. This work is a dedication to Rand's objectivism.

Cadrache
Tenured Poster

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Dec 09, 2006
Location: AB, Canada

Total Topics: 104
Total Posts: 2644

Posted 10/23/09 - 01:12 PM:	#14
Morality is a personal thing. It is the measure of what one values. And what one values is a matter of choice. I agree. However certain actions are dualistic in nature. Should morals always trump other methods of thinking or analyzing a personal action?
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

ben_tam64
An inquisitive individual

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Mar 01, 2009

Total Topics: 15
Total Posts: 63

Posted 10/23/09 - 02:36 PM:	#15
Cadrache wrote: Certain actions are dualistic in nature, should morals always trump other methods of thinking or analyzing a personal action? May I have an example?

Cadrache
Tenured Poster

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Dec 09, 2006
Location: AB, Canada

Total Topics: 104
Total Posts: 2644

Posted 10/23/09 - 02:40 PM:	#16
I'm making a thread entitled "The Farmer's Dillemma".
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

ben_tam64
An inquisitive individual

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Mar 01, 2009

Total Topics: 15
Total Posts: 63

Posted 10/23/09 - 11:57 PM:	#17
Your Farmer's Dilemna Cadrache wrote: Here we have a man. Just an average man. He even wants to live his life morally. Food is good. He decides to plant seeds. The sun's light combined with the rich soil and water. Throw in a bit of time. And food appears. The man is proud for his moral accomplishment. Then the sun went out. Don't ask me why - but the earth didn't freeze over. Blame The Wizard for that. The man plants his seeds. He dies a few days later of starvation. His last thoughts are at how well he has been as moral as he used to be before the lights went out. If the sun goes out, everything on earth dies. Farmer or not.

Cadrache
Tenured Poster

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Dec 09, 2006
Location: AB, Canada

Total Topics: 104
Total Posts: 2644

Posted 10/24/09 - 07:13 AM:	#18
Blame the wizard for that. Obviously they didn't all die out. If you want to get technical - we don't need the sun for life. We can simulate already all of it's properties through science. The negative aspect would be that it would definately only be temporary. But we are talking about a wizard here! No way to claim a static 1:1 ratio between physical reality and pure energy. The length of time for existence of a living planet is still entirely non-defined. Except for Oxygen. He'd have to somehow figure out a way to continue photosynthesis.
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

ben_tam64
An inquisitive individual

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Mar 01, 2009

Total Topics: 15
Total Posts: 63

Posted 10/24/09 - 12:03 PM:	#19
What the hell are you talking about? Do you actually believe the words that you are saying?

Lord Henry
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 24, 2009

Total Topics: 1
Total Posts: 7

Posted 10/24/09 - 04:40 PM:	#20
"All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself." This is a simple story. your analysis is not an analysis of the story, but an analysis of yourselves.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5

Sorry, you don't have permission to post. Log in, or register if you haven't yet.