Dying for a Cause

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Nilloc James
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Dying for a Cause

Post #1

Post by Nilloc James »

I was inspired by a conversation earlier today about what an individual should/would sacrifice themselves for; however most of the people involved were highly religious and thus the answers were "I'd die for God/Jesus/the church/ faith". I'm interested in what the unbelievers would be willing to lay down their lives for. Feel free to add anything you feel is relevant when/if you respond.

Is there any thing you would be willing to die for? What? Why or why not?

Is sacrificing one's life for a cause morally righteous? Always?

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ThatGirlAgain
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Re: Dying for a Cause

Post #2

Post by ThatGirlAgain »

Nilloc James wrote: I was inspired by a conversation earlier today about what an individual should/would sacrifice themselves for; however most of the people involved were highly religious and thus the answers were "I'd die for God/Jesus/the church/ faith". I'm interested in what the unbelievers would be willing to lay down their lives for. Feel free to add anything you feel is relevant when/if you respond.

Is there any thing you would be willing to die for? What? Why or why not?

Is sacrificing one's life for a cause morally righteous? Always?
When it comes to 'lesser evil' situation, there is no such thing as always. I could not categorically rule out dying for a (non-religious!) cause but off hand cannot thnk of any good examples. The proverbial 'saving many lives' scenario is possible although I could only guess what I might really do.

Are there abstract things more important then myself? I believe there are. The continuation and spread of a civilization where general equality and well-being are important is one. (No, I am no socialist. I did not / will not specify what is the best type of society to accomplish this.) But in what manner might I die to help ensure this? Fighting a war raises other moral issues. BTW I was instructed in the use of a rifle when young but do not own any firearms and cannot imagine myself even hunting much less blowing away a human being.

Bottom line: Might I willingly die in the service of a cause? I might. What cause? :confused2:
Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance.
- Bertrand Russell

Richard81
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Post #3

Post by Richard81 »

I would be willing to fight for a cause, but I am not willing to die for anything. If I do end up dying for a cause, I wouldn't have died willingly. Life is the most valuable thing to me, so I would be willing to fight to preserve my life, my family's, or anyone elses if I had to, but I wouldn't willingly die for them unless I had no other choice, or if I was going to die soon anyway.
"Faith is the attempt to coerce truth to surrender to whim. In simple terms, it is trying to breathe life into a lie by trying to outshine reality with the beauty of wishes. Faith is the refuge of fools, the ignorant, and the deluded, not of thinking, rational men." - Terry Goodkind.

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DogsOnAcid
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Post #4

Post by DogsOnAcid »

I would sacrifice my life for a cause, if it met the following 3 criteria:

- The cause takes into account something greater than myself.
- The cause has a realistic possibility of being accomplished.
- I really believed in it, and held it as the closest to being considered as truth.

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