Ethics? Who Decides?

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2ndRateMind
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Ethics? Who Decides?

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Post by 2ndRateMind »

On what authority do you think the ethical, ethical?
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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

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Post by Tcg »

2ndRateMind wrote: On what authority do you think the ethical, ethical?

On my authority. This is of course true for all. All humans consider themselves as the authority on ethics, even if the choose to base their authority on the authority of someone or something they deem authoritative.



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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

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2ndRateMind wrote: On what authority do you think the ethical, ethical?

I recall as an innocent student having such questions thrown at me by philosophy professors. A favourite was to decide between Hume's emotion and Kant's reason.

If we believe in God, then as usual God is an easy answer: he is the sound of thunder and the anger in an earthquake, so in his more placid mood he is the giver of morality, which he has wisely sewn into the cerebella of even the lunatic, though why he authorised the lunatic in the first place is another question.

I think it is possible to discern some morality among primates: perhaps that tells us of the way we were. There are animal acts of seeming kindness. We see morality burgeoning as a human develops: the infant is not endowed with such discernment between good and bad, and we all seem to have different dosages of morality. Perhaps God just scattered it around and left us to pick it up.


As to who decides? In a world of humans, humans decide. Who else?

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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

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Post by 2ndRateMind »

marco wrote:
2ndRateMind wrote: On what authority do you think the ethical, ethical?
...In a world of humans, humans decide. Who else?
Uh huh. Which humans, and what gives them the right to decide, especially when their decisions affect others?

More later, maybe.

Best wishes, 2RM
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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

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2ndRateMind wrote:
marco wrote:
2ndRateMind wrote: On what authority do you think the ethical, ethical?
...In a world of humans, humans decide. Who else?
Uh huh. Which humans, and what gives them the right to decide, especially when their decisions affect others?
Sadly, we are on a planet where our lives are largely regulated by other people. We do not drive too fast; we cannot go into certain areas; we must pay for the food we eat; we cannot kill animals that we might enjoy eating. If we subscribe to a religion then we might not be able to work on a certain day or, in extreme cases, use electricity on that day; or marry the girl we love; or eat certain food. Prohibitions define our lives: I think these have evolved through the centuries. I recall being in Russia and wandering across a wild patch of grass when a soldier approached and said: "Nyelza hodeets na travoo", which told me the grass wasn't for walking on. So rules are all around us, be they about morals or marriage or whatever. Who gave people the right to regulate our lives - I think it has something to do with the development of Law and Order.

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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

Post #6

Post by Aetixintro »

[Replying to post 1 by 2ndRateMind]

Appeal to authority is a debating fallacy. All Ethicists deliver according to the principle of winning hearts and minds. That's not to say that you can coerce people into agreeing with you, not even by secret coercion. See credibility of argument. Plausibility of argument. That sort. Force of arguments is also referred for this sort of thing.

Check out Epistemology and credibility, plausibility, etc. for who is winning you over to account for reality. Also check out Philosophy of Science that has some relevance.

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Re: Ethics? Who Decides?

Post #7

Post by 2ndRateMind »

Aetixintro wrote: [Replying to post 1 by 2ndRateMind]

Appeal to authority is a debating fallacy.
So suppose I love God, and love my neighbour as myself, and rely on Jesus' commandments* to do these things as my authority, would you want to say I am committing a debating fallacy? Or, if I accept Kant's notion that I should always act according to that maxim that I could simultaneously wish to be the general law, I am committing another debating fallacy? Seems to me there are authorities that are worthy of our respect and observance, as well as authorities that aren't.

Best wishes, 2RM

*Matthew 22:36-40 KJV
Non omnes qui errant pereunt
Not all who wander are lost

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