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"Beyond simple pub stories, moral questions about how to dispense justice in a large, diverse society and global gets really difficult, and we need a system of
by dasht 17y ago
"Beyond simple pub stories, moral questions about how to dispense justice in a large, diverse society and global gets really difficult, and we need a system of principles for that."
Indeed we do. One of Hitchens' themes is that theologies are, on the face of their historic accomplishments, notably poor candidates to serve as a source for such principles. Perhaps it is interesting to note, here, that one of the principles of justice enshrined in the pointedly secular Constitution of the US is the right to trial by jury - an appeal to an "innate conscience" of morality if ever there was one.
- mike_organon 17y agoThere is no evidence for an innate conscience. And in scientific terms, it's not falsifiable, since whenever someone fails to live up to what you say is right, you can claim they are corrupted by religion or some other false culture. If humans had innate conscience, why would human history be filled with such violence? If the moral sense is strong enough to be relevant for discussion, wouldn't it have shaped humanity more? How is innate conscience distinguishable from one's emotional response? And I would argue that emotions are based on one's existing values, which may be different according to different people. Are you and Hitchens claiming to be more pure of heart than the rest of us, so you can see the true innate morality? A jury is not at all an appeal to innate conscience. A jury isn't supposed to judge right and wrong, they are supposed to find guilt or innocence by the standard of a previously written law.