5 ms·
Potentially, but you would need to define what is meant by earning. Is earning defined by subjective difficulty? Is ability already part of the concept of earni
by jf- 8y ago
Potentially, but you would need to define what is meant by earning. Is earning defined by subjective difficulty? Is ability already part of the concept of earning, such that what we find virtuous about earning is in part the capacity to do a thing?
There is also a more fundamental difference between the two propositions, the first is empirically measurable: people have the same or broadly similar potential, or they do not. The second is a value judgement regarding who deserves what, which is ultimately a moral or aesthetic matter. This seems to me somehow more difficult to decide upon and somewhat weaker in its force.
(I upvoted you by the way because I think that’s an interesting point)
- api 8y agoI made that argument largely to show the versatility of sophistry. You can take a proposed fact, like strong heritability of ability, and weave many arguments around it. I have in fact heard people argue for strong socialism on the basis of heritable inequality. This would assume the definition of "earn" as to acquire through individual goal directed action. If most of the ability behind that action was not itself acquired through anything but luck, then this could undermine the notion of a moral claim to outcome.