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From the perspective of the individual, there is no greater good than defending one’s self.
by andrewmcwatters 5y ago
From the perspective of the individual, there is no greater good than defending one’s self.
- kag0 5y agoHardly. There are many philosophies that argue that the greatest good lies with how we interact with the other. And on a purely primal level it's common to prioritize one's offspring over one's self. I think most cultures recognize this intuitively.
- andrewmcwatters 5y agoI’m not arguing philosophy. I’m arguing how absurd the statement “it’s crazy hard to get people to sacrifice themselves for the better good” is, as if OP would sacrifice his or herself for anyone here they didn’t know. What a grand delusional statement, like the sibling comment here. It’s literally arguing moral superiority while ignoring pragmatic reality. Maybe you watch a little bit too much television, but there are plenty of spouses out there who would, for example, not want their wife to die in childbirth if they had the option.
- SamBam 5y agoIf you don't see the chasm between "people should sacrifice themselves for the greater good" (which I'd generally disagree with, particularly if you're not defining what the greater good is) and "there is no greater good than defending one’s self" then I can't help you.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- SamBam 5y agoWhat an absurd statement, to just say unequivocally, ignoring the plenty of philosophies and ethical systems have disagreed entirely with that.
- andrewmcwatters 5y agoYeah, totally absurd. Would you sacrifice your life for the strangers on this forum? Let me guess, no? Huh, wild.
- rurp 5y agoWait, so you think that defending anonymous strangers from the internet is an exhaustive set of circumstances where one might risk their life?
- andrewmcwatters 5y agoOh, of course.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- SamBam 5y agoYawn.
- anoncake 5y agoThere are people who would.
- makeitdouble 5y agoI tried to put it in a neutral way, and I think it’s a far from a black and white issue. Not to go too sideways, but hostage (with humans, not data) situations are typically about other people. When you’re the target, it’s not your life on the line, but your loved/valuable ones. So you’re not defending just yourself, you actually have to care about at least someone else to have it happen to you. And some care about a lot more than just their loved ones, they’ll also think about their friends, family, sometimes the rest of the society. Everyone is different and there is no absolute best, but let’s at least recognize it’s complex and there’s lots of ways to think about it.