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Everyone on HN should own a copy of Max Stirner's "The Ego and It's Own". Ethics is a scam by the powerful to control everyone else. I don't love my kid becau

Everyone on HN should own a copy of Max Stirner's "The Ego and It's Own". Ethics is a scam by the powerful to control everyone else. I don't love my kid because of ethics, I love my kid because I love my kid. I'm not kind to my annoying neighbor because "it's the right thing", I'm kind to my neighbor because, despite his being annoying, I appreciate his friendship. Ethics that you're advocating for exist so people running companies an take advantage of you, full stop. If it's more important for you to feel smugly superior, good for you, but I don't buy into it. I'd rather minimize how exploited I am. You don't have to buy into someone else's definition of "ethics" in order to life a full, happy life, which involves loving your community and being kind to your neighbor. The rejection of mainstream ethics doesn't mean you have to be a monster, it just mean you're going to stop being manipulated for the benefit of someone far more powerful then you who never even paused for a moment to consider ethics. edit: obviously I'm being a bit hyperbolic here. Spinoza and de Beauvoir both establish fairly exquisite ethical systems. But by en large "pop" ethics is a scam that is asymmetrically followed to the advantage of people in power. Quick example: Music companies want you to consider ethics when pirating music, but absolutely never bring up ethics when it comes to decisions around artists that could potentially increase profits.

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Aaronstotle 4y ago
Ethics encompasses a broad set of values, claiming the whole school of thought is a scam because you don't agree with a particular framework is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
throwaway5752 4y ago
I'm not talking about pop ethics, I'm talking about good old "golden rule" boring stuff. There is a tragedy of commons aspect to acting in this way, and I knowingly treat others like I would treat myself even doubting I'll get the benefit of reciprocity. You could say that I derive utility from it, and it's selfish? I could also shrug and say that I can't disprove that and what is the difference, at that point. I simply put myself in the shoes of the other person and ask, how would my decision make them feel? I may be even more selfish, in some interpretations, because I think that behaving this way impacts others, and pretty soon you have a culture of respect and empathy, which I think is good for everyone including myself. So I am acting towards my own benefit. I haven't read Stirner or Spinoza much, but it seems like common sense to behave ethically in the way that I've described. And maybe you have a point with Stirner regarding your later music piracy point, because I don't pirate music, and I don't do it for any reason other than I feel my integrity is worth more than any song. I don't care at all for the major labels' thoughts, I do it for "selfish" reasons and maybe it's egoism. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

deleted 4y ago

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Aaronstotle 4y ago

Ethics encompasses a broad set of values, claiming the whole school of thought is a scam because you don't agree with a particular framework is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

throwaway5752 4y ago

I'm not talking about pop ethics, I'm talking about good old "golden rule" boring stuff. There is a tragedy of commons aspect to acting in this way, and I knowingly treat others like I would treat myself even doubting I'll get the benefit of reciprocity. You could say that I derive utility from it, and it's selfish? I could also shrug and say that I can't disprove that and what is the difference, at that point. I simply put myself in the shoes of the other person and ask, how would my decision make them feel? I may be even more selfish, in some interpretations, because I think that behaving this way impacts others, and pretty soon you have a culture of respect and empathy, which I think is good for everyone including myself. So I am acting towards my own benefit. I haven't read Stirner or Spinoza much, but it seems like common sense to behave ethically in the way that I've described. And maybe you have a point with Stirner regarding your later music piracy point, because I don't pirate music, and I don't do it for any reason other than I feel my integrity is worth more than any song. I don't care at all for the major labels' thoughts, I do it for "selfish" reasons and maybe it's egoism. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯