3 ms·
That is like saying "there is no such thing as a hammer, only subatomic particles". It's not even wrong.
by dmd 3y ago
That is like saying "there is no such thing as a hammer, only subatomic particles".
It's not even wrong.
- mjw_byrne 3y agoInterpreting the statement charitably, I think they mean "morality and ethics are arbitrary constructs of humankind, not the deep universal principles they are sometimes taken to be".
- dmd 3y agoBut that's so obviously a straw man. Obviously nobody believes that.
- asib 3y agoCould you elaborate? There are people that don't subscribe to moral or ethical absolutism.
- card_zero 3y agoOr objectivism, which is the nice one. It's rejecting absolutism that drives people into the arms of relativism.
- card_zero 3y agoWhat a lovely thought.
- mjw_byrne 3y agoWhat exactly are you saying nobody believes? Moral absolutists, moral relativists and moral nihilists all exist.
- raitx 3y agoThey are real as ideas are real, but not as truths and the "right" or "wrong" way to exist. I think there's harmony, to live in harmonious way. To live a way that is benificial for everyone. I think the words such as right or wrong and moral, ethics are made up to control people. These ideas are always changing depending on who controls the narrative. I would love to hear what you think. I have a strange mind and I'm just trying to understand and learn.
- mjw_byrne 3y agoI think statements of the form "X is immoral" are just secular versions of "X is against God's will", in the sense that they (not necessarily intentionally) use linguistic trickery to present a personal preference as a universal rule. If I am against something I can say "I am against X"; making statements about oneself is generally safe and not an overstep. There's no obvious path from "I am against X" to "I will stop you doing X". If I say "X is wrong", that sounds like an absolute, and is more easily (ab)used as a justification for stopping others doing it. The exact same linguistic distinction applies to offence. "I am offended by X" is accurate and works fine in a society. "X is offensive" is a precursor to censorship.