Absolute right and wrong?

[an7222]

I think there are absolute right and wrong, otherwise the statement

"there are no absolute right" would be itself absoultely right, and

"there are absolute wrong" would be itself absolutely wrong

 

[CSmrw]

Semantic games.

 

[ChristianCenturion]

Semantic games.

No.
Try addressing the possible paradox with it or the logic behind it.


Making the statements of:

There is no absolute truth
or
There is no absolute wrong

Are self-conflicting or creates a paradox.

 

[NewToLife]

Semantic games.

I dont see that its a semantic game to point out that a statement is self refuting.

 

[levi501]

Possibly playing with deffinitions here...
Absolute right or wrong suggest your making a statement of morality.
Then it seems your shifting it later to ask if there are absolute truths?
Two different things... people can believe in the universality of propositions and still be a moral relativist.

 

[CSmrw]

So modify the statement for accuracy. The correct statement would be "It appears that there can be no absolute right and wrong."

 

[ChristianCenturion]

Possibly playing with deffinitions here...
Absolute right or wrong suggest your making a statement of morality.

A note that there is already another thread regarding moral right and wrong.
http://www.christianforums.com/t2895437-are-there-such-a-things-as-right-and-wrong.html

It would be morally wrong to knowingly make another thread on the same topic due to that being against the rules.

Then it seems your shifting it later to ask if there are absolute truths?
Two different things... people can believe in the universality of propositions and still be a moral relativist.

 

[levi501]

It would be morally wrong to knowingly make another thread on the same topic due to that being against the rules.

..but you can see how using the terms "right" and "wrong" in the ethics and morality section could throw me off.

A discussion of absolute truths is more fitting in the philosophy section.

 

[Maynard Keenan]

I love word games!

 

[an7222]

Is it absolute right to say there is no absolute right?

Is it absolute wrong to say there are absolute wrongs?

They both are contradictions.

 

[levi501]

If you want a serious answer define right and wrong first.

 

[jayem]

IMO, absolutes do exist, but, as a practical matter, in the world of physics--i.e., the speed of light in a vacuum, or the charge on an electron, or the mass of a proton at rest.

But in the world of normative ethics, while we can say some actions are always wrong, situations might arise where one wrong action may be preferable to another. We may have to choose between two evils. Moral absolutes may exist in theory, but are problematic in practice.

My college ethics professor preferred the term prima facie wrong. Meaning something is always wrong, but it may be necessary in order to avoid a greater wrong.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[Moros]

Hard-wired human biology provides for absolute right and absolute wrong.