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Atheism and Ad Absurdum

Ken-1122

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Attacking other threatening tribes? I dont see how thats purely a matter of subjective personal preference like chocolate/vanilla or country/rap.
What's the difference? Remember; when the Nazis began murdering the Jews, they started with the Jewish citizens of Germany who were members of their tribe. Stalin, Mao, Amin, and countless others killed their own people as well. History is full of examples of tyrants subjectively deciding who within their tribe is deserving of murder.
 
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grasping the after wind

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How did your friend say he arrived at his definition of "human wellness"? What criterion did he use? Was there some objective criterion or was it simply "I am convinced that this is human wellness so it is human wellness and every one else must agree with that because I am the sole authority on that in the known universe!"?
 
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durangodawood

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Good examples. But Mao, Stalin, Amin etc.... their modes burn out pretty fast, because while you can get people ideologically amped up to go against deeper moral sensibilities for a time, it doesnt endure. Soviet communism is a great example of this in so many ways.

Lets look at this subjective/objective thing another way. Humans recoil at the smell of rotting stuff or the taste of many poisonous things. The experience happens purely in the mind, right? So we could call it "totally subjective". But it happens for reasons that are utterly objective: these things are objectively bad for humans to ingest.

The main hang up here is that we have subjective interior feelings for objective reasons. Thats all I'm claiming, is that some of our most important moral feelings happen for objective reasons. (I totally conceed that theres a bunch of less central morals that are culturally contingent, and even arbitrary based on accident of mythology or bad understanding of cause/effect.)
 
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Ken-1122

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Not sure what you define as “burning out pretty fast” but slavery has been around for thousands of years and still continues today. But what’s your point? Are you suggesting murderous regime’s don’t last long because they are morally subjective?

I believe smell is subjective, but poison is definitely objective. I remember my dog once came home stinking like dead fish. We washed that horrible smell off her (to her chagrin) and as soon as we were done washing her, crazy dog went outside, found that dead fish and rolled around in it again. Though we found that smell repulsive, she obviously found the smell sweet.
But regardless of what’s going on inside of your head, poison will kill you because the effect it has on your body is objective, not subjective. Even crazy dog will die from poison even if she likes the taste because Unlike morality, poison can be demonstrated as harmful.

The main hang up here is that we have subjective interior feelings for objective reasons. Thats all I'm claiming, is that some of our most important moral feelings happen for objective reasons.
Would you mind providing an example of having subjective feelings for objective reasons? (I believe smell is subjective, while poison is objective)
 
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durangodawood

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...Would you mind providing an example of having subjective feelings for objective reasons? (I believe smell is subjective, while poison is objective)
We get the feeling of disgust (subjective feeling) at the smell/taste of rotting flesh because it is actually bad for us to ingest (objective fact of reality).
 
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Ken-1122

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We get the feeling of disgust (subjective feeling) at the smell/taste of rotting flesh because it is actually bad for us to ingest (objective fact of reality).
If you are trying to make the argument that whatever smells bad is harmful to the body, IMO that is a poor argument to make. Chitlins smell bad but lots of people like them, Ive heard antifreeze taste good which is why so many dogs die from it's poison; just because something smells or taste bad doesn't mean it is bad for you; just because something smells or taste good, doesn't mean it is safe to consume
 
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durangodawood

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If you are trying to make the argument that whatever smells bad is harmful to the body....
No it not an argument. Its what you asked for: an example.

Of course some subjective feeling are based on subjective things.

But you asked for an example of a subjective feeling based on an objective fact. I provided.
 
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Ken-1122

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No it not an argument. Its what you asked for: an example.

Of course some subjective feeling are based on subjective things.

But you asked for an example of a subjective feeling based on an objective fact. I provided.
If you are making the point that there are times when one might have a subjective bad feelings about something that it objectively bad, I will agree with that. It may not happen all the time, but it does happen.
 
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durangodawood

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If you are making the point that there are times when one might have a subjective bad feelings about something that it objectively bad, I will agree with that. It may not happen all the time, but it does happen.
My point was some of our subjective feelings based on objective facts.

I made the point to show you a parallel to how some morals that we experience subjectively are based on objective facts. I just needed to open that door because it seemed totally nailed shut for you.
 
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Ken-1122

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Do you see the difference between what you just said vs what I agreed to?
 
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Moral Orel

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If you are making the point that there are times when one might have a subjective bad feelings about something that it objectively bad, I will agree with that. It may not happen all the time, but it does happen.

I made the point to show you a parallel to how some morals that we experience subjectively are based on objective facts. I just needed to open that door because it seemed totally nailed shut for you.
"Objectively bad" and "objectively good" are oxymorons. "Good" and "bad" are subjective terms already. If you're talking about morality as being objective then you should be using "right" and "wrong" or more precisely "correct" and "incorrect". We can say that anything is "based on objective facts" if we phrase it correctly, which renders it meaningless.

People generally experience an aversion to the smell of rotten meat because it is an objective fact that we evolved that trait. So what? Harming our health isn't "objectively bad". Is choosing to eat rotten meat an incorrect choice? That depends on what your goal is. If your goal is to remain physically healthy, then it was the incorrect choice; if your goal is to become sick then it was a correct choice. Which goal is the correct goal to have? That's a matter of opinion, which makes the whole thing subjective.
 
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durangodawood

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I think you highly overrate how much conscious choice we have in determining our base values.
 
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Ken-1122

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"Objectively bad" and "objectively good" are oxymorons. "Good" and "bad" are subjective terms already.
When I was speaking of objectively bad for you, I was referring to poison. The toxic effects of poison like cyanid or ethylene glycol will have on the human body is objective. However; this has nothing to do with morality.
 
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Moral Orel

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I think you highly overrate how much conscious choice we have in determining our base values.
Whether the choice is conscious or not has nothing to do with whether or not the choice is correct or incorrect. Unconscious =/= correct.
 
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durangodawood

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Whether the choice is conscious or not has nothing to do with whether or not the choice is correct or incorrect. Unconscious =/= correct.
Right. Values are axiomatic. Moral rules are correct to the extent they satisfy values.
 
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