decadence of society- and the world's wisdom

[Michali]

I really don't care what other people do with their sexuality. The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with. Some may question why it is a sin? It has no adverse effect on the body. It causes no harm. Why don't we question cannibalism as well. Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did? It too has no harmful effect on the body. Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion? To the extent that murder becomes a personal and excepted choice? Good and evil has no wisdom when there is no belief behind it. I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

 

[Vylo]

The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with

I do not think they will choose this any more then heterosexual people chose to engage with the oppossite sex.

Why don't we question cannibalism as well. Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did? It too has no harmful effect on the body.

One has to take into account various diseases that you may get from eating another human being, particularly because humans are not commonly kept to "fresh" after they pass away. I think a reason this is a taboo in this culture is bcause we may associate eating a person with killing them, sort of a hunter/prey thing.

Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion?

No but they should adjust to a changing society and environment. Failure to do so can cause social strain and possibly even collapse.

I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

Despite being an atheist I have to agree with you there.

 

[Philosoft]

I really don't care what other people do with their sexuality. The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with.

Of course, if sexual orientation is not a mere choice, you won't have to worry about that.

Some may question why it is a sin? It has no adverse effect on the body. It causes no harm. Why don't we question cannibalism as well.

Because living people generally do not want to be eaten.

Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did?

Well, I don't think the dead guy will object. And I don't think there's a law against it.

Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion? To the extent that murder becomes a personal and excepted choice?

No; a thousand times, no. 'Slippery slope' is a terrible, horrible, awful, fallacious argument. It pains me to have to demonstrate this.

Good and evil has no wisdom when there is no belief behind it.

What? Where does this come from? Non-sequitur anyone?

I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

No; a thousand more times, no. The legality of abortion is dependent on the definition of "person." It affects the definition of "murder" not one iota.

 

[jon1101]

I really don't care what other people do with their sexuality. The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with. Some may question why it is a sin? It has no adverse effect on the body. It causes no harm. Why don't we question cannibalism as well. Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did? It too has no harmful effect on the body. Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion? To the extent that murder becomes a personal and excepted choice? Good and evil has no wisdom when there is no belief behind it. I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

To say that unambiguous murder will be legalized if we accept the philosophy that that which does not violate the equal rights of others ought to be legal means that either 1) you don't believe that people have a right to life, or 2) you don't understand this philosophy. There is a HUGE gap between interpersonal morality and personal morality. You cannot equate the two.

[edit] I do, however, agree with you on the abortion issue.

-jon

 

[tcampen]

I really don't care what other people do with their sexuality. The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with.

Yea, good thing most homosexuals don't "choose" this either, they just are.

Some may question why it is a sin? It has no adverse effect on the body. It causes no harm. Why don't we question cannibalism as well. Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did? It too has no harmful effect on the body.

Wasn't the last supper all about eating Jesus' body and blood? Oh, that was symbolic....right. Our personal connection to certain other beings makes it unpalatable (pun intended) to eat them. Thus some states have specific laws making it illegal to eat dogs, cats and even horses.
And while I don't condone cannabalism, are you saying that those soccer players whose plane crashed high in the Andes, and had to resort to eating the dead in order to stay alive were committing a sin? Or is it justa situational ethic thing?

Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion? To the extent that murder becomes a personal and excepted choice?

This is a blatent false dichotemy. The sorce of morality is not limited to only two possibilities. There are unnumerable sources for how we determine what is right and wrong. But the flaw in your argument, even accepting its flawed premise, is clear. You yourself admitted homosexuality hurts no one, yet it is clear murder does. Thus the two are not even comparable. Following this?

Good and evil has no wisdom when there is no belief behind it. I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

I believe murder is wrong, is that what you mean? If you're implying that recognizing good from evil requires faith in a particular supernatural being, well you've got an uphill battle proving that one.

As far as abortion being murder goes, that IS an opinion. Murder is a legal concept with particular elements that must be met in order to establish the crime. Since abortion was deemed to be part of a fundamental right of the woman as guaranteed by the constitution, it ceased to meet the requirements for murder. Thus, technically speaking, in America, it is not murder. This is not to say taking the life of an unborn child cannot be murder - just that the elements must be met. (i.e. see the Laci Peterson case.)

Whether it is moral or not is a different question, however. While I would prefer there was never another abortion persued or performed, I certainly cannot reduce the issue to such a black and white concept, despite the deceptive temptation to avoid anything complicated and difficult.

 

[Michali]

One must question the meaning of things such as the purpose of good and evil to actually make choices on their own without giving into the tide of common thought.

 

[jon1101]

One must question the meaning of things such as the purpose of good and evil to actually make choices on their own without giving into the tide of common thought.

Interestingly enough, this principle is what led me to embrace libertarianism. I was conservative for some time, and still sympathize with many of their issues, but, after studying the work of John Locke and Frederic Bastiat, I found that the conservativism I was embracing was in fact a less consistent form of libertarianism in which liberty is granted in some cases as intrinsically valuable but denied in others simply because it makes sense to a certain group of people for an action to be legally impermissible. That was a long sentence.

-jon

 

[vajradhara]

I really don't care what other people do with their sexuality. The only concern I could possibly have is that one of my children might think that it is normal to choose which sex they want to have sex with. Some may question why it is a sin? It has no adverse effect on the body. It causes no harm. Why don't we question cannibalism as well. Should it be alright if the owner of the body said it was alright to eat him when he died and someone did? It too has no harmful effect on the body. Will our morals stoop so low as to incline that we may choose to do what ever we want just because it is a personal opinion? To the extent that murder becomes a personal and excepted choice? Good and evil has no wisdom when there is no belief behind it. I tell you, we have already made murder a matter of opinion through the legalisation of abortion.

Namaste Michali,

thank you for the post.

when you claim that cannibalism has no adverse effects on the human body you are incorrect. what you are famailar with is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease), what you are unfamalir with is Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) which humans can get from eating BSE meat.

Humans also get a disease from eating their own flesh. this disease is known as Kuru. Kuru is a prion disease. Prusiner (1991) classified a prion as an infectious particle composed of a protein that causes neurodegenerative disorders. According to Cashman (1997), prions are infectious agents by biological and medical criteria. However, they are also fairly unique, and properties of prions differ from those of conventional microbes. All known prion diseases are fatal. Such diseases are often called spongiform encephalies, because they frequently cause the brain to become spongy and riddled with holes (Prusiner, 1995). Well known prion diseases include scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease or BSE), and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Less well-known prion diseases include the following: transmissible mink encephalopathy, chronic wasting disease, feline spongiform encephalopathy, exotic ungulate encephalopathy, German-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), and fatal familial insomnia (Krakauer et al., 1997). Of these infirmities, four affect humans: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Gertsmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and kuru. http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant570/Papers/McGrath/McGrath.htm

so... the long and the short of it is... we do questions cannibalism and we find it to be lacking as a food source.

 

[Michali]

Thank you vad. That is very useful.