Are humans always morally equally valuable?
Binaural
Posts: 1,046
Catefrances' thread has inspired me
So, thoughts?
So, thoughts?
~*~*~*~*PROUD EVENFLOW PSYCHO #0026~*~*~*~*
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
morality if a social construct and is not universal. when we are born we are all equal. as we grow and mature we make choices that we must accept responsibilty for. do we harm other people by our actions.? do we feel guilt or remorse? do we act in our own self interest? are we deliberate in our actions? do we think we are above the law? are we arrogant enough to believe ourselves to be special at the expense of others? and what morals do we consider valuable and what values are dispensible? are our morals arbitrary because society deems them valuable or do we truly believe in what we preach and the actions we take? and if we truly believe does that make us exempt?
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Nothing is always.
Edit: Well except maybe death and taxes!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
I would pare it down even further:
Are humans valuable?
My perspective, of course, being of the Earth, in general.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
I think so, of course, but in terms of the Earth itself, perhaps not.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
as jeanie said thou, 'always' just doesn't fly, b/c yea...there is no 'always'....especially in regards to human behavior, and moral choices, etc. each word in there, there ARE always exceptions.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
You need to do more hiking, dammit.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
I do?
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
but why does one even need to preface that Q with the word 'morally' in it? that's the part i simply seem to fail to 'get' with this Q. the same question, and your answer, could be arrived at with simply asking 'are humans always equally valuble'...yes? so why throw morals in the Q...or IS that it? we just usually disregard the fact that we ARE making moral judgements in any given scenario? such as your, quite good btw, example?
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
Well, now, all you need to do is get out there on the trail
itself. If you find the right one you will come across a waterfall. This is a day hike, nothing major, so, I suggest when you get to the waterfall you make yourself comfortable, have a seat, enjoy your solitude, and perhaps munch on whatever goodies you may have brought along.
After awhile you may hear a rustling in the bushes. Then, sure enough, you notice it is a Bear there, with you, next to the waterfall!
You watch quietly but the bear finally notices you and rears up on its hind legs. You notice a ham shank firmly planted on his groin area. He drops a bottle of Jergens lotion.
"what are you doing here?" he asks.
You tell him that to be a better earth-human you chose this day to go out and experience being human, and, "would like like some cheese and crackers with that ham?"
He obliges, says, "I am soulbearsinging, bear of the waterfall, my girlfriend isn't putting out."
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
yea, so i guess we'll have to wait for him to return, and thus clarify.....just exactly what he means, and wants, with his Q. i really would like to know just what his thought process is in regards to throwing in 'morally' in the equation there.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I wouldn't have thought it possible but yet another bloke on here has rendered me speechless from giggling!!!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
It's something that bothers me about pro-lifers too. I am well aware that babies born before the 23 week cut-off point have been born premature and have gone on to have full, healthy lives but who is to say that before they are born, they have some inherently sacred value. when does a baby stop being an embryo and become a child? I am no advocate of abortion but when having a child will have a detrimental effect on the mother or other people, why should that unborn foetus' worth be deemed higher than that of the people who have actually existed independant of their mothers, making conscious decisions about their lives and creating themselves as an individual. As far as I'm concerned, we are what we make ourselves, not what we are born. If I was a killer or a rapist or something like that, I wouldn't expect people to treat me like I was worth as much as a person who hadn't acted like that.
Nearly all of your argument relates to the criminal justice system. Interesting. As you know, our taxes pay for this system, and it's sort of ironic, in the face of your argument, the dollar value we actually do place on the scum you refer to.
all posts by ©gue_barium are protected under US copyright law and are not to be reproduced, exchanged or sold
except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
Not that I'm sure that I agree or disagree with you Jeremy, but I'm just wondering how this fits in terms of morality being a fluid thing?
I mean people are not all bad all the time, just as they are not all good all of the time and back to my point about it all being subjective, who decides this anyway? Also as humans deciding to apply our morality and consequences to a situation doesn't always mean we are right. And now that I'm sounding like ahnimus :eek:, I'll just shut up and await your reply.
I'm just really curious as to what you think.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
Both? Maybe?
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
obviously just my opinions
That's cool jeremy, I think they are interesting and valid opinions you hold.
I guess I'm just a bit of a fence sitter!
I agree that we aren't born with any particular value we just are, or come into existence as it were.
And I agree that we are not sacred, or that life above all else is not sacred.
We live, we die. That's just nature.
I guess I'm just unsure about the "morality" of life. Or imposing a set structure as to what is moral or immoral behaviour.
Obviously, I cannot condone the infliction of pain and suffering on another human being, or animal for that matter, but I'm not sure that by forgiving someone their heinous act we are giving them carte blanche to do what they want. At some level surely, a person who has committed an abhorent act that defies the morality of a majority, is deserving of redemption from society, if only for the very reason that by inflicting an endless punishment on them, we are allowing our own morality to be changed not necessarily for the better. I hope I'm making sense here.
I suppose for example, your friends the Christians who have chosen to forgive their loved one's killer have made a concious choice not to be morally bankrupted by the selfish random act of another. It would change nothing about the event, I suppose is what I'm saying. It wouldn't return their loved one to them. So they only have 2 choices really, forgive or seek retribution.
Neither choice would prove satisfactory I presume because the outcome they would really seek is that the event never took place in the first place. And no amount of retribution will return their loved one to them, but I suspect forgiveness might be as you say, easier to live with.
Having said all that, I'm really not sure where I sit in terms of repeated bad acts. But then I guess as I mentioned before it's all relative because I can view the acts of current world governments as morally reprehensible but it would seem that they are able to continue along on their merry way perpertrating at will and seemingly will never be held accountable for their actions. I don't know really. Just thinking "out loud" I guess.
But your opinions are certainly food for thought. Thank you.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
this is where you waterfall nonsense has come from? im slightly disappointed.
to answer the question, no. im quite sure i am morally superior to many people.
I added the word, to prompt posters to discuss not just whether or not humans are equally valuable but whether or not it is right to think of them as morally valuable. If we take a stranger and ask them if they would save a dogs life or a humans life in a situation where both could not be saved we would expect them to pick the humans because they believe it to be the 'right' choice. Why is that?
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
Hmmm......wouldn't it depend on the circumstances Binaural?
I mean if you could get to the dog to save it but were just unable to get to the human should you then leave the dog to perish?
I doubt I would. I think I would save whomever I could. Man or animal.
And I would be unconcerned about other people making a morality judgement about my effort. You do what you can in the given circumstances.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
if it were in my power to save the human then i would do it. if it came down to an equal chance of saving the dog or the human, again i would pick the human. why? cause i am human. it's as simple as that. i place a higher value on a human life than i do any other animal.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
some sort of pseudo-self preservation perhaps? i am human. i can't explain it any other way or really with any more validity than that. i really see no problem.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^RED MOSQUITO #2^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Dublin 08/06
Katowice 06/07 London 06/07 Dusseldorf 06/07 Nijgemen 06/07
the fact that we value our own life and we are human. therefore we value human life above all else. self preservation of the species.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say