Re: Sociobiology explains one more aspect of morality

From: Gary Gerrard (tseneca_at_alltel.net)
Date: 08/27/04 

Date: 27 Aug 2004 13:30:19 -0700

"robert j. kolker" <nowhere@nowhere.net> wrote in message news:<2p7libFhgvpnU2@uni-berlin.de>...
> Socialism is a Mental Disease wrote:
>
> >
> > Rights are the foundation on which absolute morality rests. And I'm
> > using the word "morality" within the context of moral philosophy, not
> > the household definition.
>
> Morality, right, justice come out of the barrel of a gun and from the
> edge of a sword. Die Macht ist das Recht. It always was, it always will
> be. If a mugger sticks the business end of a pistol up your left nostril
> and demands your wallet, rights or no rights, he gets the wallet and you
> don't.
>
> Bob Kolker
>
> >
> >

May I suggest that might makes right is accurate as a descriptive
statement of legal and political systems, as Plato observed in the
Gorgias, but to me the more important question is what right does
might make. Is the the Roman law that a father had the "right" to
kill his son, wife or daughter, not to mention his slaves, or the
right of children today not to be abused by adults, e.g., statutory
rape, child abuse/neglect, etc. Then we also have to ask who has the
might and why do the people with the might select certain "rights" to
enforce with their might.

As for morality, if it is mere agreement of society or a group, then
it is custom, not morality. Morality implies a standard independent
of simple agreement. Otherwise, there would be no appeal to morality
as a higher authority than the law, presumably created by the mighty
and concurred in by a sufficient number of people to make it an
agreement.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Sociobiology explains one more aspect of morality
    ... >> Rights are the foundation on which absolute morality rests. ... It would be silly to talk about the morality of a stone because it ... to understand the capabilities of any physical system (and I consider ... like we do our fello animals. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Humanism in 2006
    ... > nonetheless I think we can impute some rational basis for morality. ... Humanism is relativistic, that's why ... Whose moral desires, as per moral relativism, are no better or worst than ... >> rights being conferred by a creator gives him no more grounding than ...
    (talk.philosophy.humanism)
  • Re: Poplulation control was Re: OT: Global Warming? New Data Shows Ice Is Back
    ... the U.S. The pro-death people claim it is "for the health of the mother" ... How could it *possibly* be detrimental to the health of the ... reason, morality and common sense. ... respect the rights of others--immoral behavior is to offend those rights. ...
    (comp.lang.cobol)
  • Re: Tuesdays elections
    ... to treat people as members of their group and not individuals in order ... you really CAN'T legislate morality. ... and error has no rights. ... But the first definition of liberty is the right to be wrong. ...
    (rec.arts.mystery)
  • Re: Wintrolls killed CSMA
    ... >>> Please specify these special rights. ... > can legally get married to other mentally competent human adults. ... rejecting *your* morality is not the same thing as rejecting ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
Quantcast