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Old 09-21-2007, 10:44 AM
soon2bepro soon2bepro is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Default Re: David Sklansky is an ACist

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Firstly, I happen think your idea of morality is pretty ridiculous, but I tried to be polite.

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Always good to be polite, if you can manage =)

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Since you'll eventually realize you have a losing hand

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Oh I doubt it is me with the losing hand here, but if you can show this to me I'd be much grateful.

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It's a good thing we, as an intelligent species, realized that we don't really like the idea of someone stronger coming by and "taking us down," so we apply social consequence to restrict the behavior. The (social and natural) evolutionary ramification ensues. But it stems from a belief that has tangible merit. That taking people down because you're physically stronger is not productive for a society of human beings.

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This being a good thing or not, would depend on your moral position, but in any case, the point is that it's been designed, it didn't come about by a natural process of evolution, but by an artificial one: culture. *1

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How does that resemble morals?

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Because I don't think it's "morally good" to take you down and steal your chics? I'm not really sure what you're asking.

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I was merely pointing out that your idea that morals today evolve MAINLY by a process of natural selection and thus natural evolution, is wrong. The selection process is mostly artificial, and so is the evolution process.

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Moreover, viruses and memes don't have to do good to anyone to survive. They survive because they can.

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Does all of existence really revolve around human beings? A virus doesn't have to do "good" in the way we interpret "good" to survive if it is equipped to handle our attempts to kill it. If we couple kill the HIV virus, wouldn't we?

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Not sure what you meant here, but if I got it right, you didn't get me right when I used the term "anybody" to refer only to the hosts, and not to the parasites/viruses/memes themselves. I thought about using another term at the time, but I thought what I said next would clarify what I meant. Maybe it didn't.

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I didn't realize we were at the evolutionary finish line. What makes you think the burdens you observe won't die out eventually?

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Oh please, you're walking right into my trap! Please don't make it that easy...

Are you aware that the same applies to your particular moral/ethical code? It too could be a burden that would eventually die out.

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We design our moral/ethical code.

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How exactly do we do this? Do we close our eyes and make a wish? Or do we merely live and make decisions according to what seems most pleasing?

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By thinking about what we want for ourselves and others, and communicating it to others, hearing them out, form new conclusions, etc. Just like we do with any other cultural idea. *1

I don't think I got your point here, if there was one.

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But the thing here is that not all human beings share the same interests/purposes, especially in the sense that we can be selfish and want something for ourselves when that means someone else won't have it.

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Equilibrium ensues. If that person can't get it, why should he have it? That seems chaotic to me.

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I really didn't understand what you meant here.


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This is the main reason why there are different moral/ethical codes within the human population.

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I would argue that bias is the reason.

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Um... Hellooo? That is what I said.





*1 - Here I'm using the word "culture" in the evolutionary sense, to mean the knowledge, thoughts, experiences, and techonology, that we pass on from generation to generation, that is not included in our genes.
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