| alright, already |
by zeitnot |
2005-08-04 05:23:24 |
I'll go ahead and explain my objection to #3 from yesterday's "myths about porn" thing. This particular item is the key issue of the whole document, and the argument behind it is relevant across all of modern culture.
(if i'm actually supposed to go back to yesterday and keep posting in that thread, feel free to chastise and move this message.)
Number 3 stands or falls on the validity of relativism. "Moral standards are a matter of opinion", it states, and later, the writer even goes further with "Moral standards are impossible to define."
To accept either of these statements requires a voluntary abandonment of common sense. If I am able to decide what is moral for me, and then act upon it, I have created my own universe in which I am the absolute authority on the truth.
Inevitably, my subsequent actions, based upon my decision as to what is moral for me, will collide with the opinions of other around me, who have decided what is moral for them. Violations of privacy, property, liberty, or life are meaningless to me unless it is my privacy, my property and so forth.
Yes, the inevitable answer is "it must be within reasonable limits." But whose limits? If there must be limits, then I am no longer able to define what is moral truth for me. An irresolvable contradiction arises. Why should it matter to me if my morals run against the desires of a thousand people who have taken up petitions, voted, and established a consensus and written a law?
If there is no universal, objective truth, then there is no truth. And this is the heart of relativism: that we cannot know the truth.
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[ Reply ] |
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Re: Alright, already | by finklestein | 2005-08-04 05:30:16 |
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define please.... | by volg | 2005-08-04 06:19:24 |
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Children under age of six? (n/t) | by kelli217 | 2005-08-04 07:01:09 |
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one who is forced to accept the consequences | by defdood | 2005-08-04 07:17:18 |
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who cares? (n/t) | by finklestein | 2005-08-04 08:55:03 |
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yes it is depressing! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 07:33:10 |
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there is no truth | by astro-g | 2005-08-04 05:32:50 |
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morality has nothing to do with "Truth" | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 05:44:01 |
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the TRUTH! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 06:00:32 |
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I think you've summed up what I was getting at | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 06:22:15 |
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well alright, but | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 07:20:00 |
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because good and evil are relative | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 08:03:01 |
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I'm not entirely sure I agree | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 08:48:01 |
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here's a context for you | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 09:21:46 |
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The action can be regarded as you say | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 09:33:46 |
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Good and evil | by DevinUll | 2005-08-04 09:42:18 |
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As far as Quakers | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 10:04:36 |
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well, | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 10:24:51 |
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I think you meant Amish and not Quakers? (n/t) | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 10:27:02 |
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Thanks Mixing up my religions. again (n/t) | by DevinUll | 2005-08-04 13:48:04 |
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no! they're not! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 09:16:28 |
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???? | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 09:26:45 |
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*examines wheelbarrow* | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 09:35:20 |
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Your pickup truck is evil (n/t) | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 09:37:17 |
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you're just jealous of it :-P (n/t) | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 09:38:56 |
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Sorry. Got a bit carried away. | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 09:47:56 |
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I won't invoke Godwin, even though I'm tempted | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 10:11:54 |
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i had to look that up. | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 10:38:59 |
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When you say that opinion is relative, and truth | by Peace_man | 2005-08-04 10:46:43 |
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yep. | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 11:28:54 |
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fine. then let me redefine the parameters | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 10:59:44 |
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augh! she redefined the parameters! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 11:19:16 |
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still not good enough. sorry. | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 12:41:55 |
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I agree | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 13:25:17 |
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I agree with most of what you said there | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 14:05:44 |
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replying to myself to add | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 14:07:18 |
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That I think I'd disagree with | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 17:05:32 |
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whew. this thread has been active for | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 19:23:40 |
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but wait! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 15:51:33 |
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and another thing! | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 16:11:05 |
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heh. you like absolutes and I like infinities | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 17:10:45 |
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Only universal truths I know of | by Pic | 2005-08-04 08:03:04 |
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That, in itself, is illuminating. | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 09:20:30 |
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One comment | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 08:40:23 |
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I guess this is where I differ in a lot of my | by voxwoman | 2005-08-04 09:14:53 |
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yes, but | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 09:27:26 |
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Not necessarily | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 09:37:45 |
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well, | by zeitnot | 2005-08-04 09:54:41 |
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I'm not sure that it will | by MatthewDBA | 2005-08-04 09:27:33 |
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Typically, the ethical answer... | by Ravenlock | 2005-08-04 05:56:09 |
