| UF Philosophy Corner: Ethics |
by MatthewDBA |
2009-03-31 07:55:43 |
This was a question that came up in my thoughts on yesterday's Philosophy Corner discussion.
Suppose someone feels (or even proves!) that a certain technology/cultural development/philosophy of life is necessary to the survival of the human species over the next, say, millennium or three. Is that feeling *in itself* sufficient warrant for pursuing (or feeling that one ought to pursue) the technology/development/etc.?
For example, suppose that someone says, "We need to develop a way to colonize other stars or planets; otherwise, our population is going to grow so great that we'll degrade our environment past its ability to sustain us - we'll die out in centuries." Regardless of the accuracy of this opinion, is the opinion "If we don't colonize other planets, we'll die out" sufficient reason by itself to support efforts to colonize other planets? |
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[ Reply ] |
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Well that really depends. | by fudje | 2009-03-31 08:02:27 |
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It is an ethical question | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:17:58 |
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Well, yes, of course. (n/t) | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 08:39:29 |
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Why "of course"? (n/t) | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:47:28 |
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Because of the moral imperative to preserve life (n/t) | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 12:55:18 |
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Is the moral imperative | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 13:01:22 |
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How would one preserve the individuals' lives | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 13:21:34 |
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When there is a choice. | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 14:03:21 |
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You need to do a cost benefit analysis | by TrogL | 2009-03-31 08:05:34 |
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Feelings are irrelevant. | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 08:11:10 |
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Isn't a feeling | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:13:49 |
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Is it? | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 08:17:08 |
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Call it an opinion, then. | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:20:26 |
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Basically yes. | by vectorz | 2009-03-31 08:14:03 |
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What is so important about it, though? | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:19:47 |
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Vested interest, kinship selection, | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 08:34:47 |
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How often does an individual | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:45:44 |
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The most cogent argument I've seen for the | by twixt | 2009-03-31 09:51:31 |
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So you're saying | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 09:57:16 |
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Yup. Because if we hadn't done this in the past, | by twixt | 2009-03-31 12:28:08 |
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Isn't that a bit circular? | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 13:00:29 |
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And what is the difference between | by twixt | 2009-03-31 13:24:20 |
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It's not the human species that is important | by vectorz | 2009-03-31 08:43:37 |
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A species does nothing in particular | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:47:07 |
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I've got to leave or I'll get nothing done today. (n/t) | by toysbfun | 2009-03-31 08:55:37 |
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You have to exert effort to get nothing done? ;-P (n/t) | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 08:57:24 |
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there are other equally valid reasons | by voxwoman | 2009-03-31 09:07:21 |
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I'm not thinking about other equally valid reasons | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 09:19:52 |
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not necessarily :) (n/t) | by voxwoman | 2009-03-31 09:33:30 |
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In my mind, it goes like this: | by lex_icon | 2009-03-31 09:38:25 |
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But you would allow for the possibility | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 09:46:04 |
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Well, yeah | by lex_icon | 2009-03-31 10:07:45 |
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I'm sorry if that's the case | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 10:15:10 |
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I don't think it's necessarily the question | by lex_icon | 2009-03-31 10:20:18 |
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No problem | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 10:24:02 |
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It would depend a lot on your code of ethics. | by retiqlum2 | 2009-03-31 09:41:03 |
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I used "code of ethics" which is not technically.. | by retiqlum2 | 2009-03-31 10:09:15 |
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I'm not sure where ethics enter into this issue. | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 09:53:32 |
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Ethics enters into it | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 09:57:55 |
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Hmm - I think I see. | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 10:39:25 |
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I'm not limiting this | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 10:56:09 |
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I think I see. | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 11:01:00 |
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I don't know that it's that unusual. | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 11:16:03 |
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Yes, that is inevitable. | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 11:48:49 |
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I'd say that in general | by MatthewDBA | 2009-03-31 12:24:31 |
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Yes, but isn't this mostly for those who don't | by Peace_man | 2009-03-31 13:23:31 |
