I guess the following would be better put here.
arnisador said:
I've seen people try to develop an ethics out of Darwinism. Other than that, it's all a matter of philosophy, right? Was Thomas Jefferson a good person because he promoted freedoms or a bad person because he owned slaves? Just about every male who has ever lived has been a human rights abuser in terms of denying female suffrage until quite recently...and it's still not hard to find places where it's denied. You couldn't hope to get a universal agreement on human rights that covered enough cases to be worthwhile.
There is actually a third way to view all this. Thomas Jefferson was a man of his time (actually, way ahead of his time in many ways). He held the ironic position of owning slaves...AND believing all men were created equal. He also seemed to understand that America would suffer for it's continued patronage of the slave system (and he was right).
I have to believe there are two directions to go, morally, toward greater, more evolved moral beliefs, or we can ratchet step back. Sometimes a ratchet step back is unavoidable by circumstance, but it should never be confused as a 'moral' step. I do not believe that all behavior is equall moral. Some behavior is more moral, some is less. How do we know a moral direction? Sometimes only in comparision.
For example, a system that reveres human life is more moral than one that does not. Why? Because God says so? No, because a system that reveres human life is higher evolved, socially. Our system of morality has evolved along with our culture.
Lets look at two cultures, and compare which one is the more moral. One culture views clan membership and loyalty to the clan leader as the ideal. Another has a highly developed ideal, codified in a constitution, outlining the rights of all peoples, and a system of laws. Which is more 'moral'? If you are stuck in intellectual trap of moral relativism, you are forced to say "Well, neither is more 'moral', as there is no such thing as morality". However, it's obvious, even to them if they are honest, that the second one is more 'moral'.
arnisador said:
It's been said that the whole of the traditional Jewish law is "Do not do unto others that which is hateful to you" and that the whole of the message of the New Testament is to strengthen that to the more active "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Makes sense, but where are the first grounds on which it is built?
We have to agree on axioms, just as in any other area of intellectual investigation.
I suggest reading Roberty Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and then, his book Lila: An Inquiry in to Morals.
In Lila, Pirsig outlines a compelling argument for the evolution of morals. He breaks up moral debates in to biology versus social patterns, social versus intellectual and dynamic versus static.
Pirsig makes the argument, for example, that in the conflict of Fascism versus Communism, Communism was the more moral system, in theory. How did he arrive at this? He argued that Fascism was based on a social pattern of governing, where by loyalty to the state, or to a leader, was the most important element.
Communism, Pirsig argued, was an intellectual, not a social construct, and was, therefore, morally superior.
We can apply this to the US. The US was founded on a series of ideas, and it is those ideas, not a social pattern, that holds the US together at it's core.
At any rate, i've gone on far enough on the topic. I recommend that you pick up a copy of Pirsig's books. They are a compelling read. I don't argue that they are the be all and end all of the topic, but they are thought provoking.
upnorthkyosa said:
Only in the minds of perpetrator and the victims. The winner will determine who was right and who was wrong? Is there any other universal standard?
The irony is that a more moral level has the ability to overcome the level immediately below it.
Take, for example, an ultra-violent, physically powerful, murdering, raping brigand. He is pursuing a pattern of biological quality. On a purely biological level, he is completely moral, he's pursuing biological quality. He can take what he wants, breed with whatever females he wants (whether they agree or not). From that perspective, he is better adapted than his victims. His genetics will be continued, and his off-spring will carry on the same biological level of quality he will.
He is fine as long as he is operating a purely biological level, and everyone else is to.
However, at the point at which we start evolving social quality, evolution starts viewing those with social quality as better adapted than the purely biological man. This man who was formerly king of his domain, is suddenly confronted with a problem.
Though he can dominate and control any man or beast, one on one or even in small groups he comes in contact with, those who have evolved social quality can overcome him...by power of the group. They have decided that his biological quality is now a 'crime'. Why? Because a social level of quality is more moral than a biological level of quality.
As time goes by, social man develops a system of laws and a military to keep biological man in check, because biological man only understands force. As social man becomes more powerful, biological man finds himself restrained.
Social man is on top of the world. At some point, however, an intellectual man evolves. He finds the social system confining. He sets out to change the social system. He develops ideas beyond the original purpose of social man. He develops mathmatics and science. Philosophy. Soon, government begins to be about more than simply controlling biological man for the good of the group. Ideas become an end unto themselves.
Having said all this, some might be wondering 'what does this have to do with moral relativism'? The answer to moral dispute can be solved by deciding where which side of the argument supports. At it's core, is it a social versus biological argument, or a social versus intellectual argument, for example.
Take the issue of the death penalty being leveled in another room. It's a social quality versus biological quality issue (social control versus biological quality criminals). If we turn it in to an intellectual issue, however, we have to determine who's side we're coming in on. The mistake is to the thing that intellectual quality can control biological quality. Intellectual quality is powerless over biological quality, it is social control that stops crime.
The mistake is to believe that the professor and his research can prevent biological quality from asserting itself as crime. The reality is, biological quality can only be controlled by the soldier or the policeman, and their gun. Why? Because police and soldiers are on the line of biological quality, yet they serve the social order, which in turn serves, in a higher evolved society, and ideal.
Intellectual quality, as Pirsig says, makes a mistake when it inserts itself in this social/biological conflict. The reason it makes that mistake is that it views the social order as oppressive. However, the mistake is in not understanding that, while the social order oppressing intellectual quality is wrong and absolutely immoral (say, burning books and stiffling dissent), that the social order controlling crime and pursuing criminals (biological behavior) is absolutely moral and right.
Often, however, those on an intellectual level of quality can't tell the difference, whether it is social/intellectual oppression of social/biological oppression, so intellectuals often take the side of criminals (See Tookie).
