From: m.l.vere@durham.ac.uk
Date: Sun May 14 2006 - 15:43:04 MDT
Quoting John K Clark <jonkc@att.net>:
> <m.l.vere@durham.ac.uk>
>
> > Compassion, gene driven animal emotion - evolved to further cooperation
> > between people - thus increasing chances of survival. [.] Morality is
> > completely artificial.
>
> You almost make artificiality sound like a bad thing. I, like most people,
> much prefer manmade things because nature sucks. People may go camping on
> the weekend but they return to the manmade city on Monday.
I merely make the point that right and wrong are manmade, as opposed to
intrisnic to the universe. As such, when circumstances change (ie. post
singularity) they may well be better rejected.
> Besides your statements above are completely contradictory, if evolution
> found morality increases our chance of survival then it certainly isn't
> artificial. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
No, i argue that morality is built (atrificially), and people follow it
because of evolution induced emotions.
> > Right and Wrong either do not exist, or don't matter other than in the
> > qualia that they cause the person
>
> In other words right and wrong don't matter except for the most important
> thing in the universe, subjective experience.
Hence the suspension of disbelief argument. Also, as i said in my previous
post, by following artifical morality (and binding ourselves to it) when
making the singularity we trade far greater (positive) future subjective
experience for a far smaller ammount now.
> > we should reject traditional morality and embrace moral nihilism.
>
> Should? If you're right then why "should" we do anything? You are saying we
> should reject morality because it's the right thing to do and that does not
> compute.
Should, not in terms of morality, but in terms of what will produce the most
desirable state for us (as individuals). It is not contradictory for a moral
nihlist to espouse his/her views in order to encourage others to improve their
qualia if this also benefits him/her.
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