Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (82165)	6/20/2000 12:31:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Fairness as we are discussing means something like justice or equity. Something that is mutually satisfying, if not to the recipient, to disinterested observers. I'm not sure this helps. First, I think justice is even harder to define than fairness, so that doesn't help. Equity is usually defined in terms of fairness, so that is circular. So far, neither one gives us much help. "Something that is mutually satisfying, if not to the recipient, to disinterested observers" requires that there be disinterested observers. Three problems. First, it is purely subjective. Second, is there any such thing as a disinterested observer? It's sort of like the problem in some branches of science where the observer simply by observing affects the outcome of the experiment. Third, it often gets us back to the liberal-conservative issue (sorry!) because whether an observer sees something as fair often depends on their political outlook. Is the Swedish political system fairer than than the U.S. political system? Different groups of disinterested observers will, I expect, give us different answers. Is it fair to execute convicted murderers? Is it fair to prohibit teens who get pregnant through consensual sex (not rape or incest) to abort a 30 week fetus? Is it fair to require school districts to provide full time aides for severely handicapped students if that means they can't afford new textbooks for their mainstream students? Is it fair for colleges to punish whites who call blacks "nigger" but not punish blacks who call whites "honkeys"? Is it fair to prevent five thousand people who want to hear a prayer before a school football game to be prevented from hearing it because it might offend a dozen people? (That's one, btw, which I think is just but not fair.) How are you going to find disinterested observers to give you opinions on these questions? If they know enough to answer responsibly (that is, from knowledge of the situation, not from ignorance of the issues), they are almost certainly not disinterested.