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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (33118)	10/15/2001 8:45:48 PM
From: cosmicforce	Respond to of 82486

The tools of science are just one set of tools. I don't believe formal logic gets you where need to be in terms of ethics. I don't elevate these principles to God status. No one set of principles gets you all the way there. My whole philosophy is based upon the principle that all things are at best, a compromise. What I meant vis-a-vis, optimization, is that Ethics are primarily about satisfying sometimes opposing needs of people and the situations in which they find themselves. Minimized suffering and maximized compassion are not really measurable because they are internal processes, but they represent goals. That is why we need to ask people if we should intervene on their behalf. It is more or less a rational process. If you have an opposition to gay marriage, for instance, then I would say, "What is it about gay marriage that involves you?" If it is only some rather nebulous connection or one that relies on dubious supernatural principles, then I'd tend to reject your claim. If you approach it from a utilitarian POV, then I'd need to know EXACTLY what utility such an opposition has and why the status quo is better than allowing other people to simply choose who they want to spend their lives with. Either no couple receives the blessing of the state, or all couples do. If it isn't all couples then the burden of proof rests on those who wish to make the distinction. One of my biggest barriers in my job (I'm sort of what they used to call an Efficiency Expert), is that people want to do things the way they always did it. They don't care that it isn't the right way, it is their way. I fight this at work and in the community.