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

To: TimF who wrote (61149)	10/4/2002 6:01:12 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Do you think that fanciful arguments are useful in moral questions because they can isolate particular issues from real world complications and confusions or do you think that since they do not reflect our real experience they should not be given much weight? I think that they're useful. I think anything that gets folks looking at something from a different angle is a good thing. All that is left is to argue about what is really in one's self interest. Yes, that's critical. Note that she talks about "enlightened, long-term self interest," just just plain "self interest." That narrows the options a lot. If you think enlightened and long-term, it's all but impossible to condone anything that would cause you to feel bad about yourself. Feeling bad about oneself isn't healthy at all, particularly over time. Thinking long term also brings in the good of society. If you're thinking long term, then you have to consider whether or not you're contributing to the kind of society you want to live in. Rampant embezzlement isn't good for society. Even a young, strong, quick man who could easily take whatever he wanted couldn't justify that long term because as he gets older, he will grow weaker. So unless he wants to live the fast life and die young, he has to be more responsible. It is very, very easy to reconcile a model of self interest with the good of society. I'd say it would be hard to not aspire to be a decent person. Libertinism just doesn't meet the criteria.

To: TimF who wrote (61149)	10/7/2002 5:23:59 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

"You can not really be 100% sure that you will get away with theft, and I at least do not have the power to cause someone on the other side of the world to fall instantly painlessly dead, and even if I did I don't see how doing so would make me rich." Why are any of these things under consideration for your self interest? These things involve self interest only in unsocialized or psychotic individuals. Why do you bring them up knowing they are anomalies?? If we pretend these people do not operate under self interest...are we then entitled to call them EVIL...or is there another way of approaching it...