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

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (70827)	7/22/2003 5:38:26 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

If someone disagrees with an "absolute moral principle" and honestly believes they are right, does this not mean that that "absolute moral principle" is really just a matter of personal opinion? If someone disagrees with the laws of physics and he absolutely believes he is right does that mean that the laws of physics are just a matter of personal opinion? You can't objectively know even the laws of physics with total certainty. First they change over time, as we come to understand the world better, but also you can't be sure that all of science and all our observation really reflects reality. You could really be a mutli-tenticled monster in a magic fantasy world who is dreaming. Or the world could even be weirder then that, it could be so far from what we observe and feel is rational that it couldn't be described even vaguely. I could be a figment of your imagination as could the people you see in person all the time. If I really believed that does it mean that reality is just a matter of opinion? I would say no. Even if we do not accurately perceive reality, reality would still be there. We could all be wrong about our opinions about it but it would still exist. The same would be true about absolute morality. If it exists its conceivable that every single creature that has ever lived has been incorrect about it but it wouldn't make it just a matter of personal opinion. When I say there is absolute morality I am simply saying some things are wrong, and they are still wrong no matter what anyone else thinks. If you agree with that idea you still have a long way to go in terms of determining what is moral and immoral, and why and how. You pretty much are still left with the whole philosophical study of ethics with the exception of the question "is there an absolute morality". An alternate theory might be that morality is just whatever each person thinks it is, but if you truly believe that then there isn't much point in talking about morality, either as "the study of ethics", or to describe someone's actions as morally wrong or right. If morality is just whatever anyone says it is then no one is doing anything wrong, or at least you can't show it to be wrong unless you are a mind reader. Some people might truly accept that no one's actions can be said to be wrong, or at least that they no one but the actor can call them wrong. I do not. Tim