Moral Certitude

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En_Route
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Moral Certitude

Post by En_Route » Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:42 pm

if I deliberately spread scurillous rumours about an office rival so that I can earn promotion to the coveted post of senior Product Evangelist, is it meaninglessto describe this as a wrong thing" thing to do ( assume no mitigating circumstances and that I am a ruthless, power- obsessed shit with no redeeming features) . if so, how is it possible to substantiate this assertion. Apologies if this is old hat.
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Beatsong » Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:54 pm

En_Route wrote:if I deliberately spread scurillous rumours about an office rival so that I can earn promotion to the coveted post of senior Product Evangelist, is it meaningless to describe this as a wrong thing" thing to do?
No, it isn't meaningless.
if so, how is it possible to substantiate this assertion. Apologies if this is old hat.
Because it's generally considered wrong to harm other people for your own personal gain.

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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by En_Route » Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:25 pm

if younare saying the notion of wrongness isi in effect a social convention , I agree.
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Beatsong » Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:39 pm

Of course.

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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by FBM » Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:54 pm

Neither objective morality nor social darwinism have much merit. Both are pretty easy to debunk. Just by the law of averages, if you lie, you'll have to make a dozen lies to cover it. The chances of getting away with a big lie aren't good, and the consequences of being found out will probably weigh heavier than whatever you benefitted from it. Think lawsuit(s) and people using your own tactic against you.
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by cronus » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:04 pm

We all live by our own inner truths though and there's no telling if my truths are the same as yours. Saying that a Big Lie has a greater chance of success than a small one so long as it is told loud and clear enough for long enough, and obtains the backing, or at least the respect, of credible people. Isn't that how religions work?
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Rum » Sun Jul 14, 2013 3:20 pm

Depends.

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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Audley Strange » Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:14 pm

Never mind morals, Certitude itself is fucking crazy.
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Robert_S » Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:26 pm

Audley Strange wrote:Never mind morals, Certitude itself is fucking crazy.
I have my doubts about that.
What I've found with a few discussions I've had lately is this self-satisfaction that people express with their proffessed open mindedness. In realty it ammounts to wilful ignorance and intellectual cowardice as they are choosing to not form any sort of opinion on a particular topic. Basically "I don't know and I'm not going to look at any evidence because I'm quite happy on this fence."
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Audley Strange » Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:32 pm

Robert_S wrote:
Audley Strange wrote:Never mind morals, Certitude itself is fucking crazy.
I have my doubts about that.
As well you may. Do I need to quote Crowley?

YES!

"Doubt.
Doubt thyself.
Doubt even if thou doubtest thyself.
Doubt all.
Doubt even if thou doubtest all."

If only the sad old prick listened.
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Re: Moral Certitude

Post by Jason » Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:33 am

I doubt my own doubt. At least I think I doubt it - I'm doubtful.

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