From: No name given (vampier@mac.com)
Date: Wed Feb 27 2002 - 15:29:21 MST
On Wednesday, February 27, 2002, at 02:54 PM, L' Ermit wrote:
> [Hermit] For which there is no evidence. And if we wish to model
> ourselves and our behavior on apes, this also justifies killing the
> weak, ostracizing the ill, cannibalism, cheating and rape. Wonderful
> "natural law" and "natural justice" on which to model society. Excuse
> me if I disagree. You cannot pick and choose amongst the bits you like
> and discard the bits you don't and claim that this is justification for
> "natural law". Either it is a model - or it is not. I suggest that it
> is not.
Actually, there's one more flaw in the above comment, which Arnhart
addresses well in "Darwinian Natural Right" - and that is that it isn't
an all-or-nothing choice. We can examine the evidence and determine what
appears to be common behaviors in general (noting that we expect
statistical anomalies and outlying points, such as psychopaths) and go
from there. Yes, in the past humans and other primates have engaged in
the aforementioned activities, but this doesn't mean that it's a
"natural desire" for all humans.
Arnhart really argues this well. Please read the book first before you
argue with me about it.
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