Sodom
Bill Roh
Bob Hartwig wrote:
> >>
> >> Indeed. I'm not sure what you consider "morality", but the
> >>notion that it is GOOD to minimize suffering and BAD to increase it
> >>falls within my definition.
> >
> >I don't know about your definition, but I hold the
> >view that suffering is bad on entirely practical
> >grounds -- we don't enjoy it, it is unnecessary,
> >therefore we are better off without it. Where's the
> >morality there?
>
> I can accept that minimizing our own suffering is desirable on purely
> practical grounds. We're here because our ancestors minimized their
> suffering at the hands of predators, after all. When you discuss
> minimizing suffering *in general*, presumably including the suffering of
> others, how can you consider that outside the realm of morality?
>
> Here's where I'm at: I feel that an individual should do whatever they
> want, as long as it does not hurt others. If someone were to ask me why
> they should not hurt others, I wouldn't have a good answer for them. I'm
> not content to say "because hurting others is immoral". As you indicated
> earlier, that's a shortcut to understanding. But I can't come up with a
> better answer. Comments?