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>'Relative Moralist'
Does not relativist come pretty close to opportunist?
Humanism is not just a philosphy. It's also a way of living.
Perhaps, but it's a very broad description. We are talking specifically about secular humanism, not christian humanism, but even with that type of humanism there are many subsets. I wouldn't put relativist and opportunist as synonyms, no. A Relativist is someone who holds to the IDEOLOGY of Relatvism, ie, that there are no moral/legal/religious and/or epistemological absolutes. An opportunist can belong to any creed or belief system and is simply someone who is quick to take opportunities with both hands when they present themselves. Opportunist is an active word focusing on the doing of actions, whilst relativist is a more passive word describing beliefs or world view. Opportunist usually has a slightly pejorative edge to it also - the implication is that they take advantage of situations for their own gain, sometimes at the expense of others.
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species. Since we're saying what we believe in this context, I believe they aren't.
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species. My opine: The decay of human moral codes is the result of natural evolution.
Last edited by olly; 06/15/08 11:51 PM. Reason: changed context
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species. My opine: The decay of human moral codes is the result of natural evolution. ...or devolution?
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species. My opine: The decay of human moral codes is the result of natural evolution. So, you believe that humans were originally "perfect" or lacking in "decay" or what? Sounds sort of Garden of Eden-ish!
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So, you believe that humans were originally "perfect" or lacking in "decay" or what? Sounds sort of Garden of Eden-ish!
I think devolution would indicate that is the case, However I think that some in society tend to follow their conscience which is eventually smoothed out or less inhibited due to constant bombardment. Take television for instance. Half naked swearing gun totin people fill our screens. Slowly it wears down peoples conscience like an emery wheel. To some kids, it becomes acceptable. What next? Why is'nt devolution de-evolution?
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species.
So, you believe that humans were originally "perfect" or lacking in "decay" or what? Sounds sort of Garden of Eden-ish!
I think devolution would indicate that is the case, However I think that some in society tend to follow their conscience which is eventually smoothed out or less inhibited due to constant bombardment. Take television for instance. Half naked swearing gun totin people fill our screens. Slowly it wears down peoples conscience like an emery wheel. To some kids, it becomes acceptable. What next? To me it makes no logical sense, and there is no empirical evidence for it, that human morals and law are "a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species." My opinion is that human morals and laws result from the fact that we have a God-given conscience that tells us there is such a thing as Right and Wrong. The categories of morality are nuanced by culture, but that there IS morality is intuitive and innate. That innate sense of morality is one thing that separates us from other social animals who are quite 'successful' without having laws and codes, so it's not something we "need" in an evolutionary sense. The only "need" we have arises from our imperfect nature, so that restraints have to be imposed on people to stop the whole world descending into anarchy and chaos. When law is removed, we end up with Mogadishu. But is this thread getting too off topic and metaphysical?
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>'Relative Moralist'
Does not relativist come pretty close to opportunist?
Humanism is not just a philosphy. It's also a way of living.
Perhaps, but it's a very broad description. Opportunist usually has a slightly pejorative edge to it also - the implication is that they take advantage of situations for their own gain, sometimes at the expense of others. An opportunist could excuse his ways by seeing himself as a relativist. I see a relativist and opportunist are not synonym, like you pointed out the differences. So we're back at word matters.
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Carpal Tunnel
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My opinion is that human morals and laws result from the fact that we have a God-given conscience that tells us there is such a thing as Right and Wrong.
I don't see any empirical evidence for this view. Outside of cartoons and other forms of popular culture, I do not see little imps sitting on your left and right shoulders whispering into your ears that eating locusts is Right, but mixing linen and wool is Wrong. When one looks at the history of humans, one notices a great many contradictory ethical systems. To posit that one out these many is the one true one and all others are deliberate perversions which were created by people who willfully go against their conscience is a bit much to take, but then people's propensity for credulity is enormous.
But perhaps we are getting off topic and wandering in the field of anthropology.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I believe that human moral codes are a natural result of the evolution of a successful social species. Said Faldage with heavy irony. (Either that, or you're wearing a rose-tinted welding mask).
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