Re: Modern Physical theory as a basis for Ethical and Existential Nihilism

[Stathis Papaioannou]

The study of why societies have certain ethical beliefs is a subject for 
evolutionary psychology, or anthropology/sociology (moving down the 
reductionist hierarchy), and the study of what brain processes underlie 
ethical beliefs and behaviour is a subject for 
neurophysiology/biochemistry/chemistry/ultimately quantum physics (moving up 
the reductionist hierarchy), but the actual experience of having an ethical 
belief, and its ultimate justification, is not subject to scientific study. 
It is the old philosophical distinction between qualia - the subjective 
experience in itself - versus a description of the brain processes 
underlying the subjective experience. Subjective experience is at bottom 
simple, basic, irreducible. This does not by any means imply that there is 
anything mystical about it.  I believe that there is a one to one, or 
possibly a many to one, relationship between brain states and mental states; 
a one to many relationship would imply that something magical was going on, 
and I cannot imagine how this could occur even in theory. To this extent, I 
believe that the identity theory of mind MUST be valid - but to say that a 
certain brain state is necessary and sufficient for the experience of a 
corresponding mental state is not to say that the mental state is the same 
thing as the brain state.

Stathis Papaioannou
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Melbourne, 22 January 2004

From: Eugen Leitl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Stathis Papaioannou <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Modern Physical theory as a basis for Ethical and Existential 
Nihilism
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 13:30:16 +0100

Ethics is largely an artifact of evolutionary psychology, and as such a
domain of science.
On Wed, Jan 21, 2004 at 11:27:16PM +1100, Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
> This sort of argument has been raised many times over the centuries, 
both
> by rationalists and by their opponents, but it is based the fundamental
> error of conflating science with ethics. Science deals with matters of
> fact; it does not comment on whether these facts are good or bad, 
beautiful
> or ugly, desirable or undesirable. These latter qualities - values - are
> necessarily subjective, and lie in the domain of ethics and aesthetics. 
So
> of course, we're all going to die, and so will everyone we care about, 
and
> so will the world itself, eventually; but if you can convince yourself 
that
> life is worth living up until that moment, then life is worth living.
> Saying that life is worth living, or that you believe it is bad to kill,
> are simply statements of your values and feelings, and as such are valid
> independently of any scientific theory.
>
>
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