Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > Brent Meeker writes: > > > > If we discovered some million year old civilization today I think > wonder > > at its achievements, however paltry, would far outweigh dismay at its > > wickedness, however extreme. I'm not sure what the significance > of this > > observation is. > > I don't think it's true. My exhibit A is the Aztecs. > > Brent Meeker > There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself > to be burned for an opinion. > -- Anatole France > > > The Aztecs aren't a million years old. The further removed it is from us > (literally and metaphorically), the less we worry about the ethical > considerations. If some far future nonhuman civilization dug up the > Nazis their children might very well want the equivalent of Adolf Hitler > dolls for Christmas, even if their ethical standards turn out to be > similar to our own. In the long run, fascination trumps horror. > > Stathis Papaioannou
Of course distance, in time or DNA, makes ethical judgments less relevant. It's hard for us to judge chimpanzees and impossible to judge dinosaurs. Brent --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
