Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
On Monday, December 22, 2014, Bruce Kellett <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
If there's nothing wrong with oblivion, and murder leads to
oblivion, then there's nothing wrong with murder.
You slip too easily from "oblivion is not something to be feared" to
"oblivion [death] is a universal good to be sought by and for everyone".
Do you really think that the only reason people don't go out and
commit widespread random murder is that they fear oblivion? The
reason most people don't commit murder is that they think that
murder is wrong. That has got nothing to do with fearing anything.
Sure, for some religious people, the reason they refrain from doing
wrong things is fear of eternal punishment. But that is a perversion
of religion even more than it is a lapse of common sense.
I think you're missing the point. If murder leads to oblivion and
oblivion is not bad, then murder is not bad - unless you can think of
some other worse effect of murder.
Phrase the argument differently:
Oblivion is good. Murder leads to oblivion. Hence Murder is good.
Do you still think this is a valid inference?
Getting to my destination quickly is good. Driving at 300 kph in a
built-up zone gets me to my destination quickly. Therefore driving at
300 kph in a built-up zone is good.
The problem arising from over-simplification is obvious in the second
example. But you make the same mistake in you initial inference about
murder.
Bruce
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