----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Spencer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> "An Englishwoman...was accused of heresy in 1704...
>> [splatter details elided]
>> Remember that all she had to do to avoid torture was to change her
>> opinion.
>
>You leave us to infer that so doing would have been "rational".
In all cases, when I use "rational", I mean in the sense of Homo
economicus -- a Machiavellian calculator.
>axioms explicitly. That ending excruciating pain is a good -- even
>best -- thing to do is such a default axiom. Two difficulties emerge
>when we try to talk about the rationality of actions or propose
>rational a course.
I agree with you. Ending pain is the norm, but some people seem
to like it.
>About biology and survival: From the (hypothetical) point of view of a
>species, survival comes first. If rationality is available to the
This is a misconception. Darwinian survival is the survival of the
fittest "genes" -- not species or individuals. Rational actions from
an evolutionary standpoint are those that tend to propigate genes.
>Is the only way to avoid global catastrophe to do evil? The Second
>Law and biology may or may not tell us how to avoid catastrophe but it
>surely won't tell us whether or not it's possible to remain humane and
>civil persons if we do so.
How about the "survival of civilization"?
We know that if people continue to destroy our life-support system
as they have, then our civilization will inevitably collapse (immutable
2nd law arguments).
We also know that if civilization collapses, then industrial supply lines
will breakdown and then, billions of innocent people will starve.
Are billions of people to be condemed to death because of YOUR
hundreds-of-years-old "beliefs" about "rights"?
How is this any different from the religious nut allowing her children
die because she doesn't "believe" in medicine?
Do MY grandchildren have to die just because John Locke ate
psychedelic mushrooms 400 years ago?
Two hundred years ago, Thomas Paine asked whether the Earth
belongs to the living or the dead. It's time to ask that question again.
Jay -- www.dieoff.com
