[Platt to Jon] Claims by atheists that they adhere to values like caring and compassion derive for the most part from Judeo-Christian ethics.
[Arlo] Right, because the history of Judeo-Christianity, prior to the secular enlightenment, is soooooo chock-full of "compassion"... I imagine it was this great "compassion" that led to the genocide waged against the Native Americans? Or maybe, like Jon, you believe we killed them savages because they refused our gift of civility? But no, no one should claim religious traditions do not, at the least (in the case of the pre-secularized West), pay lip-service to such tenets as "compassion". Other traditions, such as Buddhism, more readily evidenced compassion. But conflating "compassion" with "religion" is simply nonsensical. Despite your ongoing demonizing of "them evil atheists", the most compassionate people I know are atheists, while I know many theists who lack the most basic compassion for others. [Platt] While the MOQ is atheistic, it's highest good is freedom which, if adhered to, prevents the evil outcomes of attempts to bring about Utopian societies such as proposed by Marx and other like-minded atheists. [Arlo] And theistic societies, or laws based on an imaginary being's command, or Judeo-Christian societies, such as proposed by the current "conservative" crowd. [Platt] A regular contributor, Ham, has posted an astute critique of my MOQ principles. Others may chime in. [Arlo] I think its a fair and well-written summary. My only criticism has to do with the nonsensical outcome of saying "only living beings can respond to DQ". How did a carbon atom "lose" its ability to respond to DQ? Seems to me, everytime a carbon atom "responds" to its environment, it is doing so in the same way ever carbon atom that has ever existed has done, namely respond to DQ within its repertoire of inorganic possibility. I think its much, much clearer and in line with the rest of Pirsig's writing to say "only a living being can respond to DQ biologically", "only certain living beings can respond to DQ socially", and (for the sake of argument), "only man can respond to DQ intellectually". Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
