[Steve quotes Harris] Because I think that right and wrong are a matter of increasing or decreasing well-being--and it is obvious that forcing half the population to live in cloth bags, and beating or killing them if they refuse, is not a good strategy for maximizing human well-being.
[Arlo] I'm not that familiar with Harris, but I've made the argument before using Csikszentmihalyi's notion of Flow; that which decreases one's ability to "flow" is negative, that which increase flow opportunities is positive. Flow, from Wikipedia, is "a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation." It is the experience of the mechanic when he is one with the machine, or the painter as he is one with the canvas, or the sculptor when he is one with the rotisserie. You can look at the above and say that forcing women to live in a bag restricts their opportunity to find and engage in flow activities. However, the voluntary act of donning this garb would be excluded, as perhaps the willful pursuit of a personal ascetic is where one may find flow (as in a monk who willfully secludes himself in a monestary, or a nun who wears a near identical garment (except for the face, in most cases) and practices chastity). We can also look at social law and codes as that which enables the maximum amount of flow opportunity for the greatest number of people. In this case, one can never have "total freedom", because one shares the world with other beings with the same moral rights (I am not "free" to drive down the left side of the road (in America) because "I want to", as such an act would potentially injure/kill others thus reducing their flow opportunities. Moreover, agreeing to (and enforcing) traffic rules greatly enhances flow, as it maximizes travel ability and ensures quick, safe movement- both things which increase flow overall). This is just an aside, as from what I've read I think I pretty much agree with you and Harris. 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
