----- Original Message -----
On Fri, 6 Apr 2007, "Louis Schmier"
A couple of opening points before I really stick my
foot in it:
(1) I've not been following this thread closely but I do
think it can be useful if it produces either strategies or
good responses to the manifestation of particular
metaphysical beliefs (aka religious beliefs).
(2) I'm replying to Louis Schmier's post below because
it seems to imply that a Divine entity is necessary for the
existence of a moral code and moral behavior even
though he hasn't provided any evidence of the existence
of a Divine entity (e.g., the God of the Abrahamic
religions, Cthulu, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster).
Given that we seem to be engaging in an "evidence-free"
discussion, let me jump into the pool with everyone else.
> Beth, where's the baiting, finger-pointing, and the goading?
> If our moral code and behavior doesn't stem from the existence
> of a Divine entity and rest on some Divine ordinance, from
> what does it stem and on what does it rest?
This is a very simple question and deserves a very simple answer.
As a devout Bokononist, I can unequivocally state that THE moral
code and moral behavior are based on FOMA. The purpose of
foma is make one endure the misery of everyday existence,
especially in situations where one's life is solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short (tm Tommy Hobbes). Imagine being a
13 year old girl in Darfur who, after being exposed to rape as
a weapon of war, might expect that life does not or cannot have
much to offer, not even a reason for existence.
I hope that Louis can find it in his heart to sing along with me
this solemn song of Bokonist faith:
I wanted all things
To seem to make some sense,
So we all could be happy, yes,
Instead of tense.
And I made up lies
So that they all fit nice,
And I made this sad world
A Par-a-dise.
Oh, a lion hunter in the jungle dark,
and a sleeping drunkard up in Central Park,
and a Chinese dentist and a British queen,
all fit together in the same machine.
Nice, nice, very nice,
nice, nice, very nice,
nice, nice, very nice
such very different people in the same device.
And TiPS is such a device too though it is only a granfalloon.
And remember that sometimes the pool-pah exceeds the
power of humans to comment.
And that God never wrote a good play in his life.
And it is never a mistake to say good-bye.
And if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. Do not
accept the illusion that your own enlighenment can be given
to you by someone elsewhere though a whack upside the
head might provide you with a moment of clarity.
For those unfamiliar with the Bokononist faith I suggest looking
at:
http://cns2.uni.edu/~wallingf/personal/bokonon.html
and for the meaning of specific terms see:
http://cns2.uni.edu/~wallingf/personal/bokonon.html#words
Make it a strange day. At least confuse a cat.
-Mike Palij
New York University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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