Re: Drawing the Circle of Sentient Privilege (was RE: What's Important to Discuss)

From: Jef Allbright (jef@jefallbright.net)
Date: Wed Nov 20 2002 - 12:49:27 MST


gts wrote:
> Jef Allbright wrote:
>
>> Attempts in the past to create a scientific, rational moral code
>> were based on observations of nature, such as "survival of the
>> fittest", which in a sense may be the ultimate natural law, no
>> matter what rules we may make. However this conflicts with
>> (ironically) our evolutionary programming to be compassionate.
>
> I see no conflict here. Nature has selected compassion as a valuable
> trait in humans.

Gordon, you apparently misunderstood what I wrote. I clearly said it is in
our evolutionarly programming to be compassionate. I was contrasting our
human compassion with evolution's utter lack of compassion, and remarking
that it is ironic that a non-compassionate process results in compassion.

The conflict would be between a rule based on strict survival of the fittest
(no compassion) and a rule based on human values (with compassion.)

- Jef



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