From: Rafal Smigrodzki (rms2g@virginia.edu)
Date: Fri Nov 22 2002 - 07:35:57 MST
Eliezer wrote:
>
> Lee Corbin wrote:
>>
>> Think about it: you see someone stridently say "It is MORALLY WRONG
>> that x!"
>>
>> What the hell does that mean? At most it could mean,
>>
>> "I disapprove, and so do most societies with
>> which I am familiar, though not all, and most
>> people you respect would agree with me."
>>
>> It cannot, via good epistemology, possibly mean anything
>> more. In fact, since it cannot, I usually find its use
>> somewhat dishonest.
>
> Um, even if those two statements turned out to be coextensional for
> all speakers, I don't think your epistemological work is done until
> you explain the origins of the perceived cognitive difference. Why
> is it that people seem to see "It is MORALLY WRONG that x!" as a
> different statement than "I and most people disapprove of x"? Why
> does one statement seem to imply legal prohibition while the other
> implies, at the most, social ostracization? What is it that, for
> you, distinguishes that which you disapprove of with a frown, and
> that which many people including you band together to disapprove of
> with a gun?
### I think you are pointing to a useful fact regarding the usage of "it's
morally wrong".
This is mainly a way of saying "I really hate it, and I am *serious* about
it". The amount of ethical argumentation in favor of this opinion may, or
may not, be substantial. It is mainly a manner of speech.
Rafal
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