anonymous66

It doesn't look to me like it works as a description of morality in a general sense. It doesn't explain the idea of moral progress. Or why people list...

A more accurate title for his book would be something like "Arrogance is the Enemy". or perhaps, "An Overinflated Ego is the Enemy".

@Chany I agree that cultures (and individuals) disagree about morality. I can accept that without being a moral relativist (or subjectivist, or emotiv...

I went back and listened to his talk at Stoicon, and noticed that he redefines "virtue" to mean excellence, so he definitely does not have the traditi...

I didn't read all 12 pages... but, my gut response to the question "can you be wrong about experience?" is no. I suppose you could see a dog and think...

I've been reading Holiday's Ego is the Enemy. So far I like it. He does mention some unflattering rather personal accounts of his own life at the begi...

I have no issue with that, except that I'm not convinced that relative morality actually does describe, in general, what people think and how they act...

It does appear that morality is difficult to talk about. I acknowledge various opinions about morality. In general, it can be said that moral objectiv...

Here are some descriptions of subjectivism, relativism and emotivism...

Do you have an answer to the above? You insist that they would do something.. what would they do?

Is that your answer? In your opinion culture and/or legislation determines what is moral?

What do you see as the difference between Emotivism, Subjectivism and Relativism? Okay, I'll take your word that some people who identify as emotivist...

The problem I have is that you say you are an emotivist, but you also tell me you can make judgments about morality. It seems to me that emotivists ca...

So, not descriptive... Now you're talking about enforcing what you claim are merely preferences. But, to continue, you do understand that we are up ag...

@Terrapin Station Can you elaborate on the judgments you do make? Can you give me some examples?

The way I see it, in very culture, there are moral disagreements. It sounds to me like moral relativists want me to believe that I should accept every...

Do you actually make judgments? Or do you think about them and talk about how you feel? I thought THE difference between moral relativists and moral o...

So, in your view, there is no objective standard for right and wrong, it's merely a fact that the strongest impose their morality on the weaker? And y...

So again... in a society with some people with some preferences, and others with other preferences... how are we to decide which to allow? Do the stro...

I wonder if we're on the same page here. Earlier you called yourself a relativist, but now you're calling yourself an emotivist. Which are you? You al...

That's the point I'm making about relativism vs objectivism. Objectivists DO acknowledge that people can be and sometimes are wrong about morality.. o...

You may be too quick to dismiss these people. I've found that most people can explain what they believe, and why, if given the chance.

I'm trying to understand moral relativism.. I'm trying to understand what it would be like for me to be a moral relativist (and trying to determine if...

You're contradicting yourself. Societies did believe that slavery was ethical. So, it was ethical (according to relativism). But, a minority believed ...

What I'd like a moral relativist to talk about is whether or not it's possible to be wrong about morality. What does it mean for a moral relativist to...

Then morality isn't actually based on consensus.... Apparently it's more about preferences (according to moral relativists). Apparently, we must decid...

Does that sound right to you? If there is a consensus about morality, then that makes that thing moral? Why try to change anything in any society then...

Can you elaborate? Your framework seems to be "I don't like it". We should anyone care what you do or don't like? From the standpoint of a serial kill...

Sure.. they could just call for a vote. But does consensus really mean something is morally acceptable?

Re: Scientology.. (from wiki) From the Scientology site above... "DOES SCIENTOLOGY HAVE A CONCEPT OF GOD? Most definitely. In Scientology, the concept...

Wittgenstein and Sartre are in the running.

That's a tough one... maybe Don Cupitt... He believes that God is not real, (but does deny being an atheist- although if I read him correctly, he beli...

Yeah, I can buy into that. But, I wonder what distinguishes ietsism from deism or a belief in Logos or some kind of pantheism or panentheism (Stoic th...

@Bittercrank I'm still thinking about this topic in relation to the way people categorize systems like religions and philosophy. It seems to me that p...

@Bittercrank I'm still thinking about the way people categorize systems like religions and philosophy. People think of religions as being about supern...

@Agustino There are differences of opinion (see Konstan and Sedley above)... But, at first glance, Epicurus believed there are ethical, powerful etern...

I am operating under the assumption that supernatural beliefs are what differentiate religions from philosophy. But, I'm open to other possibilities.

The UU's definitely think of themselves as a practicing a religion, the history includes supernatural beliefs, and they don't currently deny the super...

Not according to this... But this suggests there is some disagreement about how to interpret Epicurus' views on the gods...

Well, let's just say that I went through an atheist "phase" and that I was influenced by the history of the concept of Logos in general. I was also in...

@The OP Is there any room for deists in this discussion? Or pantheists, or panentheists? Or believers in Logos?

Would you also argue that independent of someone thinking about it, there would be no moon?

Believe it or not Epicurus was not an atheist. He had an argument for the existence of gods. He just also believed they had nothing to do with us, and...

One of the arguments in relation to moral relativism is that a true moral relativist would have no reason to judge another's morality. If a moral rela...

My point is that if it is the case that a religion includes supernatural beliefs, the fact that some people who follow said religion (or claim to be f...

What is it about them that makes you consider them to be religions? I've been impressed by Alain De Botton. He's written Religion for Atheists, but th...

Perhaps I should have typed "Can't it be said that to be considered a religion, a system/institution would have to have supernatural elements? While a...

Socrates did a great job of defending himself against that charge (as described in Plato's Apology).

Can't it be said that religions require a belief in the supernatural, while a belief in the supernatural is not a requirement for philosophy?

I've been reading Max Jammer's (love that name!) Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. It's a great book, if you want to understand Einstein's ...