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Thomas Quine

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I am saying no one has to force human beings to seek to flourish, by and large, for the most part, they do this on their own. (Note that trying to fin...
July 28, 2020 at 14:46
My argument is that Divine Command Theory is one of many moral theories that attempt to lay down sets of rules that the proponents believe will help h...
July 28, 2020 at 14:27
Well-being usually refers to a brain state and thus is a subjective measure and a measure of how well an individual is doing. Morality operates at a s...
July 27, 2020 at 20:27
Science tells us there is no evidence of God, also that people tell all kinds of stories about Gods and winged beasts and Cyclops and so on throughout...
July 27, 2020 at 19:59
Not sure why you believe this, Isaac, but I settled on the word "flourishing" because it is how Aristotle's word "eudaimonia" is usually translated to...
July 27, 2020 at 15:25
You are right, those whose primary concern is animal rights are a challenge to the premise. I am not a vegetarian but I support animal rights because ...
July 27, 2020 at 04:52
Well here's what I think is the value of this approach. For the sake of argument, bear with me, let's accept the following as true: 1. Human beings ar...
July 27, 2020 at 02:00
Don't know much about negative ethics, but at first glance it appears to be more of a thought experiment than a moral system that any culture has embr...
July 26, 2020 at 22:04
Here is the question: "Is there a universal grounding for morality?" I look at the things that most people consider immoral: Theft; murder; sexual abu...
July 26, 2020 at 21:09
Yes, to flourish is not a moral system, it is the objective of a moral system. My argument is that science can tell us how to flourish, therefore scie...
July 26, 2020 at 19:18
"Flourishing" is the constant, not the variable. The variable is the variety of moral systems seeking to achieve human flourishing; the constant is th...
July 26, 2020 at 19:00
I thought I made it pretty clear that there are many different, even contradictory views about what best serves human flourishing. It does not matter ...
July 26, 2020 at 15:46
Isaac, let me try to explain once again. My claim is that all moral systems are an attempt to answer the question, "What best serves human flourishing...
July 26, 2020 at 07:46
I think what the science is telling us is that there is no conflict of interest between human flourishing and a healthy environment, you can't sacrifi...
July 26, 2020 at 05:06
I think causing unnecessary suffering is not in the best interests of human flourishing, but I am quite comfortable with causing justifiable harm to t...
July 26, 2020 at 03:38
I think its pretty clear that human flourishing depends on a flourishing ecosystem. Thus it is I think morally imperative that we care for the health ...
July 26, 2020 at 03:27
Many cultures believe that the way to flourish is to follow God's commands. I think we stand a better chance by basing our decisions, including our mo...
July 26, 2020 at 03:23
The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Well-Being (2016), in the article called "Eudaimonism", says that "eudaimonia" used to be translated as "h...
July 26, 2020 at 03:17
Hi Wayfarer, you are right, I dislike the current state of ethical theory and I want to kick over the whole gameboard. But let me address the issue of...
July 26, 2020 at 02:25
Have you never owned a dog?
July 26, 2020 at 00:03
Most mothers don't need the police or the law to tell them they should take care of their babies - they know to do so instinctively. But some do, inst...
July 25, 2020 at 08:19
When I say "population metrics" I am not referring simply to the size of a population, but to ways of measuring how well a society is doing by using s...
July 25, 2020 at 06:13
I disagree, societies create cultures, morality is part of culture, societies are therefore moral agents. Some societies act in ways we consider moral...
July 25, 2020 at 06:08
People generally start in childhood with a focus on their own needs, because infants are needy and it is right that they should be self-interested abo...
July 25, 2020 at 05:57
Without quality of life the production of viable offspring is challenged, therefore evolution produces species that seek to flourish. The evidence for...
July 25, 2020 at 05:29
Well no, different species have different strategies for passing on genetic material, and social species develop complex systems of interaction that c...
July 25, 2020 at 05:24
The IS-OUGHT distinction is important, we want to avoid the naturalistic fallacy, but it is also important to keep in mind that all moral claims ultim...
July 24, 2020 at 19:35
Are you arguing that "it is nowhere in evidence" that human beings and the societies they create seek to flourish and prosper? As a human motivation, ...
July 24, 2020 at 18:32
Arguing for a moral claim "because it's the right thing to do, period," avoids the challenge of uncovering the grounds for making the claim. I thank y...
July 24, 2020 at 16:42
Yes, genes propagate when the species that carry them flourish. For a great book on chimp politics check out "Alpha God" by Hector A. Garcia, highly r...
July 24, 2020 at 16:26
Every community has its own understanding of what it means to flourish. The way to cut through relativism is through scientific analysis based on evid...
July 24, 2020 at 16:05
I keep in mind that on every side of every conflict there are those who consider a given war justified and ethical and those who do not. But let's foc...
July 24, 2020 at 07:58
Well as I explained, just because a community truly believes they are doing what they believe to be in the best interests of human flourishing, doesn'...
July 24, 2020 at 05:04
I go with the dictionary definition of "flourishing", it's nothing mysterious. To do well in a hospitable environment. A human community is doing well...
July 24, 2020 at 03:41
I disagree. Even those who intend to serve only the immediate interests of their tribe do so because they identify the interests of their tribe as syn...
July 24, 2020 at 03:25
Well yes, I think ISIS is a stain on humanity, as wrong-headed as you can get, but read the literature and you find that the young fighters of ISIS be...
July 24, 2020 at 03:21
The Shakers of course saw their truest flourishing to happen after death and their beliefs were meant to lead them to it...
July 23, 2020 at 23:17
That's my next step but don't want to get ahead of myself...
July 23, 2020 at 23:14