Tom Storm

I think Joshs answered it on page 1. Part of his answer: I remain sympathetic to this view and would like to learn more. But I’m not a philosopher, so...

You raise some fascinating questions. Have you encountered any decent books that have explored this theme in a useful way?

I can see that. A point well made. And I found this part of the conversation useful. Thanks again.

Two things. 1) not everyone thinks like you do either. 2) I am not speaking for others, I am talking for myself. Of course. People ought to make their...

Maybe that's a projection on your part. Certainly an overly complicated frame. If I experince irreversible pain I would like to die.

Not following this one closely, but this resonates with me. The word normal is also often used as a quasi-virtue. Not merely a statement of social acc...

Do you think that accounts for 100% of them at all times?

I think that's a widely held view these days. What is the intention of an OP like this? Is it simply that Christmas time has you pondering, or is it a...

I don’t know if that’s true. I am currently well and healthy, but I want to retain the option of ending my own life if circumstances deteriorate. If I...

All fair points. I'm not sure what I think. That's partly why I'm here. Sure, I have no defence. It has always seemed self-evident that one ought not ...

Would you call Jesus a philosopher? Or would you, perhaps, say there’s not enough agreement on what comes from an actual person and what is mythology?

Indeed, Gore Vidal wrote a cute book on Julian.

Whenever something is cultivated by a huge institution like Rome, it’s hard to resist (whether persecution was as significant or not). But really, rem...

I'm not sure I would dignify my interventions as a reasoned moral position. More of a response to an emotional reaction. In some cases, also dangerous...

No, the bit of mine you quoted was my reaction to the views put forth in the OP.

I think that's a really valid, fair and nicely worded perspective.

I think I largely agree with you. But I am hard wired to want to protect a baby once born. Not that I’d want to keep it myself if it were not mine. We...

You said this: Isn't that potentially a baby and bathwater situation? Maybe the point is not that no one should have listened or accepted them, but ra...

You've never heard of case studies? They are always open to question.

Most of his famous work were case studies, interpretative narratives which you can’t really peer review. They were stories about what he saw, and hear...

I'm not a fan of his work but can you say you were “duped” if we don’t really know which parts of his writings were suspect and which parts were not? ...

:up: It is a good formulation and I feel certain we've spoken of this a couple of times before.

I guess I’ve done so. I’ve taken animals from people who were cruel to them. I’ve thrown men out of bars for harassing women. I’ve broken up unfair fi...

I like it. Nice way of putting it. Thanks for clarifying. Not sure I fully understand this - are you saying that we all have an inbuilt awareness that...

I don’t think I have any firm commitments here but I do lean a bit towards consequentialism. I'm not a big fan of the notion of human nature. I’ve alw...

Thanks, good clear explanations. I see your point that for morality to have any universal clout, it would useful to be able to point to a natural telo...

Are you a pacifist? Do you think killing is wrong in all situations? War; self defence?

Thanks. Do you believe there’s such a thing as pure reason? I’m not really a science guy but don’t many cognitive scientists view reason as contingent...

Cool. I'm with you on Aristotle over Kant. Yes, I think you're correct on this. If we think that the best goal for a society is to promote flourishing...

To be honest morality seems less important there than metaphysics and experience.

[ That’s right. Perhaps they shouldn’t. But the interesting thing is society likes to set codes of conduct to organise behaviour if it wishes to avoid...

So are you saying that morality is best understood beyond preconceptions, homilies and slogans, by looking inward through self-reflection?

Wow! As you say a fantastic title (in the Victorian sense of the word). If I had my time again, I would read Peirce (very complicated). Do you hold a ...

Interesting. My mum was a searcher and was especially interested in Jung, mysticism, and Gnosticism. She was friends with a close colleague of Carl Ju...

That certainly sounds like the opposite of what I would preference. :wink: I think that's fair and some of the directions you have pointed to appeal t...

There seem to be cross-cultural commonalities in most areas, from morality to spirituality. I’ve generally held that morality seems to be pragmatic co...

Just did. No issues, I just don't have any interesting answers

I have no firm commitments and no expertise, but I guess at a basic level I would say we are the products of inherited concepts and values, and we are...

The usual kids’ books, with the most influential being Huckleberry Finn, as it happens. That gave me a healthy skepticism of civilisation and adult be...

I appreciate the story. I think you’ve touched on something I agree with, and that is the alarming tendency toward dualistic thinking in the West. Fat...

At around 7 or 8 I came to the view that culture (and by extension, reality) could be constructed in many different ways, that there was potentially a...

Fair. Yes, I think it’s probably quite difficult not to hold any metaphysical presuppositions. And no doubt we all inherit philosophical models and va...

Four stellar paragraphs. Thanks. Indeed, I was actually going to raise this but thought I had done enough damage already. :up: That resonates with me....

Nice. I think this is a rich source for further discussion. The matter of pure reason is interesting. I understand reasoning, I’m not sure what “pure”...

Good. Exactly. I think this is the key issue we should explore. I'd need to think though how to answer thsi without making a mess of the reasoning. I'...

Yes. As you say that's a differnce sense of subjectivity that the first account. What interests me most in these discussions is how people believe the...

For me this view just seems inherently common sensical. But I'm always somewhat fearful when something seems like common sense. There's a lot in this ...

Good to know and apologies if I have made some assumptions. I've tended to view myself as sympathetic to anti-foundationalism. Fair points. If you get...

Cool, please have your say on that thread too. I may be more of a Hobbsian and have always disliked Rousseau, but I suspect that more than anything it...

You make your points well and I thank you for your patience. I apologise that I seem unable to see this. I have read Lewis' book (many years ago) but ...