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JWeinCom on 09 September 2015
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padib said:
JWeinCom said:


Human empathy is important, but why is it important?

Because it enables us to cooperate, which allows us to help eachother, live a higher quality of life, live longer, reproduce, etc.  

What is wrong with Chaos, from a really practical point of view? Ultimately what does it matter? One person gains this another gains that we all die in the end.

It does not enable us to build societies, and enjoy the benefits mentioned above.  

If you look at it from a moral point of view though, it starts to make much sense.  How will a person feel if I do X, how does my conscience react if I do X?

No.  Because if we allow each person to act according to their conscience, that is what is known as anarchy.  We establish laws to help us maintain a society which works, ideally, to the mutual benefit of all of us.  Social contract theory.  Reed some Rousseau.

So, we have long worked on figuring out what helps us live together as a society to ensure happiness to all.  And we're far from perfect, but we're making progress.  One of the keys to that progress has been ensuring people basic rights.

Of course, you could argue for living in a social darwinist nightmare, but I'd argue that is a very bad idea.

That is much more important than detrimental or not detrimental, which is all relative to each person's opinion.

That's totally backwards.  Conscience is relative to the individual.

 

Do you have a point in this that is about gay marriage?

 

 

And yes this all ties back to the topic. I live upon my own personal convictions about what is right and what is wrong, not about what is better or worse for society, that is bs. We don't work that way. Everyone is a pebble of sand on a beach, we each play our parts and ultimately it leads to the way society works but in our interactions, we behave based on personal convictions. IMHO

I have read some Rousseau, stop throwing your fucking textbooks at me.

I was talking about social contract theory.  Rousseau wrote about it, so I mentioned someone you could read to learn more.  Don't know why you're butthurt about that.

I don't agree in your socially-centric view on life. I don't, absolutely don't do things just because we progress as a society.

I do things because I think, personally, that they are right.

And yes this all ties back to the topic. I live upon my own personal convictions about what is right and what is wrong, not about what is better or worse for society, that is bs. We don't work that way. Everyone is a pebble of sand on a beach, we each play our parts and ultimately it leads to the way society works but in our interactions, we behave based on personal convictions. IMHO

And if we all act simply according to our own desires, that defies the whole point of any legal system, and reduces us to anarchy.  If you think it's ok to rape people, then it is good to have a system in place that prevents you from doing that, and punishes you if you do.  If I think it's ok to steal babies and eat them, it's also good to have a system in place to stop that.  

If you think that we should not have any mechanisms in place to protect human rights, then I sincerely hope you never have to live in the world you want.