---- Original Message ----- From: To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 7/31/2005 5:33:08 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Inner Moral Law <<There is a reason the Ten Commandments are called commandments>> Just an aside here...... the Hebrew word that is translated into English as "commandments" also means "good deeds", more or less. I mowed my neighbors lawn when her leg was broken; that was a mitzvah (good thing, also commandment). In Judaism people are expected/required by their Creator to strive to do the right things. The Ten "commandments" are a breakdown of what that means in some fairly specific categories for those who are sloshing around in the mud looking for what "the right thing" looks like. A.A. Exactly my point. Without concrete shalls and shall nots, people's moral compasses bog down real quick. Footloose and with compass needle spinning wildly, Andy Amago Julie Krueger ========Original Message======== Subj:[lit-ideas] Re: Inner Moral Law Date:7/31/05 4:24:00 P.M. Central Daylight Time From:aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent on: > [Original Message] > From: Phil Enns <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 7/31/2005 4:26:36 PM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Inner Moral Law > > Andy Amago wrote: > > "Therefore, it's the moral law that keeps society functioning, not the, > still alleged, inner moral law." > > Where does this moral, or external, law come from? The obvious > paragraph for the Yanks begins with "We hold these truths to be > self-evident ..." If an inner moral law is only alleged, then the rest > of the paragraph, and in fact the notion of law, is problematic. > > Experience can teach us what works and what doesn't. That which works over time to enhance happiness becomes a self evident truth. For example, way back in the time of Moses sexual rights were sorted out in the society's best interests. Likewise random killing could not be tolerated. There is a reason the Ten Commandments are called commandments, not appeals to an inner sense of what's good. I think none of the Declaration of Independence is about morality. Only about creating a climate that would be conducive to the greater good of white men. Andy Amago > Sincerely, > > Phil Enns > Toronto, ON > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html