> [Original Message] > From: Eric Yost <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 7/31/2005 4:25:34 PM > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Inner Moral Law > > Andy: Without the external law, there is no moral question. > Therefore, it's the moral law that keeps society functioning, not > the, still alleged, inner moral law. > > Eric: But see, Andy, it could go the other way. You could be in the > middle of something completely legal that strikes you as immoral. In > that case, you might act against the external law (legality) because > of something more seriously wrong (inner moral sense). Most > corporate whistleblowers act from such conflict. > > Take the Bushista judge who opined that torture was legal. Most > people know there's something wrong with that unless there is a > higher priority. But assume there is a higher priority, like > defeating a nuclear attack. > > That throws us back onto our inner moral sense...is torture of an > individual justified if it saves twenty million lives? Yes, but how > can we be certain that this particular act of torture will save > those lives? How certain do we need to be before torturing? And if > we knew the attack was real, but didn't know which particular > individual out of 1,000 to torture? Should we torture them all? > > Lots of personal assumptions go into the mix, i.e., utilitarianism, > the belief that pain is a bad thing, etc. > Sorry for delay in replying. I had to pull the wagons in a circle, run after the ox, you wouldn't believe it. Let's see, where were we. In other words, you're saying that this inner moral sense depends on circumstances. Whatever is expedient is moral. If this is the case, then morality cannot be the guiding principle which drives humanity toward good. Only law can do that. Andy > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > 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