[lit-ideas] Re: Moral Imagination
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 10:36:02 -0400 (EDT)
McEvoy:
"JLS's deprecatory remarks on the use of "imagination" are also
questionable: for philosophers like Popper "imagination" is a most important
requirement for understanding, in part because what is understood is not a
"given"
but a construction, and a theoretical one at that. Without "imagination",
for example, how I can ever know that genocide is wrong by imagining what it
is like to be a victim of it?"
R. Paul:
"If this were really true, then I could not honestly say that I know
genocide to be wrong. It is as useless as a parent's saying to a child, 'How
would you like it if Sally pulled your hair?' The child has not been taught
any sort of 'moral lesson in this drama."
Good to see Paul coming to my defense (or defence, if you mustn't). Surely,
"How would you like IT if Sally pulled your hair?"
is an IMAGINATIVE, poets say, question.
The point is, as R. Paul notes, imagination BLOCKS moral understanding. No
moral lessons are taught when imagination is BROUGHT in, R. Paul's
excellent moral lesson is.
-------
Speranza
------ Imagining
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
