| Yes, read Pullman [message #303177] |
Sun, 23 July 2006 22:47 |
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nystulc [at] cs.com <nystulc [at] cs.com>
> You have loudly boasted that you do not
> consider yourself bound by any moral rules whatsoever
I said nothing of the sort boastfully or otherwise, what I said was:
"It makes me unhappy to see other people in pain, and if I am the cause
of that pain then I am even more unhappy"
If you have found something even grander, even more noble to build a
system of ethics on then please let me know what it is!
> Why should that surprise you?
Why should I be surprised that you think Hitler didn't like seeing
people in pain and didn't enjoy inflicting pain? I'm beyond
surprised, Mr. Morality I'm speechless.
Eggplant
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| Re: Yes, read Pullman [message #303180 ] |
Sun, 23 July 2006 23:25 |
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eggplant wrote:
> nystulc [at] cs.com <nystulc [at] cs.com>
>
> > You have loudly boasted that you do not
> > consider yourself bound by any moral rules whatsoever
>
> I said nothing of the sort boastfully or otherwise, what I said was:
>
> "It makes me unhappy to see other people in pain, and if I am the cause
> of that pain then I am even more unhappy"
>
> If you have found something even grander, even more noble to build a
> system of ethics on then please let me know what it is!
Well, how about a system of ethics where making oneself personally
happy is not the prime goal? What if hurting another person makes
somebody happy? They have to rely on their conscience and morals to
restrain themselves.
Ever see the flick CASUALTIES OF WAR. True story, that. Anyway, men
who behaved in such a way did it to make themselves FEEL BETTER. It
was a way to deal with the stresses of war. And I rather doubt that
the man who held out and reported the crime against amazing pressure
and threat of his life did so because his highest value was to make
himself a happy guy.
> > Why should that surprise you?
>
> Why should I be surprised that you think Hitler didn't like seeing
> people in pain and didn't enjoy inflicting pain? I'm beyond
> surprised, Mr. Morality I'm speechless.
I don't know about Hitler personally. But many of those who had to do
the worst sorts of jobs DIDN'T enjoy them. That was admired. It was
"un-German" and disgusting to be a sadist. It was very
Untermenschen-ish and animalistic to ENJOY killing women and children.
The brass praised the men for their natural human feelings of revulsion
and remorse. They claimed that the compassionate man, who bravely
conquered his natural feelings for the sake of the Greater Good, was
the best sort of man. They didn't like the sadists who had fun with
the business, and thought it made them look bad.
You had men crying and throwing up in the woods, who then picked
themselves up, dusted themselves off, and went back to killing more
women and children because it was for the "greater good", the right
thing to do. Etc.
And didn't the defendants at the War Crimes trials break down when they
were shown footage of the Death Camps? So I'm surprised and your
surprise, actually.
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