Why do we use moral language? Hello, I'm Dom and I am a human. Like other humans, I play the language-game of morality. I say things like, "Lying is bad," "You ought not to steal," "Rape is immoral," "Sadistic psychopaths are evil," "Abortion is ethical," "Euthanasia is morally right," and "A government should express the will of the people." But why do I talk like that? What am I trying to communicate with such statements? More generally, what's the use of moral words? Let's look at six … [Read more...]
Are Consequences All That Matter? (Intentions Vs. Outcomes)
The True Will is the chief principle of decision making. A man doing his True Will acts in a way that maximizes eudaimonia. So what matters are the outcomes of his actions, its consequences for well-being. Does this make his intentions, his state of mind, irrelevant? Imagine a man punching another man in the face in an act of self-defense that we assume maximizes eudaimonia. Does it matter whether the man threw his punches out of reactive anger and ill intent or out of mindcoolness? It … [Read more...]
Against Political Equality
In February, I wrote about The Merits of Direct Democracy, and I still believe that direct-democratic tools like initiatives and referenda are essential for any people that wants to do its shared True Will. However, I am also aware that people often fail to vote for what they truly want due to a lack of policy-related knowledge. Although in that blog post I discussed the problem of voter incompetence, showing that the much-bemoaned "stupidity of the common man" is not as problematic as random … [Read more...]
Against Morality & Ethics
The Primacy of Will It doesn't matter what I think is moral, or what other people think is moral. All that matters is what I want, what other people want, and how we can cooperate to get what we want. That is the primacy and sociality of human volition. So let us replace ethical with volitional language: Ask not, "Should I do this?" but "Do I truly want to do this?" Ask not, "Does this make me a good person?" but "Does this reflect my True Will?" (The True Will is what maximizes … [Read more...]
Against Values & Principles
The Human Will Humans want to survive and flourish, to live and live well, to be and be well: Well-being is a combination of pleasure and meaning in life. Humans want to feel good and fulfilled. They want hedonic and eudaemonic happiness; some more of the pleasure part, others more of the meaning aspect. A good life is a positive well-being balance over a lifetime. If, on your deathbed, you were to look back at every moment you have lived, summing up all your pleasures and pains, all … [Read more...]
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