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Because, Graham2, You Can’t Not Know. That’s How You Know.

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After all of these years of debating materialists one might think that I am inured to the silly things they say, but the depths of casuistry they will plumb in defense of the indefensible still has the capacity to amaze.  Consider my last post  in which I used the holocaust as an example of obvious evil.

Graham2 pushes back:

How is objective morality communicated to us ? Writing in the sky ? Voices in the head ? Barry seems to think ‘its obvious’

I responded:

Suppose you were the only person in the world who believed the holocaust was evil. Would you be right and everyone else wrong?

Graham2 writes:

Barry: That is more or less my point. You cant tell.

No, Graham2, yes you can tell.  And if you say you can’t tell you are lying, to me, to yourself, and to everyone else reading your comment.  You cannot not know that the holocaust was evil.  It is self-evident.

I will leave you with two other comments from the thread upon which you would do well to reflect:

You cannot argue others out of their denial of the obvious or the necessary. IMO, the only thing that can help them at that point is a change of heart – a free will choice to believe differently.

William J. Murray

One can show that truly foundational premises or principles are such that to deny them is to end in absurdity; they are self evident. Those who choose to cling to absurdity after correction, we can only expose, ring-fence and seek to protect ourselves from. And, we can look at the systems that lead people into such confusion and ring fence them too as utterly destructive.

kairosfocus

Comments
KS @ 44, You dodged the main thrust of the question. We assume that almost everyone who knows the facts would agree that the holocaust was evil. This may or may not be true, but we make the assumption here. Based on experience, I would hope we could agree on the assumption that the opinions on the morality of abortion are sufficiently divergent that we could not say, "It is obvious, based on its self-evident nature, that abortion is evil." So then, how do we apply the rubric we set in assessing the holocaust as evil to any other situation, say abortion? Or is the yardstick itself subjective, unique to each scenario, and useless in comparison to any other situation?Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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CS: I have other things I need to focus on, but draw to your attention again to where the evil specifically lay -- millions killed simply because they were int eh way of their imagined betters. Murder, in aggregate by the dozens of millions of times over -- I am counting 20 million Russians who did not die on the battlefield, 2 million Poles other than the other 3 millions double counted in the 6 million Jews, and more, horrifically more. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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A; I think you have misdirected, but I will comment. There are some rare cases where an abortion may be the lesser of evils (e.g. a choice between one death or two). Most -- by far and away most -- do not fit that category. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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William @ 40, Objective subjectivity, right. I've been there, it's not a fun place to be. I need a framework with more meat on it.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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KF: CS: Pardon, but the point is that the facts are undeniably evident. The truth that they describe is a case of evil beyond any mitigation
False. You have no idea who the "supernatural" identities are of those people, or even of yourself. There may be all sorts of mitigating information that only God and the angels know regarding the identities of every single human, that you are ignorant of, that if knew, might cause you do change your mind. Apparently you have trouble thinking hypothetically. Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind when addressing you.CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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Barry @ 36, Here is the problem Barry. If the Bible did not tell me that adultery was immoral, I would not be able to conclude that it was. So how are you concluding it is self-evident? As long as you refuse to define "evil" or "morality," saying that they are self-evident gives me no way to look at any given choice in life and decide how to choose to do good.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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William @ 32, But if you fall short of identifying the framework that supplies the objective criteria for morality, you have not made it any less subjective.
I have identified that framework; an objectively existent moral landscape that is perceived by the conscience, in much the same manner that we hold that any of our senses are intermediary perceptive tools capable of successfully mapping (to some degree) an objectively existent landscape. That we can only do so subjectively is the nature of our subjective experience. You are conflating what is true of all experience - that it is subjective - with the belief/assumption that what we are experiencing is itself subjective in nature. All experience is subjective; conscience no more or less so than any other sensory experience. The question is if we hold what we are experiencing via conscience is itself a subjective phenomena.William J Murray
October 29, 2013
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William J Murray: The salient question is whether or not one believes that morality refers to an objective or a subjective commodity.
Even if one believes that mortality refers to an objective commodity, how do you decide what it is? I have no absolute answer, and I don't think anyone does. As for me, the foundation of morality revolves around the issue of conscious suffering. I think consciousness suffering is "evil", the very definition. I am against it. Always. Even for bad people. Even the the Hitlers and Stalins of the world should not be tortured and made to suffer, but merely executed. Isn't this obviously correct? It is to me. What say, Barry? Do you agree?CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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KS @ 35, So if we apply the same yardstick to abortion, which has exponentially more deaths involved than the holocaust, why is it no longer self-evident as evil?Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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F/N: It is not "obviousness" or not, but truth known to those who understand what is described, that can only be denied on pain of patent absurdity that makes something self evident. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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Amplitudo @ 29: The circumlocutions in which you engaged as you worked your way up your point were not helpful. "Barry, I have a definition for evil. My definition for evil is any action, performed by the volition of will, that dishonors or displeases God." OK. Your argument with me is based on a simple category error. You have placed “any action, performed by the volition of will, that dishonors or displeases God” in one category (call it category 1) and “acts that are self-evidently evil” in another category (call it category 2). They are not. Category 2 is a sub-category of Category 1. Is it self evident that abortion is evil? It is self-evident that murder is evil. Not all abortions are murder (most are). Is it self-evident that adultery is immoral? YesBarry Arrington
October 29, 2013
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CS: Pardon, but the point is that the facts are undeniably evident. The truth that they describe is a case of evil beyond any mitigation -- millions (Jews, Poles, Russians especially) murdered in various ways for simply being in the way of their imagined betters [that is the "obvious fact"] -- and denial. That you have to manufacture an account that does not fit the easily obtained and undeniable facts, to try to make evil seem less evil, shows the issue of self evidence in the case of a yardstick example of evil. Namely, the attempted denial immediately descends into absurdity. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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Barry: “CS: unknown mitigating factors can overthrow a prior assessment of ‘evil.’” Obviously true.
Thank you. Honestly, up until now you have given no indication that you agreed with that "obviously true" statement.
Here’s another obviously true point: “sophistry is a distraction.”
Well, Barry, if you think what I've written is mere sophistry, what can I say? Either ideas and arguments have real merit or they don't, and I'll willing to be corrected. And it makes me wonder what's the point of your OP then, if that is obviously true? Because either people already agree with you or they don't... because of it's "obviousness." What good is this thread?CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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William @ 32, But if you fall short of identifying the framework that supplies the objective criteria for morality, you have not made it any less subjective.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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From Merriam Webster: (from root "moral")
concerning or relating to what is right and wrong in human behavior
Evil would be the "wrong" side of that coin. These definitions are simple. The salient question is whether or not one believes that morality refers to an objective or a subjective commodity. The former leads to a sound moral system that justifies the ideas of moral obligation and necessary consequences; the latter turns "morality" into nothing more than rhetorical manipulation and emotional pleading towards personal preference.William J Murray
October 29, 2013
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KF: Nope, you had to construct a strained example that does not fit obvious facts easily seen.
But that's precisely my point: The Holocaust is "obviously" evil because there is no mitigating (strained or otherwise) evidence to the contrary. However, if some came up, it might change your assessment.CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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1. Is it evil for any human at any time in any society regardless of their beliefs or culture to torture a child for personal pleasure? 2. Is every human of sound mind morally obligated to stop such a thing from occurring if they can? If you answered yes to those questions, then rationally speaking you must necessarily believe that morality refers to an objective purpose for human beings that is transcendent to culture, society and individual or group beliefs. If you answered no to those questions, then you are necessarily a moral relativist and the only rational reason to use the term "morality", "good" and "evil" is as rhetoric to emotionally manipulate people.William J Murray
October 29, 2013
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Barry @ 24, Barry, I have a definition for evil. My definition for evil is any action, performed by the volition of will, that dishonors or displeases God. If I start with this first principle, I don't need self-evident morality. In fact, self-evident morality presents all sorts of problems. Is it self evident that abortion is evil? Is it self-evident that adultery is immoral? I could go on, but perhaps you see my difficulty. A self-evident morality does no one any good.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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CS: Nope, you had to construct a strained example that does not fit obvious facts easily seen. if what you meant to say is, we can err in particular cases in our moral judgements, even grossly, that is obvious. But that moral judgements count and count heavily, is not in question, nor is that the holocaust is a supreme, yardstick example of unbridled evil let loose in our world within living memory. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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CS: “unknown mitigating factors can overthrow a prior assessment of ‘evil.’” Obviously true. Here’s another obviously true point: “sophistry is a distraction.”Barry Arrington
October 29, 2013
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CS@9 The Holocaust is evil in being perpetrated by humans out of malice. A meteorite strike that killed the same number would not be evil, but tragic. Now if (as per your hypothesis) the victims were being justly punished for prior demonic activity, it would not alter one jot the evil of the human perpetrators, who were willing agents and totally unaware of such guilt. A terrorist is no less culpable if his bomb happens to take out an extortionist.Jon Garvey
October 29, 2013
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A: "intellectual honesty" -- as you used above -- is specifically freighted with an understanding of morality and of good/evil. You have answered your own question, recognising that you are bound by OUGHT. Now all you need is to look at worldview foundations to see if you can adequately ground that in a core IS of your worldview. Then, if not -- and a worldview tracing to matter and energy in space and time and nothing more patently cannot, you need to look at what views can. KFkairosfocus
October 29, 2013
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KF: Pardon, but there is no reason to believe that European Jews, circa 1942 were materially different from the rest of the population.
I agree.
your fairly strained scenario provides an example of just how absurd the attempted denial or blunting of a self-evident truth will turn out to be.
Strained? How so? Pretty simple actually. As for absurd, whatever. It's merely a (rather easy to grasp) hypothetical example that unknown mitigating factors can overthrow an prior assessment of "evil."CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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Amplitudo @ 18 writes: “You assume I would vote without asking for a definition of evil, I would not.” And that, dear readers, is just the sort of absurdity one descends into when one attempts to deny the self-evident. I am not going to argue with Amplitudo, because Amplitudo does not need an argument. Again, one cannot argue for first principles. One can only argue from them. Let me help you Amplitudo. Not only was the holocaust evil, but also you know it was evil even if you continue to deny that you know what that word means. Amplitudo’s casuistry is of the “I just dunno what words mean” variety, which, as KF points out in comment 8, is common enough. Arguing with such people is pointless, because, inevitably, your argument will be expressed in language, which they will pretend not to understand.Barry Arrington
October 29, 2013
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William @ 17, The definition becomes circular when we quote the dictionary, because the next question is to define morality. The end result is that, short of appealing to a higher authority, we can't define morality, good, or evil. An argument that morality is "self-evident" is subjective, which is what I am ultimately attempting to convey. Morality can only be objective if its source is God, which I most adamantly proclaim it is.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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Apparently there are those here (including Barry) that don't think unknown facts can mitigate an "obvious evil." I find that interesting, to say the least.CentralScrutinizer
October 29, 2013
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William @ 19, If I do not understand the words and terms you use, how can I ever understand the message you are attempting to convey?Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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When they ask you for definitions of even the most basic terms, you can bet they are looking for a semantic diversion.William J Murray
October 29, 2013
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Barry @ 15: You assume I would vote without asking for a definition of evil, I would not. But assuming I did and it played out with my only vote being the "yes." Intellectual honesty and critical analysis would demand that I then ask for a definition of evil such that I understood why everyone else thought the holocaust was not evil. If I ever approach the world from the perspective that truth is subjective and I should stick to my guns no matter what, I immediately cripple myself from ever really grasping truth in any form.Amplitudo
October 29, 2013
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Mr. Arrington, thanks for "casuistry"! Amplitudo, Is the merriam-webster definition of "evil" not good enough for you?
morally reprehensible
Evil already has a definition that is in all the dictionaries. What makes you think that Mr. Arrington is using some idiosyncratic definition? The salient question isn't "what is the definition of evil", but rather "is morality (which the term "evil" refers to) based upon an objective commodity?" Either morality is rooted in an objective commodity, and thus the holocaust is objectively evil, or morality is subjective, and thus the holocaust is only "evil" to those that believe it to be evil, and is "good" to those that believe it to be a good thing. Which camp do you stand in?William J Murray
October 29, 2013
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