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Subject: 
Re: Did animals have rights before we invented rights?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Thu, 5 Jul 2001 17:33:05 GMT
Viewed: 
1322 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott Arthur writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Duane Hess writes:

What don't you understand? And how did "none" answer the question? I'm still
confused Scott. Am I to infer your meaning? I've asked several times now for
clarification and you have not even tried.

The cambridge link didn't work for me. When I went here:

http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=amoral

I got these:

1. Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither moral nor immoral.
2. Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong.

Seems to me that "moral", "immoral" and "amoral" form an equivalence class
partition, that is, that every object, concept, action, etc, etc. can be
partitioned into one of these three bins. If I understand Scott right, he is
now (but not previously, see the contradiction Dave E originally posted)
claiming there is another bin. He's not making it easy to follow him, but
that's the gist of his argument as I understand it.

I disagree.

I disagree. But I understand your point. Although the Cambridge link works
for me, we can use your dictionary (above). It is not that your rock is
"Lacking{1}  moral sensibility" it is simply *unable* to have moral
sensibility. The distinction is not subtle. However, saying they rock is
without morals is in itself negative - although I doubt the rock cares that
much.

I still agree with Larry's distictions between being moral, immoral and
amoral. Do you believe that things are either moral or immoral (to varying
degrees), with no room for an amoral definition? Or is there a fourth
definition in there somewhere?

OK, I can see the distiction you make with regard to the rock. Does this
imply that in order to have morals (even deficient ones) requires feelings?

-Duane


It is that simple.

Scott A

{1} NB : A Lack does not necessarily equal none!




"amoral" is an awfully wide bin and includes rocks falling, for example, as
well as the actions of all creatures that don't use morality in their
internal processes that choose actions.

I could be convinced otherwise but it would take some actual explanation of
why things that don't have a moral system (like rocks) aren't therefore
amoral (the definition, after all, says "without moral sensibility") rather
than just sniping and then saying "you didn't get my point".

Saying that rocks are amoral does not, in my view, strike me as an
anthropomorphic claim, either. It just says "morals don't have meaning to
rocks" without any claim about whether that is a human centric thing or not.

++Lar



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: Did animals have rights before we invented rights?
 
(...) Totally not following this. If something is unable, it clearly lacks. In what way is amoral an insufficient category to contain rocks, amoeba, grass and sheep (positing sheep are not self aware)? (...) If there is he hasn't given it. I would (...) (23 years ago, 5-Jul-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
  Re: Did animals have rights before we invented rights?
 
(...) Are you saying the dictionary larry quoted is wrong? Are you saying the one I quoted is wrong? Scott A (...) (23 years ago, 9-Jul-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Did animals have rights before we invented rights?
 
(...) I disagree. But I understand your point. Although the Cambridge link works for me, we can use your dictionary (above). It is not that your rock is "Lacking{1} moral sensibility" it is simply *unable* to have moral sensibility. The distinction (...) (23 years ago, 5-Jul-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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