[RESOLVED] Death sentence and moral relativism

[realMakc]

ok,

It could be what is good for someone in terms of health. Obviously, getting sentenced to death is not "good" for anyones health. Therefore, you could say, in that context, "good" is relative to who it is healthy for.

ummm... you're right, so?

"Good" could mean what is good for society. Obviously, allowing murderers to go free can be seen as not "good" for society.

err... I agree again, so...

"Good" could also mean what is inherently good.

this could be interesting, but does not seem to be that "at length" thing you had in mind neither...

Assuming that you are referring to morality here, I disagree. There are things that are inherently wrong, regardless of where you learned them or if there is a whole village of people that partake.

oh wait, it does seem to be it. Could I just bring up an example, before I forgot that guy, Ashurbanipal - the proud creator of 1st library ever, who was also proud of the number of people he skinned alive....

I think that, in those cases, you were taught wrong or are part of a group that is involved in doing things that are wrong. It's why, imo, all over the world, there has been a consistent pattern toward similar basic values.

did I just mentioned Ashurbanipal? He's my favorite example, but I could, of course, bring up others. Seing how you (was that you ?) dismissed Sparta example before, I will not. Instead, I will agree with you (again) about "basic values" existance, but will not agree with your interpretation of those:

Deep down, I think people know and recognize when they are doing something fundamentally wrong, even if there is confusion due to peer pressure (ie. Nazi's taking orders, etc.) or distorted teaching (ie. Lee Boyd Malvo).

My idea is that "basic values" exist simply because people are similar to each other (you know, genes and stuff). For example, murder is "bad" because, you know, they can kill YOU, too. My point was, however, that to be consistent with evaluating murder itself as "bad" this way, you should not pay taxes to government who lead wars or executes prisoners. My way, on the other hand, evaluation includes "who decides" bit, and so I can still pay taxes in a good faith in this case.

I agree that people are programmed to believe certain things and are influenced by society.

I think that perhaps far more than 90% of what we think is actualy what we have learned to think, but again, the topicfor another thread this is.