- 06 May 2020 10:39
#15089569
No absolutely not. Or to be more prosaic, I absolutely believe there are no absolute human rights. Of course non absolute rights and non absolute rights rule systems are an incredibly important tool in multiple contexts. In fact rights are endemic and essential to human culture. But this is an incredibly important point that underlies perhaps the majority of our discussions. In absolute moral terms:
You have no right to kill, but you have no right not to be killed. You have no right to put someone else's life at risk to the tiniest degree. You have no right to even once in your life per another humans life at risk to the smallest fraction of a degree. But conversely a people, a tribe, a nation or a religious group have no right not to be completely exterminated. Humanity as a whole has no right to exist. You have no right to kill, eat, harm or use an animal, but animals have no rights either.
You have no right to have slaves, but no right not to be enslaved. You have no right to property, but no right to state services either.
Now this might seem like pointless philosophical nitpicking, but it is not. Its crucially important because every claim to follow or apply a system of absolute morality will always, 100% of the time be self serving (in the broadest psychological sense), inconsistent and hypocritical. All claims to be protecting absolute rights will be self serving, inconsistent and hypercritical. All claims to be punishing people for their violation of others rights will be self serving, inconsistent and hypocritical.
Note in order to break down people's hypocritical moralistic defences, I often use the language of absolute morality. So for example I will talk about the wicked genocide of Caananites by the Israelites. When I do so, I very much enjoy using the most most pompous, self righteous and sanctimonious language of the establishment. Of course I don't really think that the Caananites had any right not to be exterminated. Of course I don't really believe that Caananite mothers had any right not to watch Israelite men plunging swords in to the hearts of their babies. Of course I don't really believe that the little Caananite children had any right not to spend their last moments in terror as they ran screaming through the streets of Jericho running before the Israelite exterminators.
Verv wrote:Do you believe humans have rights?
No absolutely not. Or to be more prosaic, I absolutely believe there are no absolute human rights. Of course non absolute rights and non absolute rights rule systems are an incredibly important tool in multiple contexts. In fact rights are endemic and essential to human culture. But this is an incredibly important point that underlies perhaps the majority of our discussions. In absolute moral terms:
You have no right to kill, but you have no right not to be killed. You have no right to put someone else's life at risk to the tiniest degree. You have no right to even once in your life per another humans life at risk to the smallest fraction of a degree. But conversely a people, a tribe, a nation or a religious group have no right not to be completely exterminated. Humanity as a whole has no right to exist. You have no right to kill, eat, harm or use an animal, but animals have no rights either.
You have no right to have slaves, but no right not to be enslaved. You have no right to property, but no right to state services either.
Now this might seem like pointless philosophical nitpicking, but it is not. Its crucially important because every claim to follow or apply a system of absolute morality will always, 100% of the time be self serving (in the broadest psychological sense), inconsistent and hypocritical. All claims to be protecting absolute rights will be self serving, inconsistent and hypercritical. All claims to be punishing people for their violation of others rights will be self serving, inconsistent and hypocritical.
Note in order to break down people's hypocritical moralistic defences, I often use the language of absolute morality. So for example I will talk about the wicked genocide of Caananites by the Israelites. When I do so, I very much enjoy using the most most pompous, self righteous and sanctimonious language of the establishment. Of course I don't really think that the Caananites had any right not to be exterminated. Of course I don't really believe that Caananite mothers had any right not to watch Israelite men plunging swords in to the hearts of their babies. Of course I don't really believe that the little Caananite children had any right not to spend their last moments in terror as they ran screaming through the streets of Jericho running before the Israelite exterminators.
Progressives lie scattered on Woke's highway, Diverse ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind.