Comments on: Skyhooks and Tuned Decks and Bloombast (Oh My!) http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/ Just another geek in the geek kingdom Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:38:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: theCoach http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1618 theCoach Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:40:10 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1618 "It's a weird, unanchored notion of virtue." Obviously it is a weird sort of virtue when the concept is considered a platonic ideal, but this seems to describe an awful lot of people's actual root cause for virtue (think of the Republican party). Virtue, I think, is more like a biological emotion, not unlike fear or disgust -- so I would not look for an anchor in logic, but rather in the peciliar nature of human psychology. “It’s a weird, unanchored notion of virtue.”

Obviously it is a weird sort of virtue when the concept is considered a platonic ideal, but this seems to describe an awful lot of people’s actual root cause for virtue (think of the Republican party). Virtue, I think, is more like a biological emotion, not unlike fear or disgust — so I would not look for an anchor in logic, but rather in the peciliar nature of human psychology.

]]> By: Reality Man http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1617 Reality Man Wed, 07 Feb 2007 07:15:38 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1617 Your posts aren't long enough. Your posts aren’t long enough.

]]> By: Julian Elson http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1616 Julian Elson Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:14:49 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1616 It seems like Kass's conception of dignity is based on looking down your nose at other people, or at some hypothetical version of yourself, sneering, and saying "I <i>could</i> be doing that, but I'm above that, so I won't." In short, it seems like not doing stem cell research is dignified because you could do it and it's in your interest to do it, but you demonstrate your unique dignity and self-control as a human being by not doing it. This basically seems to be why Kass approves of Jewish dietary law (really: read <i>The Hungry Soul</i> and see if you can come up with a better explanation for it. Also, possibly interesting to you, is one of the more surreal anti-vegetarian arguments I've read, in which vegetarianism is analogized to cannibalism). It's a weird, unanchored notion of virtue. It's like, instead of saying that you shouldn't cheat on your spouse because that would be hurting and betraying her unless you had some form of open marriage, Kass is saying you shouldn't cheat on your spouse because by demonstrating you're a really dignified type who <i>could</i> cheat, but won't, and dignity itself the end. It seems like Kass’s conception of dignity is based on looking down your nose at other people, or at some hypothetical version of yourself, sneering, and saying “I could be doing that, but I’m above that, so I won’t.” In short, it seems like not doing stem cell research is dignified because you could do it and it’s in your interest to do it, but you demonstrate your unique dignity and self-control as a human being by not doing it. This basically seems to be why Kass approves of Jewish dietary law (really: read The Hungry Soul and see if you can come up with a better explanation for it. Also, possibly interesting to you, is one of the more surreal anti-vegetarian arguments I’ve read, in which vegetarianism is analogized to cannibalism).

It’s a weird, unanchored notion of virtue. It’s like, instead of saying that you shouldn’t cheat on your spouse because that would be hurting and betraying her unless you had some form of open marriage, Kass is saying you shouldn’t cheat on your spouse because by demonstrating you’re a really dignified type who could cheat, but won’t, and dignity itself the end.

]]> By: rigel http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1615 rigel Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:05:45 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1615 he should go read some b.f. skinner (beyond freedom and dignity), which has always appealed to me a lot more than the highfalutin jibberjabber of philosophers like kant (ugh!). at least it makes assertions about the nature of "dignity" that can be more easily translated into behavior, in contrast to this aggregate-subjective-conception-of-what-are-subjective-judgements-to-begin-with. he should go read some b.f. skinner (beyond freedom and dignity), which has always appealed to me a lot more than the highfalutin jibberjabber of philosophers like kant (ugh!). at least it makes assertions about the nature of “dignity” that can be more easily translated into behavior, in contrast to this aggregate-subjective-conception-of-what-are-subjective-judgements-to-begin-with.

]]> By: Julian Sanchez http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1614 Julian Sanchez Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:05:21 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1614 Nothing is "wrong" with dignity. But Kass has a debased, sloppy conception of what dignity means. He ends up playing a silly shell game to keep it sufficiently vague and and disconnected from its actual components in order to allow him to stuff a lot of cruel or insane policy preferences into it. Nothing is “wrong” with dignity. But Kass has a debased, sloppy conception of what dignity means. He ends up playing a silly shell game to keep it sufficiently vague and and disconnected from its actual components in order to allow him to stuff a lot of cruel or insane policy preferences into it.

]]> By: bajkas http://www.juliansanchez.com/2007/02/06/skyhooks-and-tuned-decks-and-bloombast-oh-my/comment-page-1/#comment-1613 bajkas Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:11:50 +0000 http://juliansanchez.com/?p=1593#comment-1613 No doubt you caught him in a terrible solecism, though I wasn't quite able to follow. But what's wrong with dignity again? That dignity is ultimately another name for autonomy? No doubt you caught him in a terrible solecism, though I wasn’t quite able to follow. But what’s wrong with dignity again? That dignity is ultimately another name for autonomy?

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