> A pleasant philosophical parlor game. If you like, I will also prove to you that there > is no such thing as personal identity through time, and therefore you should care less > about what happens to you in particular;
That such "parlor games" convince a person here or there (sometimes maybe more, but I'm not going to argument with you again) is enough to plausibly ground the claim that they have some practical significance.
> It will not because people have been persuaded of the correctness of some
> metaphysical views,
The proposition that "fetuses aren't persons" just is a metaphysical view, although you're probably right that the possible mass acceptance of such a view wouldn't be owed to the musings of metaphysicians.
Jim wrote:
> Well, I think that Miles is on to something here. The
> extreme enphasis that our culture places on the role
> of individual intentions as the determining factor in
> human social behavior, goes far beyond what can
> be vindicated by modern behavioral or social science.
I responded:
> I can't really see the conflict here. One can acknowledge that intentions
> generally move action (I'm inclined to accept the stronger claim that they
> always move action) while granting that they don't arise ex nihilo. Social
> convention plays an immensley large role in shaping the preference
> structures of individual agents.
Justin wrote:
> Sure, so?
Just pointing out that what Jim wrote didn't support Miles' thesis in any way, shape, or form, a point that you later made yourself.
> Because not everyone is hard determinist or an autonomist?
That libertarians believe in moral responsibility doesn't strike me as odd. That the majority of determinists do, does.
> Anyway, stop with the metaphysics. It's mere entertainment, in fact self-indulgence,
Metaphysics has altered the way I look at the world in ways that I consider to be significant. I'd wager that the same could be said of you.
-- Luke
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