[lbo-talk] Blue Dogs cashing in

[ravi]

On Jul 24, 2009, at 9:47 AM, Shane Mage wrote:
> On Jul 24, 2009, at 8:52 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:
> On Jul 24, 2009, at 8:33 AM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>>
>>> You seem to hold the odd idea (as does Doug) that the only grounds
>>> for passion are moral. A Christian hangover I guess.  I hate the  
>>> DP and
>>> want to destroy it. It is a major source of immense human misery -  
>>> but
>>> it is a mere superstition to think that those feelings require a
>>> moralistic basis.
>>
>> So they're just, what, scientific? Why care about the misery of  
>> others?
>

Well, "scienctific" is a process of explanation as well. All Christian  
hangovers need not be wrong... E.O.Wilson is labouring hard to make  
this point, these last few years. My question is, has it been  
scientifically (game theoretically or otherwise) demonstrated that the  
various moral strictures and prescriptions of religion are  
maladaptive? We should not stop doing things simply because science is  
yet to give us an explanation for it, should we? Especially if we have  
reason to believe that these things (or ways of looking at things) are  
a historical result and solution.

	--ravi

--
Anyone who takes an effort to intellectually challenge the status quo  
and established habits is infinitely more venerable than hacks  
defending that status quo and established habits, regardless of the  
truth function of their propositions. -- W.Sokolowski