>RS:
>>My moral rejection of racism is based on my own empathy for the feelings of
>>others; my own recognition that other humans have feelings just like myself.
>>You may call that a "transendent system", but it is still completely
>>materialist
>>in origin.
>
>BillH:
>I certainly agree. I feel this same empathy. But what do you do with an
>individual who refuses to accept your views of morality? I think you're
>logically defenseless, because you seem to have no basis for your morality
>other than your own self-validated empathy.
>
I would be curious how you (or Jim or anyone else) would answer
the same question Bill.
Let's consider several variations on the theme.
(a) How would you answer a person who refuses to accept your
views of morality
(b) How would you answer a person who refuses to accept the
existence of a transcendent moral system
(c) How would you answer a person who accepts a transcendent
moral system which is, according to your view, immoral.
For example, an Islamic terrorist.
There has been much talk of logic but it seems many are missing
an elementary point. There is a huge difference between the
actual existance of a transcendant moral code and a belief
in the existance of a transcendant moral code.
It also is unfortunate that there has been a significant divergence
from the original point of this thread, which is that the theory
of evolution is not responsible for racism, the holocaust etc.
As no one has given any rational arguments as to why the theory
of evolution should be blamed for such things I will consider
that phase of the discussion resolved.
Historically, Christian doctrines have been twisted by many in
an attempt to make Christians guilty of all sorts of evil.
Thus I would think that Christians, of all people, would
oppose the application of such tactics to others. Instead
of opposing such practices we instigate them and relish each
twist of the knife.
Brian Harper
Associate Professor
Applied Mechanics
The Ohio State University
"God forbid that we should give out a dream of
our own imagination for a pattern of the world"
-- Francis Bacon