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A decision will be made in a particular moment but that doesn't mean that it isn't influenced by the past or the predicted future (given the nature of learning the past will inevitably play a major role in any present decision making). In terms of the future: I have negative experiences myself...

I tend to find myself agreeing with this perspective as a reasonable, practical basis for responsibility. You can say that person X is responsible for a given action while still admitting that X is not responsible for his/her own character traits. Mind you, this still leaves me hesitating when...

But don't we have to compare them if we are to judge which is the better of two alternatives? If a person in pain chooses euthanasia then they are making the judgement that death is preferable to a painful existence. How can they claim death as a better option if such a comparison is impossible...

Thinking in terms of a pleasure-pain continuum (x axis = time, y = pleasure/pain) death could be taken to be absolute neutrality. It is neither pleasureable nor painful (it's nothing really). However, if you compare death to an overall positive stretch of experience then it seems like a bad...

Yeah - I meant the previous page of this thread (i.e. page 1 versus page 2). Firstly, I don't think the 'it is illegal, so we should accept it as wrong' argument is a very good one. It seems to assume that a rule is morally sound simply because it is written as law. If the law is always...

See my argument against free will and responsibility on the previous page. Without a proper form of responsibility how can you endorse a painful punishment for an action?

Euthanasia is largely about having the means to kill oneself in a peaceful way. This often entails having someone around who understands how to give the person the appropriate drug dose. If it's ok for someone to kill themselves then what is it that changes when they are given assistance? One...

Yeah, they do become necessary to a point. For example, if we reject responsibility then we loose blameworthiness and praiseworthiness. Think of relationships - does it make sense to thank someone (and lable them as praiseworthy) for acting kindly towards you? I think we derive a lot of meaning...

Of course they wouldn't make the choice to do so on such a model. However, that doesn't mean you can't set in action a deterministic process which is likely to rehabilitate them.

I am still unsure what my true thoughts on incarceration are. However, I find my self leaning on the side of rehabilitation (versus punishment), on the grounds that free will (and hence ultimate responsibility) is a load of bunk. I argue against free will on the following grounds: any given...

What, in your view, makes an animal 'significant' or worthy of moral concern?

Aussie chica sent the above message to me in a PM and, upon revisiting this thread, I realised that the same questions were here as well. Given how long my response was I figured that I may as well post it up here as well... sorry for the length: Thanks for the interesting questions. I'll...

You do realise that it only takes one counter-example to invalidate that claim right?

Heh, they'd have a tough job on their hands trying to stay up to date in their respective field without a working knowledge of the english language.

What about the value of education/learning in itself?

Philosophy does a great job of beefing up your analytical skills. That aside, I think it's worth it for the edification if you get a kick out of it. Of course, being a med student, I don't quite experience the full force of the employment issue. To ur_inner_child: On the few occaisions when I...

I'll probably end up doing some sort of postgraduate degree depending on what direction I take after my undergraduate studies: - If I decide to go the public health direction then I'll be required to do a MPH (master of public health) - If I become a physician and decide that I want to gain...

A couple of points: (1) I don't understand why god suddenly becomes the top explanation, in particular given the lack of evidence you provide for god's existence. Notice that you claimed that 'the universe is evidence for god's existence', yet this claim only holds insofar as god is, in fact...

Consider the fact that we have shown a physical explanation to be possible for the majority of observable phenomena in our universe. Further, I note that you say that there is no possible natural explanation for the details of the universe, so I ask you this: How can you rule out the...

Note that I already included consistency as part of the principle I set forth. Similarly I am aware that you are exempt from the above argument if you are putting forth evidence rather than trying to shift burden of proof (edit: note the conditional used in putting forth the principle, i.e. "If...