[extropy-chat] Moral Relativism

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> At 08:36 AM 5/10/2005 -0500, John-C-Wright wrote:
> 
> 
> >No one has answered this way, but, supposing someone said, "If the
> >population of her nation is too low, she must spare the child; but
> >if the population is too high, she must slay the child." This answer
> >depends on the situation; in this case, on population numbers.
> >
> >Again, no one has answered this way, but supposing someone said,
> >"She should obey the laws of her land and heed the opinions of her
> > elders, whatever they are. Only if the general society has reach a
> > consensus that it is right to slay the child can she slay it."
> 
> And so on, with this tendentious, emotive, old Testament verb "slay",
> here applied as usual to a small clump of fetal cells. 

Calling a fetus more than two or three weeks old a 'clump of cells' is
as hyperbolic a turn of phrase as calling a morning after pill
'murder'. Why not just call partial birth abortion 'downsizing'? You
can call it 'repurposing your personal human resources' and
'rightsizing' your 'family tiger team' to enhance taxpayer value.

> It seems to me more appropriately employed when Christians of certain
> denominations withhold permission for life-saving treatment offered
> to their sick children, such as blood transfusions, and thus
> unequivocally *slay* their flesh and blood in the name of eccentric
> interpretations of ancient superstition.

For example, the witholding of feeding tubes from the severely handicapped.....

Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com


		
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