Category: Moral Agency

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Lefty Political Philosophy Moral Agency

It really is

not much of a surprise. Leftism has violence at its very core. No “you be you” or anything like that. It is, “You will be FORCED. Comrade.”

Put that on a chart, and it becomes a visual Double Black Diamond ski slope, with a quarter of “very liberal” people supporting political violence, 17% of liberal people doing so, six percent of “conservatives” (shame on those 1 out of 20!), and 3% of very conservative people doing so. That is, quite literally, a margin of error number in a poll. 

If you don’t recognize how violent the Left has become, you frankly have your head up your butt! We really are not the same…

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Lefty Culture Losers Moral Agency

The Democrats:

The party of the schoolmarm’s veto. She’ll rap your knuckles, you know!

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Moral Agency Morality

The FACT is

that for an atheist (or evolutionary absolutist) there simply CAN logically be no God. There is NO human law or any kind of morality that is not based squarely on the existence of God.

You may consider yourself to be an atheist, but if you claim that there are any moral “rules” at all, you are speaking with a forked tongue.

At most you can say it is better for living with others not to lie and kill. But is it always? Says who? And by what authority? Lying and cheating can lead to some pretty good personal outcomes!

And pure empiricism certainly doesn’t show that some actions are “good” and some actions are “bad!” And if YOU choose to not act in a certain way, what then?

I guess we will leave aside the question of whether you can choose at all for now. But it really does not mesh with the human concept of right and wrong if ALL behavior is merely necessary.

At best this line of reasoning leads to a stultifying nihilism. It leaves one literally adrift on a Godless sea, with no rudder or sail with which to steer.

If there is no God, there simply IS no right and no wrong. There is only power and the willingness to seek and use it. There is no meaning to our lives at all–Nietzsche was entirely correct. The psychopath has the only true perception of the world. The rest is just boob-bait for Bubba.

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Bad Faith Lefty Political Philosophy Moral Agency

Will Trump follow

Millei’s example?

Answer: I certainly hope so. But if these policies are so obviously better and have drastically helped the economy, why don’t Democrats cotton on to them? 

In a word, control. Democrats hate this because they cannot control it. Creating conditions for the economy to grow on its own is the antithesis of Leftism itself. This growth is tied tightly to human agency, and that is anathema to the Left.

But I certainly hope that Trump follows Milei’s guidelines! He has shown us the way…

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Moral Agency

Some ideas

I have been having, provoked in part by Peter Thiel.

Coercive government is indeed ALWAYS sold under the thin patina of “peace and safety.” Think about it: The promise is that there will be no war (and who wants war?) and everyone will be safe and secure (what kind of monster wouldn’t want THAT?”)

Yet, while no rational or moral person enjoys war, there sometimes is little choice.

To quote Patrick Henry’s famous speech:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! … What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

See, the problem is that to force there to be peace and safety for all, there can be no moral agency, only direct control. And just who has that direct control? Huh?

Suddenly we are in the domain of coercion and despotism!

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Moral Agency Political philosophy

Understand, the

Left is the party of violence.

Trump
Paul
Scalise
Zeldon

All these were Conservatives physically attacked by Leftists.

Now name some (within the last 50 years, please) of Leftists physically attacked by a Conservative. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

Understand well, Leftism IS the political philosophy of violence! If a group is violent, it is a VERY safe bet that they are Leftist! Look around–BLM and ANTIFA are merely recent “flavors” of this same ol’ crap sandwich.

At heart, Leftism is about force, violence, and lack of moral agency. “Saving” everyone by removing the ability to choose. Conservatives, OTOH, tend to value free choice and personal liberty. They value conversion over coercion.

Now YOU have to decide what YOU believe!

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Culture Moral Agency

In my professional

life, I spend all day every day reading psychological evaluations. Yesterday I ran across a line in a report that really struck me:

Just because he has a disorder does not mean that he cannot engage in some behavior on purpose.

I think that MUCH of the time people (and psychologists, who should know better) talk as if a psychological disorder somehow completely prevents a person from exercising moral agency.

Well, it doesn’t. Not typically. Maybe the more severe a condition is the less moral agency is in play–OK, I can buy that–but to say that the presence of a disorder means that the person can exert no moral agency at all is bull crap!

A good psychologist has to tease apart that which is a choice and that which is a mere reflex.

Denying moral agency also means that there is no way to “decide” to change and get better. Denying moral agency may lead to one feeling “better” and “justified” in the very short term, but it is a damning straight-jacket that actually prevents people from changing and getting better.

There is simply no way to believe in change without also believing in moral agency.

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Lefty empty-headed shills Moral Agency Political philosophy

It’s downright

scary. If you don’t agree, you are demonized and de-humanized. “Dark Brandon” has said that anyone, including the Supreme Court, who doesn’t bow to his Lefty will is an enemy, and must be destroyed. There is no loyal or reasoned opposition–only enemies of the Left to be destroyed. And he has already TWICE halfway-threatened to use atomic weapons and fighter jets against US civilians!

Yeah, scary! Because this is no idle threat–it is Leftism getting back to its philosophical roots. And a large portion of people would smugly go along with it…

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Moral Agency Ontology

Here’s a radical idea:

Without moral agency there is no moral existence at all. See, if all we are boils down to being “a very complex hammer,” then ALL we do is merely necessary. There simply is no moral meaning to a hammer hitting a nail–or your thumb! The hammer is not morally bad for hitting your thumb.

The hammer simply doesn’t exist as a moral agent! It is not something to act, it is just something to be acted upon. It’s not a morally bad hammer for hitting your thumb–it’s just a hammer, impelled by previous forces in a never-ending “turtles all the way down” infinite regress sort of pseudo-explanation.

In a similar fashion, if all WE do is merely metaphysically necessary, there is no moral meaning to our actions at all. I just do what I’m “programmed” by experience to do, and there is no moral aspect to it–no “right” or “wrong.”

So maybe I’m Pol Pot or Stalin or Hitler, but what those folks did is not morally bad, it is simply necessary–just like the hammer doesn’t “choose” where to strike, their actions were impelled by other, previous causes and thus not morally wrong at all. They are just a complex hammer. I may prefer or not prefer their actions (in au courant post-modern style), but there is no moral meaning attached!

That also precludes knowledge (except of the most banal and meaningless type), but I’m not going into that here. But it does.

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Moral Agency

Stop smoking!

The EU has banned smoking altogether.

I’m not a fan of the policy. Who would enFORCE it? While that is superficially a good idea—I agree that smoking is bad—such a policy abrogates agency. I can just hear some politician say: “I will save EVERYONE from smoking. And surely I will do it, therefore give ME the glory.” Sounds good, right? Lots of people have followed that path, because it is VERY attractive. Tale (literally) as old as time…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not enamored with smoking. At all. But I AM a fan of moral agency…

And how punitive are YOU willing to get? More restricted areas? Fines? Jail time? Death penalty? Yeah, it didn’t work with prohibition (which led to gangs and bootlegging and rampant human misery). It also won’t work here. Mark my words, there will be a HUGE black market for cigarettes in the UK!

Alternative: My idea is that you don’t behave in a way that impinges on others—whether it is smoking or bank robbery. But now we are NOT talking about external rules, we are talking about personal morality.

In short, what works in such situations is CONVERSION, a way-of-being. Not force and coercion. But when there is actual moral agency, there will ALWAYS be people who choose poorly. Even the very elect can make a wrong choice…