tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post1861709780812592411..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Praise and Condemnation 02: Three DistinctionsAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-74854381671587702422018-08-05T14:29:39.323-06:002018-08-05T14:29:39.323-06:00You are going to have to explain what you mean by ...You are going to have to explain what you mean by "subjective."<br /><br />I have written in a few places (see, for example, <a href="https://desirism.com/morality-from-the-ground-up" rel="nofollow">Morality from the Ground Up</a> part XIV) we have trouble talking about these things without creating a lot of confusion because we have no clear definitions.<br /><br />I once engaged in two online debates at the same time. In one I defended the subjectivity of morality, and in the other I argued against it. Yet, I defended the same position in both debates. The difference is that each used a different definition of subjectivity.<br /><br />In the debate where I defended subjectivity, I defended the position that all value depends on desire and no value exists independent of desire.<br /><br />In the debate where I argued against subjectivity I argued against the position that value depends on the desires or beliefs of the person making the evaluation. They do not. Nor do they depend on the mutual agreement of individuals - any more than the age of the earth depends on people coming to a mutual agreement. Morality is something that everybody can agree on, and yet everybody is wrong. However, what they are agreeing or disagreeing about is still dependent on the fact that desires exist.<br /><br />Confusing?<br /><br />Like I said, the problem is that we do not have a clear set of definitions. We use the same terms to mean radically different things, and people slip from one definition to another without noticing.Alonzo Fyfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-27465388403128802542018-08-05T09:26:54.815-06:002018-08-05T09:26:54.815-06:00Nice post. But morals and values are mostly subjec...Nice post. But morals and values are mostly subjective; therefore all that follows are also subjective. There is a bit of logic to the first layer of morals and values, from basic premises, but after that it is all subjective, and settled by agreement within a culture. Mother Teresa sold babies. What does it matter? In the end we all just die anyway. Sorry that I am such an ass. FredThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08382242668090490676noreply@blogger.com