tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post7449041721844188650..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Richard Perle: Morally Assessing IraqAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-39802143050849634072007-04-20T19:43:00.000-06:002007-04-20T19:43:00.000-06:00Atheist ObserverPart of what is correct in what yo...<B>Atheist Observer</B><BR/><BR/>Part of what is correct in what you wrote is already captured in my post. As I said, the task needs to be accomplished by competent individuals. The purpose of those competent individuals is to avoid catastrophe.<BR/><BR/>However, I disagree with the assumption that it is the actual results of one's actions that determine their moral quality. The rightness or wrongness of an action is not determined by its effects. It is determined by whether there were good reasons to perform the action.<BR/><BR/>Consider the following case:<BR/><BR/>You are presented with a button. If you do not press the button, 100 million people will suffer from accute starvation; many of them will die. If you do press the button, there is a 99% chance that this 100 million people will obtain an abundance of food, but a 1% chance that another 50,000 people will be added to those who would die.<BR/><BR/>Is it immoral to press the button?<BR/><BR/>According to the "results" criteria, we cannot tell whether or not it is the right thing to do to press the button until after we press it. We have to press the button, and then wait for the roll of the dice to tell us if we are good or we are evil.<BR/><BR/>If I were to turn to me and say, "What should I do? Should I press the button or shouldn't I?" you would have to say that this is a nonsense question. "You have to push the button to discover if a good person would have pushed the button or not."<BR/><BR/>I will tell you that a good person would push the button, and hope for the best. If it turns out that, because of events no person could have foreseen, more harm was done than good, then this bad result was an <I>accident</I>. People are not morally responsible for accidents. They are responsible only for what they can foresee.<BR/><BR/>When you get in your car and go to work (assuming you do such a thing), there is a chance that some mechanical failure will result in a wreck that kills other people. Yet, if it is a true accident, then it makes no sense to say that you are an evil person, simply because others were harmed.<BR/><BR/>Now, I argue that Bush is an evil person. He violated important principles of justice in making his decision to attack Iraq. He was also reckless in forming his belief to attack Iraq. His actions are far different from those who have an unforeseen accident while driving a car. His actions are like that of a person who drives while drunk - doing things that no responsible person would do.<BR/><BR/>In fact, the drunk driver deserves condemnation even if, by luck, he happens to make it home without killing anybody. It was wrong for him to take the risk.<BR/><BR/>This is what allows us to condemn Bush's actions. It is not the fact that he produced these terrible effects. It is the fact that he acted irresponsibly in ways that created a risk of harm - a risk that has become all too real in this case.Alonzo Fyfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-54830759566996709722007-04-20T18:53:00.000-06:002007-04-20T18:53:00.000-06:00Alonzo,I would say the morality of removing a tyra...Alonzo,<BR/>I would say the morality of removing a tyrant from power is like the morality of any other change. You must judge by the consequences. It is not moral to replace a bad thing with a worse thing.<BR/>Replacing a tyrant who kills thousands with chaos abd civil war that kills tens of thousands is not a good thing.<BR/>Until there is some evidence that Iraq has turned into a better place for it's people, the war will continue to be an immoral adventure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-82247595333139749972007-04-20T13:50:00.000-06:002007-04-20T13:50:00.000-06:00Very nice blog! I'm linking to you. Look forward...Very nice blog! I'm linking to you. Look forward to reading more!The maidenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01158682036840381823noreply@blogger.com