tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post7816845541561347744..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: The Trolley Car AbsurdityAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-15755744919851696122007-11-26T05:33:00.000-07:002007-11-26T05:33:00.000-07:00Atheist ObserverI responded to your question in to...<B>Atheist Observer</B><BR/><BR/>I responded to your question in <A HREF="http://atheistethicist.blogspot.com/2007/11/refining-concept-of-virtue.html" REL="nofollow">today's post</A>Alonzo Fyfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-91144556561753274992007-11-25T16:08:00.000-07:002007-11-25T16:08:00.000-07:00Hey Doug S.That's really very funny. I'm laughing ...Hey Doug S.<BR/>That's really very funny. I'm laughing so hard I knocked the keyboard shelf out of it's track.. <BR/>I really needed a good laugh I guess. Is dry wit a common trait amongst mutual fund managers?<BR/>Thanks for the chuckle man.Squareheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16392185741812176674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-85378267153980988592007-11-25T15:59:00.000-07:002007-11-25T15:59:00.000-07:00"Do something, do anything even if it's wrong. Don..."Do something, do anything even if it's wrong. Don't just stand there".<BR/><BR/>That's very bad advice to give a mutual fund manager. They tend to trade more often than would maximize returns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-30645311978491408872007-11-25T09:24:00.000-07:002007-11-25T09:24:00.000-07:00If the trolley car will kill five people unless yo...If the trolley car will kill five people unless you throw someone on the tracks killing just that one person, why not throw yourself on the tracks?<BR/><BR/>I had a drill sgt. in basic training, a very long time ago, who would say the following.<BR/><BR/>"Do something, do anything even if it's wrong. Don't just stand there".<BR/><BR/>I like this blog. It makes you think. We don't do enough of that anymore.Squareheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16392185741812176674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-15705489223576104642007-11-25T08:15:00.000-07:002007-11-25T08:15:00.000-07:00I’d like to go back to a theme you’ve addressed in...I’d like to go back to a theme you’ve addressed in several previous posts: that of genetics in morality. Am I correct in the following analysis?<BR/>A sociopath who commits all kinds heinous deeds because he is genetically unable to feel empathy and gets pleasure from causing pain is not evil because these desires were genetically determined.<BR/>A person who has a genetic disposition to harm others, but is not compelled to do it (the desires are malleable) and is treated badly in childhood such that he develops non-malleable bad desires is not evil because these desires are no longer malleable, but would be if they were.<BR/>A person who has many bad desires, but due to fear or selfish reasons, always acts in ways we have reasons to promote, i.e., always acts in ways to benefit others, is the truly evil person because he has malleable bad desires, even if these bad desires are never expressed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com