By extrapolation, it reveals principles that are as real as Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation. And they are every bit as binding on the human race as gravity itself.
But here is the problem. Gravitation can shown to exist independently of human opinion.
Have you ever considered the possibility that the reason you (and I) "feel" genocide is wrong is because it is wrong?
Yes, but I can't see any basis for that opinion.
Let me give you one example of what I consider an irreducible principle:
Life is sacred.
Principles don't become irreducible simply because we state they are. They have to be shown to be.
Can I prove it? Perhaps, but perhaps not. At the very least, we can say that people act, almost universally, in a way that strongly suggests they believe that their life is sacred.
I say they have evolved that way. A species like ours would not survive for long if we hadn't!
I would humbly suggest to you, Steve, that there reason you feel torture is wrong is precisely because it is wrong. The fact that you feel it's wrong doesn't disprove anything.
I agree that it doesn't disprove anything, but I put it to you that how we feel is the only connection we have to rightness and wrongness. We can postulate absolutes, but that is pointless unless we can prove their existence.
To put it another way, ignorant tribesman "feel" something about gravity. They know about angles and velocity (think bow and arrow), even if they don't express those concepts the way we do. Heck, they may never express them at all. But there's a truth in their understanding. Gravity is a force that's self-evident to them. It acts upon them every day. Even if they've never heard of Isaac Newton.
Yes. They have evolved to deal with gravity, as they have evolved a moral sense.
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Steve, that there reason you feel torture is wrong is precisely because it is wrong. The fact that you feel it's wrong doesn't disprove anything.
There is a reason we call a car a car, precisely because we call it a car. The fact that you feel it isn't a car doesn't disprove anything.
Forgive the flippancy. But that's just question begging, par excellence. We feel things are wrong because of our evolved emotional and social properties (for want of a better term.) Otherwise, we'd all feel slavery was wrong. Abortion was wrong, etc.
We need the evolved bit to be able to feel something is "truly/objectively" wrong and the social bit to determine what that something is.
When Steve says "Yes, I may feel genocide is wrong, but..." I take that to mean that his initial reaction to genocide is in agreement with my proposition, i.e., there is something intrinsically "wrong" about genocide.
That is to to say, as I understand it, that Steve stops and reminds himself that his "feeling" is just an illusion and he need not burden himself with conventional notions like "right" and "wrong," since science has proven there's really no such thing and, as such, genocide is no more or less "valid" than loving kindness.
I am saying that Steve's "gut instinct" is the correct one -- that yes, genocide is wrong, and that's why he has that feeling.
Suppose my eight-year-old son says to me: "Dad, I know it was wrong, but I stole Tommy's bike today."
What do you suggest I do?
"Actually, son, you weren't wrong. In fact, there's no such thing. Science has proven it. Some animals defend their territory, some animals don't. Some animals care for their young, but some animals eat their young. So you see, it's all natural. Who are we, mammals that we are, to judge what's right or wrong? Oh, sure, you might have 'felt' stealing was wrong. But one day, when you're old and wise, you'll realize that was just an illusion. Granted, if you apologize to Tommy and return his bike, it may help improve your relationship with Tommy and have a positive effect on society as a whole. But as far as this stealing business being wrong? Nope. It's not. No such thing."
As far as my statement being an example of question-begging, maybe your right. What I meant was: "I think your initial reaction is correct, Steve."
"What do you suggest I do?"
You should have just started with, "It's against the law."
That should make the rest a bit easier.
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