LOGO
Reply to Thread New Thread
Old 05-16-2010, 06:58 PM   #1
tramdoctorsss

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
619
Senior Member
Default The Big Questions
The famous Templeton Foundation is asking the globe's "deep thinkers" six big questions.


The Foundation has sponsored six online exchanges on questions that illuminate our philanthropic mission.

Does moral action depend on reasoning?
Does evolution explain human nature?
Does the free market corrode moral character?
Does science make belief in God obsolete?
Will money solve Africa's development problems?
Does the universe have a purpose?
Well what does Philadelphia think? Please respond to ALL 6 questions, & limit each response to only 1 sentence. Don't look at the "deep thinkers' answers until you've come up with some of your own!
tramdoctorsss is offline


Old 05-16-2010, 08:12 PM   #2
eljugadordepoquer

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
439
Senior Member
Default
Does moral action depend on reasoning?

Not completely - it is clear that there is an instinctive and evolutionary root to both altruism and selfishness, which I would argue are the benchmarks for all higher moral systems (though I think reason gives us an ability to explain and sometimes transcend the purely instinctive, for both good and ill).

Does evolution explain human nature?

Of course; what else would?

Does the free market corrode moral character?

Potentially, though I would argue that the free market can't cause behavior that doesn't have some deeper kernel in your character - a greedy, selfish person would be that way to some degree under any market system.

Does science make belief in God obsolete?

Not obsolete, just irrelevant.

Will money solve Africa's development problems?

No, but a lack of money will doom development efforts.

Does the universe have a purpose?

No, because "purpose" implies conscious direction or intent.


(How's that?)
eljugadordepoquer is offline


Old 05-16-2010, 11:05 PM   #3
PhilipBartew

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
526
Senior Member
Default
question 7

does the templeton foundation have a useful purpose?
PhilipBartew is offline


Old 05-16-2010, 11:09 PM   #4
Xiciljed

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
433
Senior Member
Default
Does the Templeton Foundation have a useful purpose?

No, though there is sure to be an evolutionary explanation for it.
Xiciljed is offline


Old 05-17-2010, 12:28 AM   #5
zdlupikkkdi

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
426
Senior Member
Default
1. Does moral action depend on reasoning?

Yes indeed. See Kant's Critique of Practical Reason.

Does evolution explain human nature?

Yes and no. No in the sense that human nature is itself an outgrowth of human language ability--that is, it's our language which makes us human--but yes in the sense that our brains and thus our psychology developed around accommodating and maximizing this ability.

Does the free market corrode moral character?

Not necessarily. A laissez-faire market will eventually return to balance. Regulations help to provide a framework for ethics and morality. What does, unquestionably, however, is corporate welfare in all its myriad forms (handouts, subsidies, no-bid contracts, etc.) which don't reward the morals we're trying to reward but just being big and well-connected.

Does science make belief in God obsolete?

Heck no.

Will money solve Africa's development problems?

No. They have to be solved within Africa--that is, by Africa's own enlightenment. They're living in a Dark Ages now, one that came down upon them when at the beginning of the colonial period, the great empires e.g. Songhai, Kanem Bornu, Great Zimbabwe, in the interior all fell and the coastal cities e.g. Mogadishu, Mombasa, Kilwa were all colonized and lost their connections. This dark age has been exasperated by the force of late (mission civilisatrice and white man's burden) colonialism, and subsequently by the brain drain out of Africa into the more developed world. In other parts of the world, the road back from a dark age has required that the best individuals of the affected culture work within said culture to bring about cultural change (what we would call renaissance or enlightenment, but they're really just bookends to a single process). This has occurred repeatedly throughout the world in the known history of culture--Greece, China, India, Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and most lately Europe)--and so the most important elements of African development are to stem the brain drain and increase general education levels, both of which are threatening to Africa's extremely corrupt governments (just as the brains of Europe moved around depending on which governments were most and least corrupt). As it is, the current climate only encourages increased corruption, increased brain drain, a slow slide into Africa becoming the slum of the earth even as every other region in the world develops.

Does the universe have a purpose?

If it does, we don't know it yet!

Does the Templeton Foundation have a useful purpose?

If they're just asking questions and not implementing solutions, then I highly doubt it.
zdlupikkkdi is offline


Old 05-17-2010, 03:25 AM   #6
Fegasderty

Join Date
Mar 2008
Posts
5,023
Senior Member
Default
Well what does Philadelphia think? Please respond to ALL 6 questions, & limit each response to only 1 sentence. Don't look at the "deep thinkers' answers until you've come up with some of your own!
Does moral action depend on reasoning?

Action of its self is neither moral or immoral. The morality of an action is the result of a judgment someone makes about the action. Is it possible to make a judgment without reasoning? I don't think so. So, the answer is yes.

(BTW, I am ignoring the one sentence thing....does that make me immoral?)

Does evolution explain human nature?

No. I'm with Darwin on this one--there is no fixed, definable thing that is human nature. Since it doesn't exist, evolution can't explain it.

Does the free market corrode moral character?

No, but it does reward those with little or no moral character.

Does science make belief in God obsolete?

No.

Will money solve Africa's development problems?

Since it has played a pivotal role in causing many of Africa's problems, there is little reason to believe it alone will solve them.

Does the universe have a purpose?

Yes. That purpose is to take up space.
Fegasderty is offline


Old 05-17-2010, 03:30 AM   #7
DoniandaCoado

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
518
Senior Member
Default
Seanibus answered it for me.
DoniandaCoado is offline


Old 05-17-2010, 04:22 AM   #8
Tapupah

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
474
Senior Member
Default
Does moral action depend on reasoning?
Why we do something has multiple roots in chance / reason / instincts- any of which we may or may not be aware of.

Does evolution explain human nature?
Evolution is an observational theory of how things have changed physically over time. Human nature is metaphysical thing.

Does the free market corrode moral character?
One's character is corroded by the pursuit of money at any cost, and money exists in non-free markets.

Does science make belief in God obsolete?
Science makes religious explanations for how the world works obsolete.

Will money solve Africa's development problems?
Outside trade that brings $ into a viable economic system will raise the $ standard of living in Africa relative to other nations.

Does the universe have a purpose?
We do not know what the nature of the Universe is.



The questions are not really direct, viable questions.
Tapupah is offline


Old 05-17-2010, 07:54 PM   #9
bellson

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
471
Senior Member
Default
The questions are not really direct, viable questions. Ya, part of the fun.
bellson is offline


Old 05-18-2010, 03:20 AM   #10
10traistintarry

Join Date
Oct 2005
Posts
385
Senior Member
Default
Ya, part of the fun.
Yes, that's true. Though my fun was debunking the questions!
10traistintarry is offline



Reply to Thread New Thread

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:03 AM.
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
Design & Developed by Amodity.com
Copyright© Amodity