12-23-2010, 01:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-23-2010, 02:03 PM by Ali Quadir.)
You can't think like that can you?
If you take tomatoes of the land, to feed hungry children you're acting both STS and STO... Because not only do you feed the hungry, you also take food away from insects, worms and bacteria. When you choose to let fleas bite you, not only do you choose to feed the flea, you also allow diseases to spread more easily.
If you willingly destroy the land so no crops will grow there... That's evil right? What if not doing it caused your villagers to die of starvation? If you willingly cut down forests for money. That's evil right? What if without that money your family would die? Isn't it equally evil to let people die by not acting to provide for them?
If you could kill a specific man using a timemachine by giving his mother contraceptives, not only did you stop a life from existing, you prevented the second world war. So killing is right if the person is a bad person? What if he'd incidentally start a war but is firmly opposed to wars himself?
In my opinion every action is inherently neutral.
It is only the meaning that we personally ascribe to it that defines whether the action is positive or negative. This judgment is in the mind. And separate from the judgment are the causal consequences of an action. Which are in fact tied into the action.
Mother earth gives and takes. Meaning sometimes I feel warm in the sun, sometimes I feel wet and miserable in the rain. Sometimes bounty is on my path, sometimes I go hungry. Sometimes I am healthy sometimes I am ill. Is mother earth STS or STO?
No, she gives and takes in the ebb and flow of life... And so do I... I've killed fleas... As a dog owner I've probably killed whole societies of them. If I didn't my dog would have been miserable, and so would everyone around her have been.
STS and STO are very broad catagories. Helpful in every day decision making. And I do believe polarizing yourself to STO and thus being a conduit to light is not only noble but necessary. I believe choosing not to kill a flea is inherently noble as a motive. But I doubt the world truly is divided into STS or STO...
I think the question is. What are the likely consequences of your actions and are they in line with your goals?
If you take tomatoes of the land, to feed hungry children you're acting both STS and STO... Because not only do you feed the hungry, you also take food away from insects, worms and bacteria. When you choose to let fleas bite you, not only do you choose to feed the flea, you also allow diseases to spread more easily.
If you willingly destroy the land so no crops will grow there... That's evil right? What if not doing it caused your villagers to die of starvation? If you willingly cut down forests for money. That's evil right? What if without that money your family would die? Isn't it equally evil to let people die by not acting to provide for them?
If you could kill a specific man using a timemachine by giving his mother contraceptives, not only did you stop a life from existing, you prevented the second world war. So killing is right if the person is a bad person? What if he'd incidentally start a war but is firmly opposed to wars himself?
In my opinion every action is inherently neutral.
It is only the meaning that we personally ascribe to it that defines whether the action is positive or negative. This judgment is in the mind. And separate from the judgment are the causal consequences of an action. Which are in fact tied into the action.
Mother earth gives and takes. Meaning sometimes I feel warm in the sun, sometimes I feel wet and miserable in the rain. Sometimes bounty is on my path, sometimes I go hungry. Sometimes I am healthy sometimes I am ill. Is mother earth STS or STO?
No, she gives and takes in the ebb and flow of life... And so do I... I've killed fleas... As a dog owner I've probably killed whole societies of them. If I didn't my dog would have been miserable, and so would everyone around her have been.
STS and STO are very broad catagories. Helpful in every day decision making. And I do believe polarizing yourself to STO and thus being a conduit to light is not only noble but necessary. I believe choosing not to kill a flea is inherently noble as a motive. But I doubt the world truly is divided into STS or STO...
I think the question is. What are the likely consequences of your actions and are they in line with your goals?