On 05/31/2014 02:08 AM, Josh Walker wrote:
> THIS. Exactly this. The thing we must not forget, is that in all
> likelihood Hitler himself awoke believing he was doing good. The
> capability for self-deception is a defining characteristic of our
> sentience. It's scary, and we should never stop worrying that we could
> become equally misguided.
>
> For this reason, I am very nervous around anyone who appoints
> themselves judge and jury, declaring things black and white, with an
> "I would never...". No offense intended, Kristoff: We've hung out, and
> I like you very much. I just urge you to be careful, because as soon
> as we assume to be the side of universal good, and stop seeking to
> understand how others have arrived at their positions, we are just as
> close and just as likely the bad guy as they are.

I'm genuinely sorry to hear that, again.

But no, there is no scenario in which my understanding of ethics and
myself leads me to become like Hitler. There is no mystery about what
Hitler led to his behavior -- childhood trauma leading to psychopathic
behavior, and an utter lack of principles. Objective ethics (when
correct and applied universally) do not lead you toward evil, but
liberate you from it. It's understandably scary since ethics were
invented for the purpose of and used for manipulation for vast swaths of
human history, but the study has been remarkably refined by the exertion
of *actual* philosophy in the last few decades. This study is not
complete, but the principles are sound, just as we currently have a
sound approach to building bridges that don't collapse.

As modern abolitionists, I encourage allies to wield principled
morality. Arguing about how the cotton will picked in the future is dumb.

-Kristov