Do you believe in human rights?

Post Reply New Topic

Up to a point,yes;-I don't think countries should be dictatorships, but I also think most murderers deserve to be executed.

Sociopaths have a short-term advantage, compassion and concern for fairness win in the long run. The Arab Spring took a long time in coming, and will probably still see some backsliding, but they've moved the battle lines in the right direction. I've just been reminded of some of the awful things civil rights leaders said about women's rights, despite that they'd never have made the progress they did without the women involved.

Well, I guess - but when used in this context, emotive nonsense like "Gay mafia" usually isn't too far away.

I just can't imagine living life as a sociopath. Sure, you might get some things you wanted if you could take advantage of other people without worrying about having a conscience about it; but it'd be a horribly empty kind of life. You'd be forever chasing after the next bit of pleasure, just running out the clock on your life without ever leaving anything behind or building a better world for anybody else. There'd be no purpose to it, no goal, just marking the time until your funeral. Compared to having a meaningful life, pleasure is worthless.

If you mean rights as in expanding individual autonomy/freedom, fairness and integrity, I'd say these rights come from people who were dominated. oppressed or treated unfarily in some way. and so fought in the name of their own "humanity". I think these rights become "self evident" from creating a dichotomy of lower and higher values, the higher values being appealed to, against the lower values of the world as it is/was.

(I think it took me a half hour or so, maybe longer, to write these two sentences....ha)

I don't believe in "inherent rights" if that's what you mean.

I believe "rights" are determined by whatever society happens to be in the business of defining them at any given time. If "rights" have an objective existence rooted outside of the human mind, I haven't figured it out yet.

As for non-human animals, I believe in "animal welfare," but not "animal rights."

Hmmm.........personally I think that enlightened selfishness is as altruistic as it usually gets for humans. I can't easily inagine not caring about others, but it might be a different matter if I were absolutely sure that there'd be no comeback for disregarding them. Though I'm one of those unfortunates who was brought up with too much conscience, so unbridled hedonism always does look like a step up from just making sure I don't upset anybody. Problem is that I can't imagine what it would be like not to need friends, and I can't have friends unless I care about them, at least not friends in the sense that I mean. Cronies yes, friends no.

Then you'd have to erase your own memory. YOU would know, and that's more punishment than anything that might happen to you.

Yes. You have not stated a question clearly. Organize your thoughts and try again.

ruveyn

Conceptually it feels like I might be able to learn not to care, but I don't suppose in practice the leopard can change his spots. Can't even use the "they deserved it" rationalisation that most people seem to, because I know that for the hype it is. I'd make a lousy executioner.

And you're sad about that? It's a good thing to care about people.

Well, like I said, some people have too much conscience. I'm not really sad about my inner reluctance to kill (though it could be a disadvantage in some scenarios).....it's more the lesser acts of aggression that I wish I could be a little more comfy about.

I believe unequivocally in human rights, except for where they impinge negatively on someone else's.

Yeah. The word 'agenda' has taken on a decidedly negative tone. Agendas are conspiratorial and nefarious. Revolutions are righteous. It is not an agenda to promote equal right, it is something more than that.

Whatever. It's all promotion of the the ideas a specific group believes in.

Don't be. You don't want to stop caring--ever. Even if you do pay for it in guilt sometimes, it's worth it.

I don't know.......I've seen situations........there was this scientist taking the mickey out of another scientist's work - he actually played a tune on his test tubes with a pair of glass pipettes - a quick smack on the culprit's head with a roll of laboratory sealing film soon resolved the problem. I would have still been thinking "have I the right.....?"