[thechat] Religion

[Martin Burns]

On Tue, 17 Dec 2002, javier velasco wrote:

> This is also compatible with Dr. Maturana's definition of Ethics vs
> Morality, he said:
> - Moral behavior happens when you follow a certain set of moral rules.
> - Ethical behavior happens when you put yourself in the other person's
> place.

Similar to David Hume (sorry, can't find an primary source online so this
will have to do):
http://www.csupomona.edu/~rosenkrantz/egr402/reader9.htm
"It would seem that standards of behavior are at the mercy of a person's
passions. But there is one further observation Hume makes, which keeps his
picture of morality from deteriorating to that. He notices that all human
beings are somewhat disturbed when another human being is in misery. Hume
calls this sympathy (to be distinguished from pity or grieving for
someone) which is simply a passion (desire, feeling, etc) for being able
incorporate another's happiness into our disposition and behavior toward
them. Once Hume has this principle, he can save his moral understanding
from utter barbarity because there is one specific impression that won't
go away, and apparently dominates all other passions, sympathy."

http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y6711.html
'Sympathy': an important principle in the theories of Hume and Adam Smith.
It means not merely feeling sorry for someone (which is its meaning now),
but feeling with someone else, whatever the feeling: sharing their
pleasure, anger, sorrow etc. Hume and Smith point out that we are not
indifferent to the moral reaction of spectators to our action; if they
disapprove, there is some echo of this disapproval in us. From this Smith
explains the development of conscience: our conscience is the imagined
reaction of an imaginary ideal spectator, well-informed and impartial; if
such a person would disapprove of my action, then I feel moral uneasiness
about it. The theory of sympathy makes it possible for Hume to explain how
people can (to some extent) rely on one another to do the right thing even
before government exists, and without any reference to punishment to be
inflicted by God in the next life.


 > ___________________________________
> thechat mailing list: no truth is too dark for us!
> thechat at lists.evolt.org
> http://lists.evolt.org/mailman/listinfo/thechat
> http://lists.evolt.org/thechatarchive/
> ____
> Please support the community that supports you. Give your bit to
> evolt.org at: http://evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
>

--
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie