Looking out in the world, I don’t see a lot of rationalists of the type who inhabit this board who are rich, powerful, admired, have happy marriages or have fulfilled the potential they believe they have.
Looking out in the world, I don’t see a lot of rationalists of the type who inhabit this board, period. But now we’re talking about rationality instead of morality. Why?
I’m not promising that you’ll have all of that if you just rebase your ethics but If you happy not to try just so you can keep your warm fuzzy moral feelings, that’s, of course, your own choice.
To summarise what you have said:
There’s no morality.
People should act in their own material self-interest, without regard to anyone else’s welfare, except as a means to that main end.
Money to spend on hookers and blow is an example of the self-interest that should outweigh tipping waitresses.
But you’re not advocating any moral system.
You don’t choose this system yourself, oh no.
But anyone who did wouldn’t say so.
Find the lady. (“I’m not going to talk about some of the more extreme examples of what this would imply until other people do.”)
Rationalists are losers.
Of course, rooting out your moral feelings doesn’t guarantee money, power, fame, a happy marriage, and achievement, nudge, nudge.
Moralists are losers consoling themselves with warm fuzzies.
Can someone suggest a rationalist equivalent of Retro me, Satana?
Not speaking for him, but I think his point is more along the lines of: We feel moral revulsion sometimes when we shouldn’t, and don’t feel it sometimes when we should, according to the moral systems we profess, and sometimes we have to trust our rational selves over our feelings of disgust to both do what we think is right and get what we want.
Looking out in the world, I don’t see a lot of rationalists of the type who inhabit this board, period. But now we’re talking about rationality instead of morality. Why?
To summarise what you have said:
There’s no morality.
People should act in their own material self-interest, without regard to anyone else’s welfare, except as a means to that main end.
Money to spend on hookers and blow is an example of the self-interest that should outweigh tipping waitresses.
But you’re not advocating any moral system.
You don’t choose this system yourself, oh no.
But anyone who did wouldn’t say so.
Find the lady. (“I’m not going to talk about some of the more extreme examples of what this would imply until other people do.”)
Rationalists are losers.
Of course, rooting out your moral feelings doesn’t guarantee money, power, fame, a happy marriage, and achievement, nudge, nudge.
Moralists are losers consoling themselves with warm fuzzies.
Can someone suggest a rationalist equivalent of Retro me, Satana?
Not speaking for him, but I think his point is more along the lines of: We feel moral revulsion sometimes when we shouldn’t, and don’t feel it sometimes when we should, according to the moral systems we profess, and sometimes we have to trust our rational selves over our feelings of disgust to both do what we think is right and get what we want.