Quote: (09-29-2013 11:21 PM)Wadsworth Wrote:
Good writeup, OP, you're right alot of these people are hypocritical, morally self-assured, infantile narcissists. Having said that, I do think we have a moral responsibility not to despoil the ecosystem.
For the sake of argument, why?
When I hear "moral obligation" or "moral responsibility", it starts to wander into the region of playing god. Of imposing our judgement on the way things should be. That's a slippery slope to me because I think it sets off a chain reaction where humans start to think they're something more than an intelligent species. We start applying demi-god status to ourselves.
I think we have a self-serving responsibility not to despoil the ecosystem. It's obviously in our best interests to preserve biodiversity.
I didn't emphasize it on the global warming thread, but you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger nature boy than me. I'm happiest when I'm up in the mountains or in the desert. I just got back from a phenomenal snorkeling trip in Baja Mexico. I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid. (Ironically now I cook animals instead of saving them, oh well) I love animals and the natural world with a deep passion, and it's for that reason that I have an interest in environmental affairs.
I think it's very important to differentiate between having moral obligations and identifying selfish incentives. One is honest and the other is incredibly disingenuine and reinforces a negative human trait; the trait of superiority and resulting alienation that occurs. It's when people can come together and say, "We want this" that change occurs. The moral statement would be "It should be this way", and that's when trouble arises.