Sunday, November 13, 2011
When we pay lip service to champion noble causes
Socrates points out that all people by their essential nature desire only "the good" but this is a bit of a tautology since the very fact that we desire something means that we deem our desire good. It just now occurs to me how closely this phenomenon is related to "The Euthyphro Problem" - namely, does God like "the good" for its intrinsic properties OR is the good "GOOD" by fiat simply because God chooses to like it. We should always have the courage to examine reality and also ourselves from different perspectives/angles and always doubt and question. More dangerous than the unanswered question is the unquestioned answer. But IF we are like a machine-gun shooting 60 rounds per minute at every evil that pops up in current events we must give pause and ask ourselves WHY we do this and what it accomplishes. If we look at any number of gifted politicians (aka demagogues) we notice that they do not have unusually high I.Q.s for the most part. Ron Paul is a medical doctor so he is one exception I suppose. What they do have is charm and the gift of gab and they say things and champion causes in part to increase their influence and not necessarily to permanently solve age-old problems of human suffering. Perhaps Jimmy Carter is another exception, who has devoted his life in part to eradicating the fire-worm in African drinking water.
