I Miss Fafblog Comments, Spot!
If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremely valid human experience.
William James
How inclusive is that "greatest public"? Does it only include:
a. Wall Street CEO's
b. Congress
c. people who inherited more money than they could ever spend on basic physiological needs like food and shelter
d.citizens of the USA
e. the peoples of the Northern hemisphere
f. the peoples of the planet Earth
g. the grandchildren of everyone listed above
.
I also disagree that "pleasure" is the ultimate subject of moral enquiry. As was stated at the beginning of a tv show I watched as a child, the highest values are "the pursuit of truth, justice, and the potentially sentient way" [paraphrased to reflect my 21st century sensibility].
And speaking of which, maybe you saw the March 27th appearance of William Greider on Bill Moyers' PBS show. They said, in part:
BILL MOYERS: I read just this morning that there’s a nation wide grassroots protest planned for April 11th. … They’re young people who want to take on banking reform, and reform the financial systems, as a campaign, an ongoing witness.
WILLIAM GREIDER: I know. They call themselves A New Way Forward….
http://www.anewwayforward.org/de...demonstrations/
Young people are part of my optimism. They smart kids, want to be engaged in their times, see the injustices of their society. And they don’t quite trust the great, big existing organizations. And with some good reason, as you know. And particularly, they’re not totally sold on the Democratic Party as the vessel of reform.
So they’re now engaged in putting together the 11, 12, I’m sure they’d like to have 50, little bonfires around the country. These demonstrations. There’s going be one in Washington and one in Wall Street, and a number of other cities. I think if people do those things with or without any help from big organizations, that collectively becomes the voice that tells Washington, we’re on to your silly ideas that Wall Street wants you to do about reform. We see through them. And we have some ideas of our own. And we’re going to come talk to you, and if you decline to talk to us, we’re going to come after you. That’s the voice of democracy speaking.
The problem with this sort of utilitarian calculus is that it is really impossible to apply -- the Bushies attack Iraq citing the principle that it would increase the Iraqis' own happiness.
Say, while we're talking about the financial system, is there anything keeping us from establishing 100,000 virtual units of "pie dollars" on our website and selling them, and then offering things on cafepress for "pie dollars"? I mean, since we are a non-governmental entity, are there regulations against such things? We could keep a running exchange rate on the website.
Intended as strictly a hypothetical question, but I've been wondering about how these things work and thinking that if someone could get the world to gravitate to a new international currency, there is the potential to make monetary decisions as a new central bank so as to be less beholden to the corporate and financial behemoths that still set the G20 agenda.
Bring on the 'pie standard', I say!
Or, to quote John Gardner's dragon from Grendel:
“My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it.”
btr3, i can only hope the answer may one day be (g). it certainly seems too late (or early) for us anyway.
mistah charley, ph.d., i think Godwin would argue that the pursuit of truth is essential to happiness. and he defined justice in terms of happiness, by the 'criterion of virtue' quoted in the op. he seemed to argue also that truth and justice and happiness apply only to sentient beings (humans?). so "the pursuit of truth, justice, and the potentially sentient way" would seem to be the very same path Godwin advocated taking toward the ultimate goal of human perfection in happiness/pleasure.
MarkC the Bushies attack Iraq citing the principle that it would increase the Iraqis' own happiness.
aside from the bushies being full of shit, Godwin said that there must be both intent to do good, and a result of good having been done for an act to be considered virtuous.
Godwin re currency: "Money is the representative and the means of exchange to real commodities; it is no real commodity itself." also: "There is no wealth in the world except this, the labor of man." so why not cut out the middle"man" with something more along these lines?
as for all this treasonous onslaught against dollar, perhaps we should pay heed to this fellow who worries about such things, and also that "this administration, and especially the radical left, may well destroy the United States of America."
Virtue is a pretty slippery thing, in that we all pretty much agree that it exists, but have failed to define it in a manner that everyone can agree upon. Sort of like justice. And beauty, I guess. Though I think we can maybe all agree that Halle Berry is fine.
Then again, maybe virtue, beauty, and justice only exist as universal human notions, and defy real objective analysis because they are, you know.... imaginary. I would be OK with that, too.
It's sort of like the notion of perfection... rationally, there's no such thing -- but if you had ever had a slice of my grandmother's lemon pie, there is a decent chance that you might be convinced otherwise.
Unless, of course, you don't like lemon pie at all... or Halle Berry... which would probably make you a communist. Or an investment banker. Something.
ai revud dis foar u ! !
http://mistercat.wordpress.com/2...ndeeyun-museem/
What if Halle Berry could make your grandmother's lemon pie? Something like that might be so good as to cause one to lose interest in other goods. Which would be bad, right?
MarkC -- I'm not sure.... would it? I'm trying to find the down side, but it's eluding me.
Also, to mR. Cat:
More biographies!
With respect to Halle Berry making Granny Thepuppethead's lemon pie, someone's grandfather allegedly said "Kissin' don't last, but cookin' do."
I believe the children are our future. Or somebody's future. If any.
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