tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post6536727426080095052..comments2024-01-23T17:14:04.067-05:00Comments on Jaltcoh: Two-sentence refutations of profoundly influential ideasJohn Althouse Cohenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-19431203717812188342008-05-15T17:42:00.000-04:002008-05-15T17:42:00.000-04:00Stephen: You could certainly imagine a world where...Stephen: You could certainly imagine a world where all misfortunes were parceled out to people in accordance with what they deserved. But that's not quite what the world is really like, is it? (2-sentence refutation)<BR/><BR/>Yet another case where God is held to a lower standard than human beings.John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-70785706351664352782008-05-15T15:22:00.000-04:002008-05-15T15:22:00.000-04:00Here's a two-sentence refutation of the "cruel act...Here's a two-sentence refutation of the "cruel acts do not become good when seen from a larger perspective" thesis:<BR/><BR/>"Everyone in existence has, during childhood, suffered at least one punishment from their parents which <I>to them at the time</I> seemed utterly pointless, excessive, nonsensical or even cruel; yet that does not prove the punishment <I>was</I> in fact pointless, nonsensical, excessive or cruel, only that a selfish and subjective viewpoint thought it so.<BR/><BR/>"Given that children who never get punished for <I>anything</I> tend to turn out to be far worse human beings than their peers, assessing someone's perception of 'cruelty' with regard to their own suffering usually merits at least a few more grains of salt than the sentimentally empathetic among us are inclined to use."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-24824495687674952502008-04-22T10:29:00.000-04:002008-04-22T10:29:00.000-04:00Yeah, I thought the semicolons in Russell's refuta...Yeah, I thought the semicolons in Russell's refutations might raise some eyebrows. For the purposes of the two-sentence rule, one appropriate semicolon per sentence is allowed. <BR/><BR/>Your examples only lack the opportunity for learning if you're limiting it to the victim, but that's exactly what Spinoza wanted to avoid. There's also the background value of the fact that we have free will (which can justify <I>anything</I> since it's so diffuse).John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-22300540550358992632008-04-22T07:36:00.000-04:002008-04-22T07:36:00.000-04:00Excellent. I love the 2 sentence idea, though i th...Excellent. I love the 2 sentence idea, though i think it gives the advantage to writers of long sentences. A preference for semi-colons would give one writer an advantage. But fortunately, Russell's sentences are very solid and not elongated artificially.<BR/><BR/>"Sorry to cram so much into one sentence there..."<BR/><BR/>***<BR/><BR/>Good points about learning from suffering and animals. It made me think of 3 other examples.<BR/><BR/>1. Torturing a severely mentally retarded person.<BR/><BR/>2. Torturing a child.<BR/><BR/>3. Torturing someone to death.<BR/><BR/>1 and 3 are missing the opportunity to profit from the experience. 2 offers a greater opportunity.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.com