Become What Thou Art? (moral, Messiah, experience, moral, Commandment)

[Sunstone]

Become what thou art.

Be true to yourself.

Follow your bliss.

How adequate are those imperatives as the basis of a morality?

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

How adequate are those imperatives as the basis of a morality?

That's difficult for me to answer. I perceive them as un-morality, and un-imperatives.

[eudaimonia]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Become what thou art. Be true to yourself. Follow your bliss.

How adequate are those imperatives as the basis of a morality?

That's a very interesting question, especially as these are all important principles that help shape my ethical standard.

I suppose I have to ask: adequate for what? Just how detailed does an ethical standard have to be in order to be "adequate"?

The Golden Rule often seems inadequate to me since it says so little and invites others to fill in the blanks with their own experience. But perhaps that is enough in some ways. If we accept the Golden Rule as "adequate" for people willing to "fill in the blanks", then certainly the moral advice you gave above is more than adequate. Yet, my impression is that your moral advice is so abstract as to be lacking that impression that one really has a "moral compass" at one's disposal.

As someone who admires virtue ethics, I think that one should, at a minimum, mention a good list of virtues worth striving for, perhaps as the necessary preconditions of self-actualization. These principles do not have to be spelled out in great detail since one expects any virtue to be applied by active-minded moral agents using their practical judgment. One anticipates that they will "grow" with their virtues, by which I mean that they will see more and more over time how to apply them to the issues they will face in life.

So, I suppose my reply to you is that you've made a good start on the foundational principles of a morality, but there's still a little more work needed.


eudaimonia,

Mark

[xexon]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Become what thou art.

Be true to yourself.

Follow your bliss.

How adequate are those imperatives as the basis of a morality?

They are only effective for a purified mind, otherwise the impure qualities of the mind will have too much influence.


x

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Become what thou art.

Be true to yourself.

Follow your bliss.

How adequate are those imperatives as the basis of a morality?

Not good enough, it needs one more commandment:
"And thou harm none, do as thou wilt."

Hitler followed the morality you postulate.

Regards,
Scott

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by Popeyesays

Not good enough, it needs one more commandment:
"And thou harm none, do as thou wilt."

Good point.

Hitler followed the morality you postulate.

How could he have? He was insane, and how can an insane person be true to themselves?

[Popeyesays]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Good point.



How could he have? He was insane, and how can an insane person be true to themselves?

What evidence is there that Hitler was insane, in the sense of not responsible for his acts?

Absolutely none. He was a sociopath, perhaps, but that is not insanity.

Insanity does not translate into any old mental disorder at all, or we would all be insane.

Hitler was a megalomaniac with a side order of Messiah Complex. He was also eminently functional within society or he could never have amassed all that political power.

Regards,
Scott

[Sunstone]

Originally Posted by Popeyesays

What evidence is there that Hitler was insane, in the sense of not responsible for his acts?

Absolutely none. He was a sociopath, perhaps, but that is not insanity.

Insanity does not translate into any old mental disorder at all, or we would all be insane.

Hitler was a megalomaniac with a side order of Messiah Complex. He was also eminently functional within society or he could never have amassed all that political power.

Regards,
Scott

At this point, I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. It would be fruitless to debate who means what by "insane".