In a message dated 99-11-16 23:57:39 EST, Delvieron@aol.com (Glen Finney) wrote:
> I believe that the most important quality in the universe is self. But
> not my self alone. All selves are valuable to me (though I do have
> favorites). I am interested in bettering the lives of all selves, mine
and
> others. Of course, my main focus will be on doing what is best for myself
> and those others I have the closest contact with. I believe in
> responsibilities of proximity and scale and competence. The closer you
are
> to a self, the greater your responsibility (and who is closer than
yourself),
> the smaller the scale, the fewer people need act (and a single person is
the
> smallest scale, so you and a few others should in general be able to help
> with most problems that effect just you), and of course the greater your
> ability to render assistance in any situation determines responsibility
(as
> I
> have had medical training, especially ACLS, my responsibility to respond
to
> an injured person is greater than that of someone who has only seen CPR on
> TV). Now, this theory puts great emphasis on taking care of yourself as
> much
> as possible because 1) you are usually, but not always, in the best
position
> to do so and 2) by caring for yourself, you help lighten the burden of
> responsibilities on those around you. But it is not a sink or swim
concept,
> nor does it forget the other person.
Glen, I can't add one thing to this -- you've summmed up my own personal ethical and social philosophy just about exactly.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Civilization is protest against nature;
progress requires us to take control of evolution."
Thomas Huxley