> >A less cryptic statement of this idea is that a rigorous rational morality
> >can be derived from the very nature of an entity that is capable of
> >"knowing", without the need for reference to any source of value outside
> the
> >knower and community of knowers
>
> Ah! You've just re-invented Kant - so we're up to the 18th century in a
> single bound! :)
Yep. I believe that when I've discussed this idea previously in the distant
past on the ExList, I did attribute the essential outlines of the idea to
Kant. In my haste this morning, I failed to do so. Frankly, I think that a
review of Kant's epistimologically-based ethics in light of current thinking
in cognitive science might be fruitful.
As for the 18th century in general, I think we could do a lot worse, as
exponents of a "Second Enlightenment", than to revisit some of the good ideas
from that time from whence come the roots of liberal modernism.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com> <burchg@liddellsapp.com>
http://users.aol.comgburch1 or http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."
--Winston Churchill