Reilly Jones wrote:
>Ira Brodsky wrote 11/18/96: <I believe there are laws of nature and that they
>extend into questions of morality. I think the purpose of life is to
>>understand and employ those laws.>
>
>Understand and employ those laws to what end?
I think the U.S. founding fathers had it right: the individual pursuit of
happiness. There may be disagreement over what constitutes happiness, but
that doesn't matter. What people really want is the *freedom* to pursue
it. Since technology increases human freedom, technological progress is
one of the basic "goods" in life.
The problem occurs when one person believes their freedom is maximized by
interfering with another person's freedom. At root, I believe this is due
to a lack of understanding of what freedom is. If we want other people not
to interfere with *our* freedom, we must embrace a common, objective
morality. From there, we can cooperatively achieve technological progress,
the benefits of which are reaped by individuals.
>Ira: <I am not ready to rule out the possibility that, by doing so, we will one
>day rule the universe.>
>
>Rule the universe to what end?
Freedom, per above.
Ira Brodsky
Datacomm Research Company
Wilmette, Illinois