[MD] Is Morality innate in the cosmos?

[Ham Priday]

Platt --

> I don't see a "fixed cosmic morality" in a principle of betterness.
> There is no fixed end point at which betterness is achieved.
> It is infinite.

If the morality is "fixed" (your word), then it must be the "standard of
betterness" by which all behavior would be measured -- that is, if we could
know what that standard was.  You seem firmly committed to that belief.  But
this "principle of betterness" as you define it can only be the optimum
goodness (summum bonum) for the relational world.  It is an attempt to make
infinite and perfect something that by nature is finite and imperfect.  A
reality consisting of sentient beings and their experienced objects can
never be measured on the scale of perfection.  Only the absolute Source can
qualify as perfect.

> Which IMO leads to a morality of "anything goes." Then civilization, with
no
> rational universal principles to uphold it, slowly disintegrates -- as
have
> hundreds of civilizations before ours. On what basis will you defend your
> culture against attack if the other culture's morals are as authentic as
yours?
> "Better Red than dead" was the cry of 60's Hippies. Had that idea
prevailed, I
> doubt if you and I would be having this conversation today.

That is not necessarily true.  After all, "anything goes" has been
operational in human behavior since the dawn of civilization.  So far it has
produced the advanced cultures of ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, the
Age of Enlightenment, and Western Democracy.  We can regress, of course, and
surrender these achievements through negligence, apathy, and indifference to
the values of our culture.  But it is not our "fate" to do so.  As you say,
it is always possible to aspire to betterness.

While I was listening to the State of the Union speech tonight, I was again
struck by Bush's commitment to "spreading Freedom and Democracry throughout
the world".  That is a misconception.  It is futile to force democracy on a
culture that does not acknowledge the value of human freedom.  We don't need
to spread freedom; it's already there, innately, in man.  If we must
"spread" something, it should be the knowledge that all individuals are
free, that we are not enslaved by the will or doctrines of a judgmental
deity, and that the key to cultural betterness is respect for the values
that move us individually and collectively toward human achievement.

I am reminded of Rose Wilder Lane's eloquent appeal to this principle:

"Very few men have ever known that men are free. Among this earth's
population now, few  know that fact. For six thousand years at least, a
majority has generally believed in pagan gods. A pagan god, whatever it is
called, is an Authority which (men believe) controls the energy, the acts,
and therefore the fate of all individuals. The pagan view of the universe is
that it is static, motionless, limited, and controlled by an Authority
...that all individuals are, and by their nature should and must be,
controlled by some Authority outside themselves. ...[But] a time comes when
every normal man is a responsible human being. His energy creates a part of
the whole human world of his time. He is free; he is self-controlling and
responsible, because he generates his energy and controls it. No one and
nothing else can control it.
                                                                            
    -- Lane: "The Discovery of Freedom"


> Yes, I understand we have different ideas about
> consciousness and its existence beyond nervous systems.
> For me, consciousness is something the brain. that big
> bundle of nerve tissue,  taps into rather than creates.

Yes, and it's precisely that phrase which got me involved in the debate over
the "collective consciousness" last year.  If the intellect, consciousness,
and morality are all something we "tap into", then what is left for the
individual as a free creature?   What is man's role in the cosmos? Where is
the autonomy?  Indeed, what is the value choice?

> You speak of self-awareness as if that was the only
> legitimate type of awareness, at least as it relates to values
> and purpose. You see, I disagree with that premise.
> I observe my cat having lots of values and lots of purposes,
> mainly to nap at every possible moment. :-).

I'm sure you have a very intelligent cat.  But does your cat do something
that any other cat does not do?  Does a cat nap because it values rest?
Does it subjectively value its life purpose?  Your use of "legitimate" here
is pejorative.  I don't wish to demean your pet (I'm a cat lover, too), but
your cat gets along fine with sensory awareness and a rudimentary level of
cognizance.  It may even prefer certain brands of catfood.  But -- come on
now, Platt -- can you really call this valuistic judgment?  I'd be
interested to know just how much your cat appreciates Rachmaninoff's Third
Piano Concerto.  One meow worth, or two??

> Well, the question of "proof" is an interesting one
> as you know only too well.  In my book you look at a
> theory like you look at paintings and choose the one
> you think best. Scientists like paintings filled with
> mathematical formulas and measurements. I like
> paintings that hint of something beyond objective
> verification -- paintings that suggest levels beyond
> what we fully understand. Or as Edgar Allan Poe put it:
> " . . . to make one see or hear with shivering
> delight a sight or sound which cannot have been
> unfamiliar to angels."
>
> I would guess you experienced something like when your theory of Essence
fell
> into place for you. I felt like that after reading "Lila."

I think what you're saying is that the experience of value is more "sensual"
than intellectual.  We can sometimes sense the value of what we can't fully
comprehend.  Those are precious moments.  The "proof" is in the pudding -- 
or, in this case, the taste of its value.  There is a certain satisfaction
in having arrived at that "hint of truth" in our appreciation of art, music,
and philosophy.  Concerning the latter, I didn't experience it all at once;
but, yes, I continue to feel it falling into place.

But my greatest pleasure would be to see it fall into place in someone
else's weltanschauung.  I hope I live to see it!

Relatively yours,
Ham