[MD] The Intellectual Gauntlet II !

[Ham Priday]

Hi Platt --


[Ham, referring to LILA quote concerning morality and intellect]:
> That "morals have been declared intellectually illegal" by an
> S-O dominated society seems a tad extremist, even for a non-SOMist.
> When did such a declaration attain legal status?

[Platt]:
> I don't know about legal status, but you have provided the answer
> by stating you are a moral relativist in who views the universe as an
> amoral system.  That's the SOM view. It's known officially in academic
> circles as "multiculturalism."

I think you misunderstand my position on morality as a social institution. 
The association of multiculturalism with "amorality" in academia, especially 
by neo-conservatives, distorts the nature of morality.  When a society 
accommodates itself to the moral values of a foreign culture, such as 
Western Europe trying to assimilate a growing Islamic population, it doesn't 
become "amoral"; it simply beomes more liberal.  That is, its morality is 
expanded to embrace two moral systems.  This weakens the sovereign culture 
of the adopter nation, creating law enforcement problems and social unrest, 
which is why--and I'm surprised you don't know this--I am opposed to 
multiculturalism.

In a free society, the moral system reflects the values of individuals 
within a given social group.  Religion, ethnicity, and family heritage 
affect these values, as we discovered during the desegregation programs of 
Johnson's Great Society and are observing today as our population becomes 
more Hispanic.  The only way you can "universalize" morality is by the 
authority of the state or religious edict, either of which preempts 
individual values.  If the  universe were a perfectly moral system, there 
would be no need for laws or behavioral codes, and proprietary values would 
be meaningless.

> What are the "spiritual values" you refer to and what is their source?

Spirituality is sensed as the desire for metaphysical understanding, and it 
is manifested in the development of religion, mysticism, philosophy, 
science, and esthetics in the history of every culture.  Like all values, 
spirituality is derived from Essence and links the individual self to its 
estranged source.  Although its intellectual interpretation takes many 
forms, spirituality is what moves us to identify with the good, the 
beautiful, and the essential, and to avoid or reject the bad, the unsightly, 
and the mundane.

So, you see, the universe does not have to be moral -- in fact, it can't 
be -- if value is to have any meaning to man.  Moral relativism does have 
value, and man does profit by the exercise of free choice in the life 
experience.

> An accurate description of multiculturalism, meaning there are no
> universal moral standards. No wonder there are so many peaceniks
> in the West.

You question man's spirituality and demean the divine gift of 
discrimination.  Do you really consider value an externalized, amorphous, 
impersonal agency?   It is man, not the universe, who by virtue of his 
intellect and value sensibility determines "moral standards" .

With all due respect,
Ham