Hey Erin,
> >RICK
> >But a society that couldn't afford such incarcerations would be more
> justified in executing prisoners.
>
> ERIN: I have never heard this argument before could you expand a little?
RICK
It's pretty simple I think.
Ted Bundy kills people, which is immoral because people are sources of
ideas. If your society catches Ted Bundy and has a jail to safely lock him
away in, then that's the moral thing to do. But if your society has no
secure way to do so, it might have to kill him. Either that or risk the
consequences of letting him walk around and kill off even more sources of
ideas.
Most societies would be able to safely confine a single man which is why
Pirsig cites treason, insurrection and war as the "real threats". But I
believe his ultimate point is that the morality of an individual execution
depends on the level of threat a criminal poses to the social structure,
which in turn depends on the stability of that social structure.
ERIN
I can't really think of any MOQ argument for the capital punishment.
RICK
How about the above?
ERIN
What about when the person wants to die, such as letting the prisoner commit
suicide if he rather be dead then a life of imprisonment
RICK
Pirsig says it is generally immoral for society to kill a criminal because
he still a potential source of ideas. Even a prisoner who wants to die is a
potential source of ideas. I can't think of any reason it would be any more
moral for him to kill himself (and destroy a source of ideas) than it would
be for society to do so.
ERIN
or assisted suicide in terminally ill patients who are suffering.
RICK
I think Pirsig would give the same answer again. That is, barring a real
threat to the social structure itself, it is immoral to prematurely end, or
possibly even fail to preserve, any potential source of ideas (there may be
interesting implications for abortion politics here).
rick
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