Hi Jonathan, Squad,
Oops that one just slipped away a little too soon.
So I liked the quote Jonathan send and lamented myself not being able to write everything in
English, as I would like to. Then I started with the definition of Morality, Rogers paraphrase of
my prior statement:
> Walter paraphrase--<<<The morality of a static pattern is determined by the
> potential the pattern has in letting DQ be realized to the maximal and BEST
> extent. ... The degree of morality of an event is the possibility that DQ, as
> a consequence of this event, is optimized over time.>>>>>
I want to add the following:
In the above statement, the morality of a static pattern can't be seen free from its contribution in
the higher pattern. For example take the morality of the human-lung. Is a lung, free from its
contribution to the higher pattern (the human-being) as moral as ..... a dog? I don't think so.
So in the above statement, the static-pattern must be viewed as a thing on its own ('das ding an sich') for its moral evaluation.
Jonathans quote made me aware of a devision between:
a) bottom-up morality
b) top-down morality
Maybe there is a link with Rogers relative morality.
Perspective a) bottom-up morality (internal teleology)
Aristoteles said something like; 'Everything strives to the good'. The good thing to do for a
certain thing, is that at which it is aimed at from the beginning. The good for a developing
organism is to be a mature organism.
I think this kind of internal teleology (entelecheia) is close to the MoQ, where everything (read:
all that exists) has value ... and is moral.
In this perspective there is no IMMORALITY!
But that doesn't mean that in this perspective everything is equally moral. Morality is a
continuum (a fly is less moral than a human) along the line towards optimalization of DQ
(please paraphrase me R.). The degree depends on how close the pattern is to the
(immaginable) situation of optimized DQ.
In this perspective the 4 levels are the more important static patterns in the continuum because
they represent the big steps among the small steps in the 'evolution' towards optimalization of DQ.
Perspective b) Top-down morality (external teleology)
I haven't thought enough about this yet, but somehow it seems to have to come in the picture
with the 'evolutionary birth' of human-consience. Like the second man in Jonathan's quote.
I have to stop here, no time. Sorry for that.
"If one admits that there is such a thing as value in the universe at all, he finds it very difficulty
to construe it without giving a place to (external) teleology" (Burtt, 1927)
dtchgrtngs
Walter
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