| Archive for literarydiscussions.myfreeforum.org Literature, Poetry, Essays, Dialogues, Philosophy, Theology |
| Sitaram |
Feynman on Science and EthicsDear prof Cranberg,Thank you for your letter discussing “The Relation of Science and Religion”. I didn’t really intend to insist that ethics and science are separate, but rather that the fundamental basis of ethics must be chosen in some non-scientific way. Then, when this is chosen, of course, science can help to decide whether we should or should not do certain things. Science can help us see what might happen if we do them, but the question as to whether we want something to happen depends on a choice of the ultimate ethical good. As you mentioned, such a choice then does not say there’s a separation of the fields, and we cannot argue about the choice for the ultimate good of each. You have chosen survival as an ultimate value, then there is no longer any non-science ethic that serves the ultimate value.
All I am trying to do is cast some doubt or confusion into the principle that survival permits ethics without question and that all people will agree that survival is the real determinate of good. If you can see that there may be some doubt about that, who would resolve the doubt for science? |
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| Sitaram |
mahendra_ku is currently not in your Messenger List.
Add to your Messenger List (Ctrl+Shift+A) Report as Spam (Alt+Shift+R) mahendra_ku: hi sitaram mahendra_ku: good morn literarydiscussions: oh... hello, nice to see you mahendra_ku: I hav been posted to a new assignment mahendra_ku: i was a headmaster in a secondary school literarydiscussions: I am having interesting dialogues with a physicist in Italy who is translating the correspondence of Physicist Richard Feynmann into Italian mahendra_ku: and now governmen tis placing me in a project literarydiscussions: congratulations mahendra_ku: what was the physicist saying? literarydiscussions: well.... he translated the letters, and one of the letters speaks of the relationship between science and ethics.... mahendra_ku: so my work on tribal education and folklore will be more intensive mahendra_ku: oh literarydiscussions: there is a forum called BUE at my message board... BUE is the name of the physicist at the message board mahendra_ku: i will see it mahendra_ku: I see that people view the message and not reply any ideas mahendra_ku: that soul d be more interesting literarydiscussions: http://literarydiscussions.myfreeforum.org/ftopic790.php literarydiscussions: here is the letter,.... with the difficult to interpret passage in quotation mahendra_ku: is this the physicists forum? literarydiscussions: BUE is italian, english his second language, he uses me as a native speaker american, to look at questionable passages mahendra_ku: ok literarydiscussions: i explained to BUE, that Feynman was a physicist, and not a literary person mahendra_ku: oh literarydiscussions: so.... he is not as skilled or concerned about his writing, especially in letters literarydiscussions: correspondence mahendra_ku: ok literarydiscussions: BUE, wants to translate everything very precisely,.... like a machine.... and does not care to "speculate" or conjecture about what Feynman might have "really meant to say." literarydiscussions: but... the highlighted paragraph is quite impossible as it stands... mahendra_ku: u mean to say his translation is not clear? literarydiscussions: to understand clearly literarydiscussions: NOOO... the damn english of Feynman is messed up literarydiscussions: Feynman was an american mahendra_ku: oh mahendra_ku: i am reading it literarydiscussions: and these are LETTERS that feynman wrote to friends... literarydiscussions: not doctoral dissertations.... literarydiscussions: he may have scribbled them on a napkin during a train ride... who knows? mahendra_ku: ok literarydiscussions: certainly, one might read such a passage and conjecture or speculate as to what it MIGHT mean or what it SHOULD say... but the tranlator wants to TRANSLATE accurately, ... without philosophical speculation literarydiscussions: which is understandable mahendra_ku: if the meaning is descernable then itis ok literarydiscussions: yes,... and if the moon is made of cheese, then we can buy a big box of crackers literarydiscussions: but... there are SERIOUS problems with that paragraph mahendra_ku: yes literarydiscussions: with regard to clarity of meaning mahendra_ku: with in the box? mahendra_ku: what u have put here? literarydiscussions: the box simply highlights the passage in question mahendra_ku: and is there any more texts? mahendra_ku: I mean letter? literarydiscussions: this is all which BUE gave me mahendra_ku: oh literarydiscussions: plus, BUE, does not care for using a message board... he prefers email, which i think is a mistake... since one may post here, and many can come, read, conjecture, suggest |
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