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Article 5586 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: petersow@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Wayne Peterson)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: AI failures
Message-ID: <1992May12.162908.6586@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com>
Date: 12 May 92 16:29:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: saifr00.1992May12.162908.6586
References: <1992May11.210524.30977@mp.cs.niu.edu> <1992May12.002440.5501@psych.toronto.edu> <unaphINNpv8@early-bird.think.com>
Organization: Honeywell Air Transport Systems Division
Lines: 30

Hans states:

>... I think the usual social ethics are the basis of good relationships,
>and successful functioning in life, but they are a pragmatic system,
>not a higher truth.  Making them an absolute ossifies your thinking,
>and produces ridiculously inappropriate suggestions, 

Ah, you have come up with an absolute statement "Making them an absolute
ossifies your thinking."  This believe may have succeeded into ossifying
your own thinking.  Please dont take this as a criticism of you, just
the difficulty with relativistic thinking.  An absolute always seems
to creep in right under your nose, just when you complain about someone
elses absolute.

Relativism reduces ethics to might makes right.  If I have the power, I
can do whatever I want, for you have no ethical leg to stand on.

I have a friend who was teaching a high school class.  He asked a class
to write down their believes on what is right or not.  Being this was the
70's most responses he received said that it is up to each individual to
establish what is right or wrong for herself.  There is no absolute ethical
principle.  I suggested to him, that since now what he does is up to
him, why not give them all F's.  He did, and needless to say the
complaints were that he was not being fair.  But you see he had the
might, so he could do what he wanted.

Regards,
Wayne Peterson

"looking through the shadows, trying to make out forms."


