This made the rounds recently on social media. I liked the first season of TRUE DETECTIVE but this bit is stupid. It’s the kind of garbage that atheists love spouting as if it’s a deep truth.
... I also liked the first season of True Detective. I thought the second season was passable, given the big appeal was the weird Lovecraft-like cult crime from the first season. I'm probably all done with the show though now.
As a practical matter, what motivates a person to do good is none of my business. I have no reason to care. Let’s say a person does good b/c they believe the Flying Spaghetti Monster has promised them unlimited pasta in the afterlife. If I’m an atheist that might be weird, I may disagree with their conception of ultimate reality, but so what? I’m just glad he’s being a good person. His motivation is his business.
... Very utilitarian.
What if, instead of the expectation of divine reward, they avoid doing evil out of an expectation of divine punishment? Would that person no longer be a “piece of shit”? If I pay my taxes out of the kindness of my heart or b/c I fear imprisonment, does it matter?
... Is it different in effect? I'd say so. Maybe not. Maybe people's intentions don't matter and only their actions do. But, again, that's utilitarian.
If there is no ultimate meaning, if material reality is all there is, then shouldn’t we care only about practical results? Why do atheists care so much about what is in someone’s head?
... There's plenty of historical reasons to be mad at organized religion, and many people have personal reasons to be mad at organized religion. They may be reductivist in their arguments and complaints, like the character from the show, but so is the argument that utilitarian ethics are all that matter.
I think why we do things does matter. So does the law. And so do most (all?) religions.
Intentions matter for the religious. Why should they matter for the atheist? Shouldn't the atheist be utilitarian, ie practical? Should the atheist care what my internal motivation is for paying taxes? Why?
This is also points to why I think "hate crime" is an illegitimate concept.
Intentions matter to almost all human beings, except for a weird subclass of human beings who believe that the effects of actions, which are not fully/completely knowable at any time anyway, are all that matters. Caring about intentions is not an atheist or religious thing.
Saying intentions "matter" doesn't tell me much. How much do they matter? How much should we care about intentions and why? If someone is doing what you think the right, good thing, I don't understand why intentions should mean much to you.
If a person is paying their taxes, does it matter to you if it's out of love for their fellow American or fear of prison? And if their intentions matter that much to you, why?
This made the rounds recently on social media. I liked the first season of TRUE DETECTIVE but this bit is stupid. It’s the kind of garbage that atheists love spouting as if it’s a deep truth.
... I also liked the first season of True Detective. I thought the second season was passable, given the big appeal was the weird Lovecraft-like cult crime from the first season. I'm probably all done with the show though now.
As a practical matter, what motivates a person to do good is none of my business. I have no reason to care. Let’s say a person does good b/c they believe the Flying Spaghetti Monster has promised them unlimited pasta in the afterlife. If I’m an atheist that might be weird, I may disagree with their conception of ultimate reality, but so what? I’m just glad he’s being a good person. His motivation is his business.
... Very utilitarian.
What if, instead of the expectation of divine reward, they avoid doing evil out of an expectation of divine punishment? Would that person no longer be a “piece of shit”? If I pay my taxes out of the kindness of my heart or b/c I fear imprisonment, does it matter?
... Is it different in effect? I'd say so. Maybe not. Maybe people's intentions don't matter and only their actions do. But, again, that's utilitarian.
If there is no ultimate meaning, if material reality is all there is, then shouldn’t we care only about practical results? Why do atheists care so much about what is in someone’s head?
... There's plenty of historical reasons to be mad at organized religion, and many people have personal reasons to be mad at organized religion. They may be reductivist in their arguments and complaints, like the character from the show, but so is the argument that utilitarian ethics are all that matter.
I think why we do things does matter. So does the law. And so do most (all?) religions.
Intentions matter for the religious. Why should they matter for the atheist? Shouldn't the atheist be utilitarian, ie practical? Should the atheist care what my internal motivation is for paying taxes? Why?
This is also points to why I think "hate crime" is an illegitimate concept.
Intentions matter to almost all human beings, except for a weird subclass of human beings who believe that the effects of actions, which are not fully/completely knowable at any time anyway, are all that matters. Caring about intentions is not an atheist or religious thing.
Saying intentions "matter" doesn't tell me much. How much do they matter? How much should we care about intentions and why? If someone is doing what you think the right, good thing, I don't understand why intentions should mean much to you.
If a person is paying their taxes, does it matter to you if it's out of love for their fellow American or fear of prison? And if their intentions matter that much to you, why?
You don't care if people pay their taxes out of love or fear? Weird. I guess I just disagree.