tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post8541590175442803105..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: The Patrician's parableZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-18002872737343848592010-12-12T13:24:20.312-08:002010-12-12T13:24:20.312-08:00Wouldn't that very much depend on the point of...Wouldn't that very much depend on the point of view being applied? I am fairly sure that the salmon, if he had a mind which could ponder concepts of good and evil, would consider the actions taken against it as quite evilElipsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17747209791249717119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-62728981143114858122010-12-11T11:52:38.555-08:002010-12-11T11:52:38.555-08:00As a fourth rate philosopher of long standing I fi...As a fourth rate philosopher of long standing I find his definition of evil to be in error. It would seem to me that evil requires a conscious act and is therefore not applicable to non humans. One could argue about free will but it is the only practical belief, otherwise there is no such thing as evil.Codgernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-84027410263064102052010-12-03T19:52:42.579-08:002010-12-03T19:52:42.579-08:00I own everything Pratchett has published in the US...I own everything Pratchett has published in the US and I found that paragraph from <i>Academicals</i> to be one of the most profound things he ever wrote...which is saying something.CarolAnnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05783839699880164411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-89529549030660881732010-12-03T09:29:56.554-08:002010-12-03T09:29:56.554-08:00Wow! His last four sentences are beautiful! It'...Wow! His last four sentences are <i>beautiful</i>! It's interesting that he is really just describing the most basic fact of life, but from an angle which maximally illustrates the paradox we find ourselves in--the result is fairly obvious, and yet the notions of misotheism and dystheism are practically non-existent in the public discourse.<br /><br />In the buildup I was reminded of Schopenhauer's statement, "A quick test of the assertion that enjoyment outweighs pain in this world, or that they are at any rate balanced, would be to compare the feelings of an animal engaged in eating another with those of the animal being eaten."<br /><br />And then Russell's, "So long as there is death there will be sorrow, and so long as there is sorrow it can be no part of the duty of human beings to increase its amount, in spite of the fact that a few rare spirits know how to transmute it."codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407919985914326282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-81676956546881065982010-12-02T19:59:06.273-08:002010-12-02T19:59:06.273-08:00Every person of discernment loves Pratchett. Curre...Every person of discernment loves Pratchett. Current reading: <i>Good Omens</i>, by Pratchett and Gaiman.Eamon Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04262012749524758120noreply@blogger.com