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The moral 'value', which asserts 'obligations': "musts and must nots".

Notice that I have insisted on the balance (there may be times when you do not have to do something or simply you cannot do anything reasonable: f.ex. 'give all the money I earn to fight poverty' or 'give all my time to the needy', these may be or may not be done, it depends).

In the end, the people who make these kind of decisions are mostly called heroes.

I cannot explain it better: morality is all about this: what must/must not and what can/cannot be done. Otherwise, there is no 'morality', just 'feelings'.



I'm not talking about balance, I'm talking about existence. I am asking why you think there is ever a moral obligation to act. What argument would you give that a person ever has a moral obligation to act?


Sorry I just understood your question.

This is the point where I assert the existence of morality as an axiom. I have no more argument than "it fits better with my understanding of the world. Actually, its opposite does not fit at all."

However, I guess this is shared by many many others.

And because of both, like with Peano's, I am willing to accept it and (because of the nature of what I am accepting), hold it even to my death (or so I hope).


Well, when they start shipping off your Jewish neighbors to ghettos, then it might be time to make your voice heard. I just don't think "they're spying on you!!" is a good cause to martyr myself. Because we already knew they were spying on us.


What argument would you put forth to defend your assertion that every person has a moral duty to protect others?


Because what can be done to you, can be done to me.


So http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope#Fallacy then?

I'd have to see the causal link between some abstract thing happening to me and another (similar but different) abstract thing happening to you, but until someone shows this causal link, it's a fallacy.


Let's say you witnessed your boss's wife killed a man in a brutal murder.

Are you going to call the police or pretend nothing happened so you can reduce the risk you would lose your job?

What are your morals?


What argument would you present which would be intended to persuade me to tell someone?


I just wanted to see what you would do, there's no persuading.


I put forth no such assertion.


You did, even if you didn't mean to, with your Nazi reference.




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