[FoRK] Meaning Re: Worth

[Dr. Ernie Prabhakar]

Hi Corinna,

On Nov 29, 2007, at 5:07 PM, Corinna Schultz wrote:
> And I would say that much of what we argue about is personal moral  
> standards (not
> big questions that might affect the stability of civilization -- and
> even most of those are really personal questions in disguise).

Thanks for making the effort to articulate what are both deeply  
personal and intellectually difficult subjects!

Let me ask a follow-up question:  is there any robust ("scientific"?)  
way to determine which issues truly are relevant to the "stability of  
civilization"?

In other words, are _all_ appeals to "the good of society" necessarily  
false, or are some valid and thus justify coercion (e.g., "Thou shalt  
not murder").  Or, for that matter, are some appeals to "the good of  
society" valid but still not justified?

Or, are all such questions purely subjective, and thus "the good of  
society" is really only determined by whomever happens to be in power  
over society?

Thoughtfully yours,

-- Ernie P.