X-Message-Number: 17029
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:28:47 -0700
From: Lee Corbin <>
Subject: Re: We are responsible for our actions

Joseph W. Morgan writes

>Robert Ettinger, Cryonet 16998: "From the broadest perspective,
>no one deserves blame (or credit either) for anything at all.
>We each do what we can and what we must, no more and no less.
>No one made himself, and no one created his own environment--
>we are all equally victims or beneficiaries of blind chance."
>
>I can't believe you said that.  

Well, he said "from the broadest perspective", right?  Probably
he was simply affirming that everything happens for a reason,
and that at bottom the laws of physics govern all phenomena.

Do we blame a bomb because it explodes?  Rhetorical question, :-)\

The reasons that we don't blame bombs for exploding are

1. No other potential bomb is likely to be dissuaded
   or to worry about the criticism that will follow
   its also blowing up
2. We are so much more complex than bombs that we attribute
   to them no free will
3. We understand exactly what caused them to explode

>This is Dr. Feel Good psycho-babble. Someone could rationalize
>(but not justify) any type of action, no matter how foul, with
>this sort of reasoning.

You are quite right!  What was trying to be said could be, IMO,
much better said.

>We do have free will and we are responsible for our actions.  

I think that you are right again.  It is best to regard anything
as responsible for its actions if either (a) it is amenable to
argument (b) it is sufficiently complicated so as to be describable
as having "chosen" a course of action.  Examples:  Even though a dog
was trained to kill, we regard it as responsible if it kills someone.
We *should* regard a person legally insane as responsible for his or
her actions.  (Sadly, we do not.)

Lee

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