tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post9042121535808246756..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Quick Roundup 542Gus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-53364101516426851322010-06-21T18:41:01.455-06:002010-06-21T18:41:01.455-06:00You're welcome. That's also a point that r...You're welcome. That's also a point that racists on both "ends" of the political spectrum have a lot invested in evading/obscuring.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-45246657670485031162010-06-21T18:10:25.609-06:002010-06-21T18:10:25.609-06:00Regarding having to make snap judgments on little ...<i>Regarding having to make snap judgments on little or no information, that is not the same thing as making a moral judgment, which requires lots of information and can take years to get right, even with care.</i><br /><br />That is an excellent point. One which I did not consider. A moral judgment is entirely different in kind. The judgment I was thinking of was a type of provisional and situational one necessarily made in the context of limited information. There's that epistemology thingy again. Thanks for pointing that out.<br /><br />MMmadmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14375140131881725965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-51096047036235875792010-06-21T15:53:40.359-06:002010-06-21T15:53:40.359-06:00Madmax,
(1) RE: vuvuzelas, I understand that the ...Madmax,<br /><br />(1) RE: vuvuzelas, I understand that the players on the field mostly manage to ignore them, although at times, the loudness can make it hard to communicate verbally.<br /><br />(2) How, exactly, is soccer being forced on anyone? Yes, I can see some leftists wanting to use soccer that way, but you can always change channels, if you don't enjoy the game. Insofar as it might be pushed by government agencies, I don't see this any more than other sports, and it isn't the government's job to promote <b>any</b> sport.<br /><br />(3) A few points on racism:<br /><br />Neither intelligence nor temperament being affected (or limited or determined) by genetics necessarily contradicts the idea that man has free will, which is the prerequisite for morality and, as cognitive self-regulation, is what still determines what a man makes of himself. There are people with genius intellect who don't amount to anything and people of below average intelligence who go on to become highly productive and successful.<br /><br />Regarding having to make snap judgments on little or no information, that is not the same thing as making a moral judgment, which requires lots of information and can take years to get right, even with care. Between giving someone the benefit of the doubt and reducing your chances of getting mugged to nil, what will promote your life in most cases? What rational man could begrudge you playing it safe, if he looks like a hoodlem to you and so you avoid him, knowing nothing else?<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-85295101115167680772010-06-21T14:09:17.413-06:002010-06-21T14:09:17.413-06:00Gus, regarding soccer, a few points.
1) I wonder ...Gus, regarding soccer, a few points.<br /><br />1) I wonder if the bad performance can be attributed to the Vuvuzela. It is so distracting that I can't but believe that it is a factor in the games.<br /><br />1b) That the Vuvuzela is even allowed is because the South Africans are afraid of their black population. The whole phenomenon is due to multiculturalism and Leftism.<br /><br />2) I know that many Americans on the Right (like Tracinski) make rationalistic arguments that soccer is an inferior game. But I do think that soccer is being used by the Left in an insidious way. The Left is forcing soccer down the throats of Americans when in fact most Americas just don't care for the sport. I think it is an attempt to erase American distinctiveness and force the "one-world" vision that many Leftists have. To a Leftist, Europe has socialized medicine, hate-speech laws, intense dedication to environmentalism, and soccer. Therefore we should have them all too. <br /><br />Regarding racism and Ayn Rand's definition, she writes this:<br /><br /><b>It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage...</b> This I see as undeniable. But the next part...<br /><br /><b>...the notion that a man’s intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry...</b> With this I fear that she may be going up against science. As I understand it, heredity plays a big role in intelligence and it might even play a big role in temperament and personality. Now character is a different thing than personality but Rand's definition of racism entirely dismisses biology which is something she is often criticized for. <br /><br />Lastly, <b>Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors.</b> Ultimately this is right, but there are circumstances in life where you don't have time to collect a wide range of data about a person and you need to make a judgment quickly. <br /><br />If you are in a bad section of town and three black hoodlems are walking toward you, you need to make a decision and you will have no choice but to make it based on the past actions of people of similar race and socio-economic standing. With the crime data being what it is, and black on white crime being what it is, it would be a preventative measure well worth taking to avoid the three black hoodlems. If you choose to walk to the other side of the street (and I do this frequently) to avoid passing the three black hoodlems, would that make you a racist? I would say no but Rand's definition leaves open the possibility that Objectivism would say yes. <br /><br />My end point on this is that there is more to be said regarding racism then Ayn Rand's essay on the subject. I do think that an Objectivist scholar will have to tackle this subject one day and with it the evolutionary arguments that abound for racial differences. The race realist movement is growing. I think it unavoidable that Objectivism will have to confront it head on at some point in the future.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />MMmadmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14375140131881725965noreply@blogger.com