thread: 2006-06-15 : The who and why of the owe list
On 2006-06-18, Natz wrote:
Actually I think the Libertarian comment was spot on. Those are the exact same questions one has to answer when dealing with any ethical system—including that of Libertarianism.
Why is it invalid to play "a game about your responsibilities as a human being" and come up with the Libertarian answer? It really is the best possible scenario in the minds of a Libertarian. And you might actually get into some interesting conflicts about individualism vs a group consciousness.
Whatever premises get put forward, they're going to reflect an influence of a variety of current moral, ethical and political thought.
Will it be nihilism? Might making right? Perhaps Sartre's idea that every action contributes to the defining of what it means to be human. Perhaps someone will invent law. Perhaps they'll contest the idea that "principles and ideals are assumed contingent, convenient or inconvenient never right or wrong."
Infact, it becomes self contradictory. Simply ask the follwing questions:
—Why is the principle/idea that "principles and ideals are assumed contingent, convenient or inconvenient never right or wrong" right?
—Why isn't that itself only considered true when it's convenient or contingent?"
I would say that the lack of laws in the human psyche in the situation that you set up is, well, wrong. The gods/demons are capricious and provide no higher standard. No one believes in right or wrong as anything more than convenience.
I say it implodes the very first time people ask "what is good?" or "what should I do?" They can then arrive at almost any conclusions they like, from the nihilist bully to the ineffectual. The ansers you consider most interesting answers will likely be somewhere in the middle.
However NO anser can be given without establishing some sort of nomos.
Is this exercise of any value to determine what belongs on an "owe" list?
You said, "I become a bully; I become a victim. Not interesting."
What about the time when the bully realises the consequences of what he/she has done? The isolation? The impact of being hated by others? When he/she questions whether or not it was worth it? Or when the victem realises that avoiding conflict with others has not given what he thought it would?
And even if you played the actually becoming of a bully, there could be very intersting statements made about the consequences and where it leads. Themes of isolation, definition through one's actions or perhaps even the exposue of a need to appeal to something greater.
Or perhaps the group playing might explore themes of powerlessness and other issues that weigh very heavily on many people today.
