Exactly, physical pain and other forms of suffering are an objective reality. You can, in theory at last, decide objectively whether any decision will lead to more or less pain immediately and in the future.
If you look at ethics you could assume the only axiom it has is that when comparing more pain or less pain, less pain is better. This is even independent from circumstance if you consider all suffering now and in the future that are consequences of an observed decision.
In my opinion that makes the decision whether something is morally bad or good objective in it’s nature.
You could still in theory measure it if you also measure whether and to what extent the idea that pain is a virtue leads to more or less suffering in the life of the person and others directly and indirectly affected.
Otherwise what you suggest is that consequences don’t exist if we can’t foresee them. But obviously the consequences will objectively exist, whether or not we can measure them.
Imagine you could look at the whole universe, all factors in all of it’s future. It’s an objective reality, if you agree that suffering is real, that every option will either entail more, less or the same amount of suffering than the other options.
That’s what I am asking, is the option that entails more suffering better or the one that entails less suffering?
robo@feddit.uk 1 year ago
ParsnipWitch@feddit.de 1 year ago
Exactly, physical pain and other forms of suffering are an objective reality. You can, in theory at last, decide objectively whether any decision will lead to more or less pain immediately and in the future.
If you look at ethics you could assume the only axiom it has is that when comparing more pain or less pain, less pain is better. This is even independent from circumstance if you consider all suffering now and in the future that are consequences of an observed decision.
In my opinion that makes the decision whether something is morally bad or good objective in it’s nature.
robo@feddit.uk 1 year ago
ParsnipWitch@feddit.de 1 year ago
You could still in theory measure it if you also measure whether and to what extent the idea that pain is a virtue leads to more or less suffering in the life of the person and others directly and indirectly affected.
Otherwise what you suggest is that consequences don’t exist if we can’t foresee them. But obviously the consequences will objectively exist, whether or not we can measure them.
Imagine you could look at the whole universe, all factors in all of it’s future. It’s an objective reality, if you agree that suffering is real, that every option will either entail more, less or the same amount of suffering than the other options.
That’s what I am asking, is the option that entails more suffering better or the one that entails less suffering?