I can assure you, I mean something by those words; there is definitely a thought in my mind which I’m trying to convey with those words. You might say I have the wrong thought, or that I’ve misread Biggy. You might say the thought I have in my head is incoherent or riddle with paradox, but there’s definitely something there.
It’s true that we learn the words from others–that’s how language is learned–but the phrase we are discussing–“choosing the morally correct side”–is a phrase I whipped up myself–I didn’t borrow it from anyone. That’s not to say I’m the first person to say it, but I can guarantee I didn’t go to them first to get the phrase–I just put a handful of words together in order to express what I wanted to say. ← That’s how speach works.
And let’s be honest: the phrase isn’t really that cryptic–“choosing the morally correct side”–is patently clear in its meaning. It’s not like learning a new expression in a foreign language. What I suspect you’re getting at is not whether I understand the meaning of the phrase but whether I understand the nature of morality. The phrase “choosing the morally correct side” does indeed hint at an objectivist point of view–as if there will always be a correct side, objectively, to any moral controversy–and that does seem naive to me, and I would expect others like yourself to question it. Again, however, I must stress that this is what Biggy seems to be after, not me–I’m a subjectivist, I don’t believe in an ultimate objectively correct moral position, but I can certainly understand the idea, and I can certainly convey the idea using a phrase such as “choosing the morally correct side”.
You could construe it that way, but it was intended to give a picture of what the “morally correct choice” looks like–it looks like the decision you’re compelled to make when one option out of many stands out as obviously the right choice. It doesn’t have to be the right choice objectively, but what Biggy is looking for is something that looks just like that coupled with a method for proving whether it really is objectively right or not.
I think you’re thinking of this too narrowly–you’re thinking of this only in the context of the example I gave–it was meant to be generalized. I could come up with another scenario: a man is being attacked by a wild dog. You have a gun. What do you do? For any example I come up with, the answer to the question: what is the “morally correct thing to do” is what they all have in common. Which I’m saying is an intuitive feeling that X is the right thing to do rather than Y.
It’s true that different people may have different intuitive feelings on any moral scenario, but that, to me, is the nature of the beast–the nature of morality. I don’t think of morality as a set of overarching rules that all men and women are obliged to follow. I think of it as a personal calling, something one has to decide for one’s self, the voice of one’s inner conscience. What may be morally right for one person may be a terrible transgression for another.
Sure, and this is roughly the same criticism I’m leveling against Biggy. I’m arguing, among other things, that Biggy needs to at least understand what an “objective/rational demonstration of the morally correct thing to do” is before he can expect to be persuaded by it should someone actually follow through with his challenge. Right now, it seems to me, the only thing one can offer Biggy in response to this challenge is something which would only qualify as what Biggy calls an “existential contraption”.
In short: I know what I mean by the “morally correct choice” or the “morally correct side”, but I agree with you that such a notion is incoherent unless one is able to clearly define what it is for such a choice or such a side to be objectively correct (i.e. something above and beyond an existential contraption). ← But that’s something I’m charging Biggy with, not something I’m guilty of myself.
Well, not always. It sometimes feels comfortable, but other times it’s a really gruelling decision to make. For me, morality is always the voice of the conscience, which is to be distinguished from what feels good in the moment, and also from rationalizations (for example, the way a nihilist might rationalize that morality doesn’t exist though he might have to fight feelings of guilt and remorse over harming others).
Let me give you an example from my own life; I have a nephew who was born with a kidney defect. The doctor’s said his kidneys only had a 25% chance of developping normally, and that if they were not developping normally by age 2, he would need a transplant. Neither his mother nor his father could do it because they were too genetically similar. This got me thinking: the kid will need a kidney from someone not immediately related to him. I’m his uncle so maybe I’d be a better candidate. I don’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate. Therefore, I’m in a position to do the morally right thing. ← I felt I was faced with a choice, and I recognized it as one of those moments when one’s morality is put to the test. So I offered to donate one of my kidneys. It’s not something I wanted to do–I like my kidneys and I’d rather keep them–and I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable giving them up (although I guess I would feel comfortable knowing that I did the right thing, but that at an extremely high cost, a cost that does not make me feel comfortable). But I knew that if I wanted to consider myself a moral person, The choice was clear: offer to donate one of your kidneys. Luckily, my nephew grew to be 2 years old and his kedneys are doing surprisingly well. They aren’t 100% and he will always need medical attention, but the doctors finally said that he was not in need of a transplant. So I get to keep my kidneys! Yeay! ← Getting off the hook is what feels most comfortable to me, but I know that at the time, I was committed. I was ready to give up one of my kidneys, and it was a decision I was not looking forward to.
^ The point is, that’s what morality is. It’s listening to your inner voice speak of “right” and “wrong”, not “comfort” or “discomfort”, not “I came up with a good argument” or “I failed to come up with a good argument”, but “right” and “wrong” whether you like it or not.
I think Biggy’s question is more of a rhetorical one. I think he knows that people can’t delivery on a demand for something that doesn’t make sense or is incoherent (what you’re probably calling “meaningless”), and hence his inquiries are more of a challenge than a genuine request for answers.
Biggy, I’ll respond to your post later…