From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!eagle!allegra!sbcs!debray
Newsgroups: net.religion
Title: re: The basis for laws in our culture
Article-I.D.: sbcs.267
Posted: Sun Apr 10 23:16:23 1983
Received: Mon Apr 11 03:16:01 1983


I would tend to agree that society's laws have evolved from considerations
that are primarily pragmatic : I would, in fact, go so far as to claim that
society considers "good" that which maintains the society and ensures its
survival, and considers as "bad" that which doesn't. This view has been
advanced in the original article, so I see no need to argue it further.

Guy Starner says :

							"But, in my
opinion, some laws were developed because they were **always** true.
Of course, this requires a belief in absolutes.  But I've always believed
in some absolutes (e.g. the laws of logic are valid, I exist, etc.).
I guess I believe that man is aware of these absolutes but is not aware
of why they are true. "

While it is a person's prerogative to believe what (s)he wishes to believe,
I would like to submit the following for consideration : that even the
supposedly "absolute" laws of logic evolved from our observation of the
world ; that, as our world-view changes, so does our logic (e.g. at one time
it was "logical" to believe that the universe was geocentric ; that Euclid's
fifth postulate was inviolable ; that all space was Euclidean ; etc.) ;
and therefore, it is possible to postulate, as a gedankenexperiment,
worlds that are *fundamentally* different from ours, where the laws of logic
would be different as well.
My claim is that not even the laws of logic are "absolute" in any (pardon me)
absolute sense. We are aware of these "absolutes" and, in many cases, know
*why* they are true (structure of the universe etc.).

Guy goes on to say that

		" If laws are just based on pragmatism, there is no
reason why I **should** follow them (as long as I don't get
caught).  After all, why should *I* care about the good of society?"

Actually, there *are* a lot of people who don't bother to follow the
laws of society, hoping that they won't get caught. The point is that
*most* people, by and large, *do* follow the laws of society - not out
of some altruistic ideals about the "good of society" (whatever that
means), but because society rewards those who follow its laws, e.g. by
letting them use its roads and parks and buildings and universities,
and punishes those who don't. And this, of course, is an attractive
enough deal for most people, which in turn ensures the survival of
society. It's all very pragmatic, and really very neat!

					Saumya K. Debray
					SUNY at Stony Brook
					... allegra!sbcs!debray