You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
If you believe that subjective opinions which are not based on evidence are morally acceptable, then you must believe that sexism, racism, etc. are acceptable
That’s curious. My and your ideas of morality are radically different. There’s even not that much of a common base.
Let me start by re-expressing in my words how do I read your position (so that you could fix my misinterpretations). First, you’re using “morally acceptable” without any qualifiers of conditionals. This means that you believe there is One True Morality, the Correct One, on the basis of which we can and should judge actions and opinions. Given your emphasis on “evidence”, you also seem to believe that this One True Morality is objective, that is, can be derived from actual reality and proven by facts.
Second, you divide subjective opinions into two classes: “not based on evidence” and, presumably, “based on evidence”. Note that this is not at all the same thing as “falsifiable” vs. “non-falsifiable”. For example, let’s say I try two kinds of wine and declare that I like the second wine better. Is such a subjective opinion “based on evidence”?
You also have major logic problems here (starting with the all/some issue), but it’s a mess and I think other comments have addressed it.
To contrast, I’ll give a brief outline of how I view morality. I think of morality as a more or less coherent set of values at the core of which is a subset of moral axioms. These moral axioms are certainly not arbitrary—many factors influence them, the three biggest ones are probably biology, societal/cultural influence, and individual upbringing and history—but they are not falsifiable. You cannot prove them right or wrong.
Evidence certainly matters, but it matters mostly at the interface of moral values and actions: evidence tells you whether the actual outcomes of your actions match your intent and your values. It is, of course, often the case that they do not. However evidence cannot tell you what you should want or what you should value.
We* don’t believe that sexism, racism, etc. are acceptable
Heh. I neither believe you have the power to speak for the entire LW community, nor do I care what you find morally acceptable or unacceptable.
Therefore, we cannot accept arguments based on subjective opinions
As has been noted, your logic is flawed. However the bigger issue is your confusion between arguments and declarative statements (that e.g. reflect personal values). Arguments serve to persuade, to change someone’s mind—subjective opinions do not. If I say I hate tomatoes that’s not a reason for you to modify your attitude towards tomatoes, it’s just an observation about myself. I am not sure what do you mean by “accepting” it.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
That’s curious. My and your ideas of morality are radically different. There’s even not that much of a common base.
Let me start by re-expressing in my words how do I read your position (so that you could fix my misinterpretations). First, you’re using “morally acceptable” without any qualifiers of conditionals. This means that you believe there is One True Morality, the Correct One, on the basis of which we can and should judge actions and opinions. Given your emphasis on “evidence”, you also seem to believe that this One True Morality is objective, that is, can be derived from actual reality and proven by facts.
Second, you divide subjective opinions into two classes: “not based on evidence” and, presumably, “based on evidence”. Note that this is not at all the same thing as “falsifiable” vs. “non-falsifiable”. For example, let’s say I try two kinds of wine and declare that I like the second wine better. Is such a subjective opinion “based on evidence”?
You also have major logic problems here (starting with the all/some issue), but it’s a mess and I think other comments have addressed it.
To contrast, I’ll give a brief outline of how I view morality. I think of morality as a more or less coherent set of values at the core of which is a subset of moral axioms. These moral axioms are certainly not arbitrary—many factors influence them, the three biggest ones are probably biology, societal/cultural influence, and individual upbringing and history—but they are not falsifiable. You cannot prove them right or wrong.
Evidence certainly matters, but it matters mostly at the interface of moral values and actions: evidence tells you whether the actual outcomes of your actions match your intent and your values. It is, of course, often the case that they do not. However evidence cannot tell you what you should want or what you should value.
Heh. I neither believe you have the power to speak for the entire LW community, nor do I care what you find morally acceptable or unacceptable.
As has been noted, your logic is flawed. However the bigger issue is your confusion between arguments and declarative statements (that e.g. reflect personal values). Arguments serve to persuade, to change someone’s mind—subjective opinions do not. If I say I hate tomatoes that’s not a reason for you to modify your attitude towards tomatoes, it’s just an observation about myself. I am not sure what do you mean by “accepting” it.