WHAT IS LOVE!

I recently read an article somewhere about intrinsic value. The concept of something being intrinsically good has baffled people for ages, and even now people disagree - what is it about something that makes it good in and of itself?

Suppose that someone were to ask you whether it is good to help others in time of need. Unless you suspected some sort of trick, you would answer, “Yes, of course.” If this person were to go on to ask you why acting in this way is good, you might say that it is good to help others in time of need simply because it is good that their needs be satisfied. If you were then asked why it is good that people's needs be satisfied, you might be puzzled. You might be inclined to say, “It just is.” Or you might accept the legitimacy of the question and say that it is good that people's needs be satisfied because this brings them pleasure. But then, of course, your interlocutor could ask once again, “What's good about that?” Perhaps at this point you would answer, “It just is good that people be pleased,” so as to put an end to this line of questioning. Or perhaps you would again seek to explain the fact that it is good that people be pleased in terms of something else that you take to be good.

Let us look at the case of psychedelic drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, whatever - these drugs supposedly give you a high that can bring you to a sort of supra-rational state; is this good? I say yeah, sure. Why not? People in pain take drugs - it's as simple as that. Those in physical pain take tylenol, and those in emotional pain take tylenol. Why not let people smoke? say it's all just bureaucracy and red tape, and some sort of age-old racial stigmas, too, that is keeping people from havin' a toke every so often.

But that's not my point, the point here is really kind of stupid; it's just that it's real tough to say you know, "GUYS COCAINE IS BAD, DON'T DO IT!" What do you judge things by, their merit, the pleasure it induces or the pain it will help you forget? I don't know, really!

Cheers

Kamster

Swine Flew!

AHHHHHHHHH PIG INFLUENZA

We are all pretty scared I'd say of this new part-avian-part-swine-part-human super-influenza that has taken the world by storm. I'm pretty scared myself, you know? There are those doomsayer scientists who predict if this becomes a full-blown pandemic, up to two billion people (one-third of the world's population) could be infected! That's pretty scary honestly. The good news is that here in Canada, most of the confirmed cases have experienced mild symptoms, and the virus itself doesn't seem to be spreading too fast. What I find scary is the similarity some of those crisis room world maps have to this game called Pandemic 2. In it, you create a fictional disease and strive to take over the world. You might in fact name that disease Influenza H1N1a, and try to kill off the world's population before scientists can find a vaccine against you! 

Cheers

Kamster