Disgust had impact - I contributed to shame and rejection of people (some closeted in my own community) that really could have used love and acceptance.
Me trusting my moral intuition, hurt people. Refusing to question your moral intuition may lock you into hurting people.
Conversation
This is why I push so hard at moral edges. You should always, always question the moral responses you have. From the inside, your sense of morality feels obvious and good. It did to me too, when I was calling gay people fags.
And I don't mean that you need to lose all your
2
13
272
morals, only that you should make sure the morals you do have have been forced to validate themselves. Why are they there? What justified their existence? Find out what triggers your disgust reaction and stare straight into the heart of it.
8
8
209
Replying to
1/3: I have a question for you to explore, respectfully. And I’m seriously asking you to explore the question, I’m not trying to be snide or allude to any conclusion. What would you say about a persons “disgust reaction” to the prospect of incest?
1
2
2/3: Let’s say, hypothetically that one day in the future you (or anyone reading this) have a grown son and a daughter. One day they come to you and confess they are in love and want to get married.
1
1
3/3: They understand there are biological risks associated with their procreation, so one of them will get fixed and they will adopt children. What is your reaction to this scenario (or anyone reading)?
1
1
Replying to
Fair enough; but there are two questions buried there. The first is: should they be allowed to do it? I’m more interested in the second question: Is there anything wrong with it? Or is that “disgust reaction” purely a social construct with no real moral relevance?
1
1
Replying to
Moral senses often have evolutionary purposes. Believing sex before marriage is immoral helped with greater resources for children. Nowadays we have birth control, so that moral law has less relevance.
1
2
Replying to
Well surely morality still has relevance in general (we ought not torture or rape children, e.g.). Do you mean that in what you might call victimless transgressions, true morality is not applicable?
1
1
Replying to
Even harm morality exists on a spectrum - is it moral to kill during a war? To take out two kidneys from one person to save two lives?
Morality in general is a finnicky framework.
Replying to
I appreciate your intellectual consistency. I disagree with the assessment of morality. It only seems finicky when we want it to be. Is it ever morally defensible to molest a child? To point to the gray areas and conclude ambiguity is paramount is like saying ->
1
2