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Jackson Kernion

fixed.

David K

Hmmm. can I delete my old comment?

KS

If by "better" you mean "earn more money, reach higher social status, etc." (which many conversations with classmates have convinced me many people here do mean) then sure. If by "better" you mean, "happier, healthier, saner, more interesting" then hell no.

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Bob

Or a different way. Do you think there are any fundamental distinctions (which apply to morality) between humans and animals?

Stone

The question becomes this: is the difference between human consciousness and animal consciousness a matter of degree or kind? From all I've been exposed to, it seems like one must accept the former. It's quite important to distinguish between human and animal consciousness, but it's also quite important to recognize that humans do not have a monopoly on emotion, rationality, agency, and goals. In so far as an animal has SOME level of sentience, that level of sentience MUST play a role in our moral decision-making. I would probably endorse the statement that it is worse to kill an adult dolphin than it is to kill a 5-month old human baby.

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transferboy

allowing students to submit iq scores would help to determine who the brightest students are.

Stone

If IQ scores were a good measure of intelligence and/or success, I would totally support that. (Harvard should be a place for bright minds first and foremost, not a place for 'successful' people.) But as it turns out, we don't really even know what IQ tests are measuring.

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therewolf

>Likewise, seeing all each other's flaws will increase our understanding of one another and help us confront our own flaws. Be that as it may (and personal information is not limited to flaws), it is up to me to decide when I would benefit from sharing my flaws with another person and when such sharing would expose me to unfair risk. The type of radical openness proposed here would mean that enemies are to be trusted on par with friends and counselors; experience shows that such parity is not warranted in the real world. NB, the argument that others should know everything about us so that they can benefit from their better judgments is very different from the argument that others should know everything about us so that we can benefit from their better judgments.

therewolf

Apologies for poor formatting; the web server does not seem to like my line breaks.

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ANMI

It seems that Valentine's Day lends itself well to crushes or new romances, but there needn't really be a day set out to celebrate your loved ones. If you are loving and demonstrative, you'll do this all year anyway. If you're not, it doesn't necessarily seem more 'special' to celebrate those you love on V-day; you're just fulfilling societal requirements. It's pretty commercialized, and seems to make a lot of people feel pretty bad. Then again, maybe we shouldn't really care about arbitrary holidays anyway.

David K

Awww

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Prick

This has nothing to do with morality. People who are nerds to the marrow of their bones will, of course, find skipping lectures objectionable -- and will come up with a reason to justify themselves.

Terry

I'm with the prick; This isn't a moral question.

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D

What do you mean "should"? By what moral standard?

Myra

By this do you mean your own happiness as an individual or greatest net happiness? If the former, are you discounting the possibility that greater net happiness will allow for happier social relations and through that greater potential for individual happiness?

Sophomoric Sophomore

Daily? According to national studies, most Americans shower every other day. If this number were doubled, we would waste twice as much water! A mandate that everyone shower daily is unreasonable.

Disagree

During the winter or extended periods of inactivity, daily showering is mostly wasteful and unnecessary. But for someone working out each day or active in humid Boston summers, multiple short showers might preserve hygiene and comfort the most. I think a continuously evaluative approach is the best, rather than trying to set any sort of universal imperative for showering frequency - it would simply be better to shower when you need to (although of course defining when that is opens a new can of worms).

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Terry

Right. But some people would like to see it become it's own concentration.

Nicki Minaj

and others would like to see it become a full department.

David

Define a war.

Prick

Mixed feelings about this one

Senior

It's a love/hate thing. There are days when I'm thrilled to be here and days when that could hardly be further from the truth.

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Coco

A touch with the sacred, let's get enlightened together :)

Jojo Macabe

You think sex is sacred? A matter of enlightenment?