Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
> Brent Meeker writes:
>
>
> > If we discovered some million year old civilization today I think
> wonder
> > at its achievements, however paltry, would far outweigh dismay at its
> > wickedness, however extreme. I'm not sure what the significance
> of this
> > observation is.
>
> I don't think it's true. My exhibit A is the Aztecs.
>
> Brent Meeker
> There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself
> to be burned for an opinion.
> -- Anatole France
>
>
> The Aztecs aren't a million years old. The further removed it is from us
> (literally and metaphorically), the less we worry about the ethical
> considerations. If some far future nonhuman civilization dug up the
> Nazis their children might very well want the equivalent of Adolf Hitler
> dolls for Christmas, even if their ethical standards turn out to be
> similar to our own. In the long run, fascination trumps horror.
>
> Stathis Papaioannou
Of course distance, in time or DNA, makes ethical judgments less relevant. It's hard for us to judge chimpanzees and impossible to judge dinosaurs.
Brent
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Received on Mon Feb 12 2007 - 14:17:50 PST