Donald Brown on the ethical dimensions of climate change 3

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1. 

   infp Posted 6:45 am
   16 Oct 2007

   Underground Electric RailroadHopefully, the crusade to stop climate change in the 21st Century will be reminiscent of the emancipation movement of the 19th Century.  A small group of (environmental) activists will eventually convince the majority that the (fossil fuel) status quo is immoral.  

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2. 

   caniscandida Posted 7:25 am
   16 Oct 2007

   OK, guys: Who lives, and who dies?This is brilliant.  Donald Brown should be our next Secretary of State.
   What he has to say by way of re-evaluating the supreme importance that cost/benefit analysis seems to be given in many quarters, should be of interest to those readers of Gristmill who tend to think along those lines.
   He seems to use "moral" and "ethical" interchangeably, in which case he commits the same redundancy rather often.  On the other hand, he obviously knows a great deal about ethics, and no doubt would be happy to explain how he distinguishes them.
   Here is the Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, s.v. "moral":
   <<
   
   moral adj., n.  This word and its cognates refer to what is good or bad, right or wrong, in human character or conduct.
   
   ...
   
   The Latin word moralis, from which the English word originates, was created by Cicero from mos (pl. mores), meaning custom(s), which corresponds to the Greek ethos (custom).  This is why in many contexts, though not always, moral/ethical, morals/ethics, moral philosophy/ethics etc. are interchangeable.  But the two words have also been used to mark various distinctions.
   
   >>
   
   Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.

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3. 

   calvinjones Posted 7:07 am
   17 Oct 2007

   ethics vs moralsOn this point, i like the way Adam Smith uses the words.
   He uses morality as an aspiration that is not scientific and cannot be used in laws, morality is complex and personal.
   Ethics is precise, can be used in laws, is the minimum required for a nation and for trade.
   For example it may be imoral to spend cash on a tv rather than save lives with it. It is not however unethical: you are not in there debt.
   If they gave you some money in an agrement and you failed to fullfil your half of the bargain you would be acting unethically.
   Contributing to climate change is both unethical and imoral.
   
   Interested in climate change?
   
   http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com

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