Brent meeker writes:> > > Also Stathis wrote:> > > > Sure, logic and
science are silent on the question of the value> > of weeds or anything
else. You need a person to come along and say> > "let x=good", and then you
can reason logically given this.> > Evolutionary theory etc. may predict
what x a person may deem to be> > good or beautiful, but this is not
binding on an individual in the> > way laws governing the chemistry of
respiration, for example, are> > binding. > > True. But evolution does
predict that an individual of an evolved species will have values, will find
some things good and some bad, and further that, with high probability, these
values will comport with reproductive success. You could for example fairly
easily distinguish a race of robots who were engineered to serve human beings
(angels?) from an evolved race of robots simply by their behavior and implied
values. > > The former do have lives with meaning - their purposes refer
outside themselves. The later have their own purposes. I'm content to be one
of the latter.> > Brent MeekerI don't know that the purpose supposed to be
provided by God is as coherent as your robot example. As I understand it, God
did not program us to be good or to believe in him because he wanted us to
arrive at the "right" answer freely. However, he must have programmed us to an
extent, because our values are at least partly the result of evolution, as you
suggest. What formula he used to set how much of our values would be determined
and how much free is not clear. Stathis Papaioannou
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