🚀 go-pugleaf

Kym HORSELL wrote in message <80o8a4$3gq$1@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>...
>nenosed@apex.met.au (Ned Latham) writes:
>>Kym HORSELL <kym@cs.mu.oz.au> wrote:
>>> nenosed@apex.met.au (Ned Latham) writes:
>>> > Kym HORSELL <kym@cs.mu.oz.au> wrote:
>>> > > One of the classic methods of determining "the good" when it comes
to
>>> > > choices between actions is to select the alternative that is most
contrary
>>> > > to one's self interest.
>>> > Well, there's a self-defeating definition, if ever I heard one.
>>> Well, that's the view of people that DEFINE "the good" to be their
immediate
>>> self-interest. ;-)
>>----snip----
>>Others too, Kym. Those to whom self-interest is irrelevant to the
definition
>>of ``the good'', for example.
>
>As I said, some people (GenX-ers, eg) define the 2 to be the same thing.
>

hey, i am a genX-er as you put it and i i would invariably rescue the
child, if it was then possible to return for the cash without undue
personal risk i would do so. my motto is people before profit. i suspect
that if someone did a qunatative study of attitudes there would be as many
baby boomers and whatever the generation before them are called who are
also as greedy and self intrested, 100 years of intensive corporate
properganda has had its desired effect, elevating greed and gluttony from
mortal sins to a role models for society.

>Ergo running into a burning building that contains a child, and returning
>with $1mn from a wall safe is "OK" for them.
>

not for many of them, most (all of the ones that i know well enough to make
this sort of assumption would definatly rescue the child first) of my genx
friends would rescue the child first and probably then go back for the pets
before they would start bothering with material things (the concept of
wealth is alien to many of the younger generation as it is thanks to long
term high unemployment and lack of acces to affordable education)


>Just one of the reasons some places had to institute "bystander" laws
>rather than relying on some moral up-bringing of the citizenry.


i suspect that fear of becoming involved in some sort of criminal activity
or being sued (arn't the bystander laws pretty much an american thing?) .
look at the hassels people can get into just because they voluntered to
testify as a witness to a traffic accident, it is also the mentality
fostered by the government of the state as an overprotective nanny. in
wollongong the council was sued because they did not build a fence at the
top of a cliff high enough to stop someone attempting to climb it down the
cliff, the case was successfull, even though any normal person would not
attempt to climb the cliff in the first place as it is/was clearly
unstable, especially without climbing gear or proper shoes.



ant