Slavery
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:20 am
henry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
*If so: why?
henry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
*If so: why?
I'm surprised, but, okay.
Can you suggest a more appropriate way to ask the question?
I think you're overthinkin' it (or pretendin' to).Impenitent wrote: ↑Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:53 am slavery, I would think, implies involuntary action on the part of the enslaved
I don't know if that could be achieved...
the treatment and use of one's fellows as property happens all the time
your boss does that- but pays you...
being made to perform - in lieu of physical pain - could be a form of payment...
-Imp
So people who are treated as property versus people who are legally owned property.Impenitent wrote: ↑Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:53 am slavery, I would think, implies involuntary action on the part of the enslaved
I don't know if that could be achieved...
the treatment and use of one's fellows as property happens all the time
your boss does that- but pays you...
being made to perform - in lieu of physical pain - could be a form of payment...
-Imp
henry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
*If so: why?
henry quirk wrote: ↑Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:20 amhenry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
That's a long story.
Sort of the entire point of the Critique of Pure Reason, plus half of everything written since in moral philosophy. Arguably anyway.phyllo wrote: ↑Thu Feb 26, 2026 3:14 amSo people who are treated as property versus people who are legally owned property.Impenitent wrote: ↑Thu Feb 26, 2026 1:53 am slavery, I would think, implies involuntary action on the part of the enslaved
I don't know if that could be achieved...
the treatment and use of one's fellows as property happens all the time
your boss does that- but pays you...
being made to perform - in lieu of physical pain - could be a form of payment...
-Imp
Yes, that treatment is not uncommon.
Oh, I'm sure, with your vast wisdom and mighty intellect (not to mention your infinite patience), you could find some way to educate a man with my obvious limitations.FlashDangerpants wrote: ↑Fri Feb 27, 2026 1:04 am That's a long story.
Experience suggests you want to be fed in McNuggets and will reject anything else as overcomplicated.
So there's not much likelihood of this working out.
I have a problem with ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, which divide actions into two rigidly separate categories. I think life is generally too complex for that.henry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
*If so: why?
Usually bad could mean occasionally good , yes?CIN2 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 27, 2026 1:27 amI have a problem with ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, which divide actions into two rigidly separate categories. I think life is generally too complex for that.henry quirk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 2:37 am *Is slavery (the treatment and use of one's fellows as property) wrong?
*If so: why?
So I’ll answer a slightly different question: is slavery bad? (‘Good’ and ‘bad’ are less rigid than ‘right’ and ‘wrong’: you can have degrees of goodness and badness.)
As a card-carrying hedonist, I’d have to say that slavery is usually bad, the reason being that the lives slaves are forced to live are usually less pleasant than the lives they would choose for themselves.