TABLE OF CONTENTS

PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE INTERNET …..By Dr. Peter Anderson

THE APPARENT UNIVERSALITY OF THE GOLDEN RULE ….. By Dr. Juan Bernal

COMMENTS ON "THE COMING DARK AGE" …..By Gene Barmore

THEOCRACIES IN FICTION …..By Dave Silva

HAOC MEMBERSHIP PROFILE …..By Gene Barmore

DOES YOUR LIBRARY CARRY THE HUMANIST?

POLITICAL DEMOCRACY & HUMANIST VALUES ….. By Dave Silva

NEW LINK ON OUR WEB SITE

BUMPER STICKERS FROM NEW YORK CITY

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is, to my mind, the most beautiful in all of science. It is beautiful because it is so simply and yet its results are so complex. It is counter-intuitive and hard to grasp but once you have seen it the world is transformed before your eyes. There is no longer any need for a grand designer to explain all the complexity of the living world. There is just a stark and mindless procedure by which we have all come about - beautiful but scary."

Susan Blackmore. From "The Meme Machine"

 

Persuasive Technologies

and

The Dark Side of the Internet

Pete Anderson

This discussion is motivated by a series of articles entitled "Persuasive Technologies" in the May 1999 issue of the Communications of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), several by researchers in the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University.

"Aimed largely at children today, persuasion is already part of many technologies, but many more are on the way for everyone else". Some of the technologies are "Baby Think It Over" a "computerized doll for teens simulating the difficulties of parenthood", "Hygiene Guard", an "employee monitoring system to encourage hand-washing after bathroom use", and "Onsale.com", an "online auction system treating bidding as playing, and buying as winning".

In addition to onsale.com there are many other auction sites on the internet ready to help you make a deal and part with a bit of cash in the process. Also, online gambling (legal and illegal) and various other forms of vice, and numerous scams for the unwary.

The internet can be a wonderful research, communication and educational tool, but it does have its dark side also.

 

 

  • A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF PETE ANDERSON

    •

    Born in the State of Washington. Grew up around the Hanford Atomic Project

    area. Graduated from high school around the time of Einstein’s death and the 100th

    anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s "Origin of the Species". B.A. in Math from

    Washington State University, Ph.D. in Probability and Statistics from Stanford. Some

    research and teaching of statistics. Currently writing software for CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Manufacturing) systems. Interested in artificial intelligence and neo—modernist philosophies.

    Pete was an active member of the Humanist Assoc. Of Los Angeles (HALA) before he became

    President of HAOC.

     

    DIFFERENT EXPRESSIONS OF THE GOLDEN RULE

    In his preface to his book, The World’s Great Scriptures (MacMillan, N.Y., 1961), Lewis Browne tells us that the Golden Rule is very common, appearing in the scriptures of all the major religions. He lists a number of these:

    Christian: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7, 12.)

    Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowmen. That is the entire law; all else is commentary." (Talmud, Shabbat 3 Ia)

    Islam: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." (Sunnah)

    Confucianism: "Is there one maxim which you should act upon throughout your entire life? Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you." (Analects 15,23)

    Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." (Udana-Varga 5, 18)

    Brahmanism: "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." (Mahabharata 5, 1517)

    Taoism: "Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss." (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien)

    Zoroastrianism: "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself" (Dadistan-i-dinik 94,5)

     

     

     

    TIlE APPARENT UNIVERSALITY OF THE GOLDEN RULE:

    By Juan Bernal, Ph.D.

    The fact the the golden rule has appeared in different cultures and different ages has impressed many people and led them to infer that the rule represents something special, something common and basic to human moral thinking. For example, in his article on the golden rule in the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Marcus Singer tells us that no one has explained satisfactorily

    "...why this precept should have appeared in the codes and outlooks of so many diverse peoples and sages. The golden rule, in one version or another, has a prominent place in all major religions and most minor ones. It has been enunciated by pagan philosophers both before and after Christ, and by Sophists (Isocrates) and antiSophists (Aristotle)... the nearly universal acceptance of the golden rule and its promulgation by persons of considerable intellect, though of diverse outlooks, would seem to provide some evidence for the claim that it is a fundamental ethical truth."

    (pp. 365-7, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy Paul Edwards, Editor, Vol. 3 (New York, Macmillan, 1967))

    Different Statements of the Golden Rule:

    Positive statement: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

    Negative statement: Do not do to others what you would not want done to you. (sometimes called the "Silver Rule".)

    Are there significant differences in meaning and moral implications between the positive and negative statements of the Golden Rule?

    Do to others as you would have them do to you.

    (Does this imply a moral activism? We’re to go out looking for ways we can do good for others?)

    Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.

    (Does this imply that we simply avoid actions that harm others, without implying that we look for ways in which we can benefit others?)

    Negation of the Golden Rule: Do not: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

    Inversion of the Golden Rule: Do to others as they would have you do to them.

    Two Interpretations of the positive statement of the Golden Rule:

    Particular Interpretation: "Do to others what I would want them to do to me." (Whatever in particular I would want done for me, I should do for others.)

    General Interpretation: "Do to others as I would want them to do to me."

    (The general ways in which I would have others behave toward me, I shall apply in my treatment of others.

    In other words: I am to treat others on the same principles or standards that I would have others apply in the

    treatment of oneself)

    Criticism of the Golden Rule when given the particular interpretation:

    The G.R. is subject to criticism of the kind advanced by Richard Whately (1787 - 1863):

  • "If you were to understand the precept as designed to convey to us the first notions of right and wrong. and to be your sole guide as to what you ought to do and avoid in your dealings with your neighbor, you would be greatly perplexed. For you would find that a literal compliance with the precept would be sometimes absurd, sometimes wrong, and sometimes impossible." (pp. 112 of Morals and Values, edited by Marcus Singer, (Scribner’s sons, 1977, N.Y.) )

    (his examples: a merchant applying the rule would be required to give his merchandise away free; a jailer applying the rule would be required to set all his prisoners free; a judge trying to settle a dispute between two parties, would be required to give both favorable rulings).

    •

    • Whately’s second objection is that

  • "..far from being designed to give people the first notion of justice, the Golden Rule presupposes that knowledge; and that if we had no such notions, we could not properly apply the rule." (p. 113, ibid.)
    •

    • Singer adds that

  • "..the Golden Rule authorizes the quarrelsome person who likes to be provoked to go about provoking others, and the person who hates friendliness or sympathy to be cold and unsympathetic with others." (Marcus Singer, from his article in Encyclopedia of Philosophy, op.cit.)
    •

    • Others have pointed out that the Golden Rule presupposes a uniformity of human nature, ... a uniformity of tastes, interests and desires.

    Remarks regarding the general interpretation of the Golden Rule:

    From Marcus Singer’s essay "Defense of the Golden Rule" pp. 115-129 in Moral and Values, edited by M. Singer (Scribner’s Sons, 1977, N.Y.)

  • "… the Golden Rule has to be understood as a moral principle, and not as a moral rule. ...it does not state of some specifically determined kind of action that it is right or wrong, or that it ought or ought not to be done. Rather it sets forth, in abstract fashion, a method or procedure for determining the morality of a line of action, and thus is intended to provide a principle from which ... more specific or concrete moral rules can be derived."

    "..the Golden Rule requires that the same standard be applied to an action, no matter who performs it and no matter who benefits by it. ... (it emphasizes that) . .there is no one whose interests are in general entitled to a privileged moral position it follows .. that. the Golden Rule formulates a fundamental requirement of justice, that everyone’s conduct must be judged by the same standards, and that no one basin general, any warranted claim to privilege or privileged position."

    •

    • Marcus Singer, in his essay "Defense of the Golden Rule," (op.cit) thinks that when we interpret the Golden Rule as expressing a general principle, and not a rule calling for specific kind of action, objections like those previously stated above are resolved.

    But consider the following from an old Ethics text

  • "..we sometimes hear it stated., that the universal adoption of the golden rule would at once settle all industrial disputes and difficulties. But supposing that the principle were accepted in good faith by everybody; it would not at once tell everybody just what to do in all the complexities of his relationships with others. When individuals are still uncertain what their real good may be, it does not finally decide matters to tell them to regard the good others as they would their own." (John Dewey & James H. Tufts, Ethics, (1908)

    "..the various difficulties with the golden rule ... show that it requires interpretation,, and is consequently no substitute for an ethical theory, or other moral ideas, in light of which it must be interpreted." (Marcus Singer, "Defense of the Golden Rule," p. 129)

    •

    • In his book, Formal Ethics, Harry J. Gensler has this to say about the Golden Rule:

  • "... it is seen as a consistency principle, .. . it does not replace moral norms, . . . it is not an infallible guide on which actions are right or wrong. It only prescribes consistency. That we not have our actions (toward another) be out of harmony with our desires (toward a reversed situation action). It tests our moral coherence. If we violate the golden rule, we are violating the spirit of fairness and concern that lie at the heart of morality."
    •

    • Questions and Reflections:

    Can the Golden Rule help in dealing with moral dilemmas like the following?

    The abortion issue: both the "pro-life" people and the "pro-choice" people probably claim to act according to the Golden Rule.

    Conflict of good: Sartre case of young man torn between his obligation and desire to care for his aged mother and his obligation to join his comrades in their underground stuggle against the Faschists.

    Dilemmas in which there is a shortage of goods and an abundance of potential recipients: the over-crowded. lifeboat dilemma - the no-more-room-in-the-bomb-shelter dilemma - the organ transplant dilemma.

    Dilemmas arising from war situations: e.g., strategic decisions to bomb cities in order to pressure enemy government to sue for peace - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan

    Is it realistic to think that the Golden Rule could apply or be of any use in such situations?

    More reflections:

    How does the Golden Rule relate to these realities of our social/moral environment?

    The inner-outer circles - Most people feel that duties and obligations to family and loved ones come before our duties to strangers. Does the Golden Rule apply in such situations?

    How we you apply the Golden Rule to competition in our free market economy, our system of private property and to capitalism, and to our everyday dealings and behavior in the business world?

    Does the heroic morality of persons who devote their lives to serving others, or those who sacrifice their interests to benefit others, go beyond the Golden Rule?

    Isn’t behavior based on enlightened self-interest sufficient to realize a decent, workable society? Why is the Golden Rule required?

    Is there realistic prospect that people in general would attempt to live their lives guided by the Golden Rule?

    Does the Golden Rule have anything to say about our moral relationship to non-human world? Animals? The environment?

    Consider these two types: the Christian missionary working to convert the native to Christianity; the native who prefers his native religious practice and does not want to convert to Christianity. Both can be seen as acting in accordance with the Golden Rule : Do unto others as you would want done to you. But each is also acting in accordance with other moral principles:

    The missionary: Bring the Christian faith and salvation to all who lack them.

    The native: Allow each person (group) to worship according to his (their) own tradition and faith. Does the Golden Rule help to decide who has the higher moral tight, the missionary or the native?

  • 4
    •

    • Comment on Jerry Parks’ "The Coming Dark Age"

    By Gene Barmore

     

    I am a more optimistic pessimist than Jerry. While widespread war, disease, or ecological disaster might reverse the present trend, I see overall progress. Worldwide, whenever was there so much concern for human rights? Acceptance of the desirability of democratic political forms? Recognition of the importance of universal education?

    Of course, there are dangers--Muslim and Christian fundamentalism among them. But examining the situation in our own country, we should understand that only a small (but noisy) segment of Christians believe in "Young Earth Creationism" and strict literalism of the Biblical account. Most, including the Pope, accept the evidence of an ancient earth, with modification of the Biblical accounts to adapt to the scientific evidence. Many agree with evolutionary theory up to the point of "Intelligent Design" or "Theistic Evolution".

    Nevertheless, even though I do not think that the religious right can bring on a "Dark Age", I do think that it is a force to be reckoned with.

     

     

    THEOCRACIES IN FICTION

     

    By Dave Silva

     

    While we cannot predict the future with any accuracy science fiction writers have created theocracies that might occur from trends in history. With the help of members of the Orange County Science Fiction Club here are just a few novels that involved theocracies.

    "A Canticle for Leibowitz", by Walter Miller Jr., a classic novel where all science is destroyed after a nuclear war and slowly reemerges. "Revolt in 2100" by Robert Heinlein, "The Handmaiden's Tale" by Margaret Atwood; out in video and closely follows the book. Alan Dean Foster's "Humanex Society" series including "Flinx". "Dues Irae" by Roger Zelazny and Philip K. Dick. "Parable of the Sower" and its sequel

    "Parable of Talents" by Octavia Butler where a religion called Earthseed, that bears a strong resemblance to Humanism is attacked by militant fundamentalism. And my favorite for pure reading enjoyment the four book "Hyperion" series by Dan Simmons.

     

    HAOC MEMBER PROFILE

    By Gene Barmore

     

    Although Etta Person lives in Los Angeles County, she switched her membership from HALA to HAOC for a more suitable meeting time. However, being a very busy "Person"(!) she hasn’t yet made one.

    Etta is the co-ordinator of an LA Unified School District "Distance Learning Lab" for adults. She is a member of African American Humanists, was a founding member of a Free Thinkers Toastmaster Club, and qualified as a minister in the Church of Religious Science. However, by the time she qualified for the latter position she had drifted away from "the church idea" and has left that organization.

    She likes to meet and talk with people with challenging ideas, and plans before long to meet us on Sand Canyon Avenue.

     

    .

     

    POLITICAL DEMOCRACY and HUMANISTIC VALUES

     

    By Dave Silva

     

    Most Americans are happy with the liberties and individual rights granted us in the Bill of Rights and U. S. Constitution. As the relationship between the individual and his government evolves most people around the world prefer democracies and want only to make small changes that don't seriously infringe on their personal freedom. Many Christians have been pushing the idea that the United States is a Christian nation. From there they argue that we should make it more Christian. This view is a misinterpretation of history and the facts. The reason our democratic system has worked so well around the world is that it is based on humanistic values.

    Many of our Founding Fathers were Unitarians, deists or skeptics. However, most were good Christians who looked not to scripture to form a more perfect union, but to Greek philosophers and the philosophers of their time. Well aware of the failure of monarchies, theocracies and the burdens of colonialism, they decide to avoid the pitfalls of the past by fashioning a government based on human need and human values. Think about free speech, the pursuit of happiness, due process and equality under the law. Is there anything of a transcendental nature in any of these ideals? If the major religions had been concerned with these practical values then such things as slavery, torture, discrimination and the basic freedoms we take for granted would have been resolved more than a thousand years ago.

    Of course, Humanism as we know it today did not exist as an organized, well thought out philosophy to the extent it is today. It was a gradual learning process started by the Greeks, rekindled by The Enlightenment and refined by people like Jefferson, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell and John Dewey. That Humanism does not receive the credit it deserves as the foundation of our democratic value system is largely a matter of public perception. The endless propaganda machine, that is organized religion in this country, is largely unopposed and a balanced view is rarely presented by the media.

    AHA assistant to the president, Bette Chambers recently wrote, "When we humanist search for our roots, we don't turn to Rome or Jerusalem; we look to Athens. Virtually every idea that today can be described as a component of modern humanism was extent then: democracy in civil affairs, the scientific method for unraveling the mysteries of nature, the irrelevance of gods."

    While not all the Greeks were so rational we can estimate the age of Humanism back to 2640 years ago when Thales of Miletus was born. Thales, the father of philosophy, explained the world through natural phenomena without the need of gods.

    Read the Bible, read the Koran, read any religious text you want; then read Humanist Manifesto II and compare them all to the way you feel we should treat our fellow man and get the most out of life. Also, compare them to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

      

     

    DOES YOUR LIBRARY CARRY THE HUMANIST?

    Cinda Combs reports that the Aliso Viejo branch of the county library now has the HUMANIST magazine on its shelves thanks to HAOC’s three-year gift subscription. If your library doesn't carry the HUMANIST, then HAOC will pay for a three year subscription.

     

    NEW LINK AT WEB SITE

    If you visit our web site you will find a new link called "AGNOSTIC". This is an About.com site that leads to a lot of very good articles under heading such as humanism, skeptic, freethought etc.

    There is an article under humanist by Fred Edwords titled "Freethought Challenges of the'90's" Although it was written in 1992 it is very timely today. Here is a small excerpt.

    "We have a rewarding and balanced philosophy that we can teach, in a warm and loving way, to our fellow human beings. We won't be so arrogant as to IMPOSE it, but we can be caring enough to share it. Up to now, we have selfishly kept it to ourselves and a small circle of friends.

    The next century will be the humanist century only if we change our ways, open up, and reach out to others. And our outreach must appeal to them not only intellectually, but emotionally, aesthetically, and even physically.

     

    BUMPER STICKERS IN NEW YORK CITY!

    Contributed by Catherine Curley

     

    If you can read this, I can slam on my brakes and sue you!

    100,00 sperm and you were the fastest?

    You're jealous because the voices are talking to me and not you!

    Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.

    WANTED: Meaningful overnight relationship.

    Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now.

    Hang up and drive.

    Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

    Always remember you're unique … Just like everyone else.

    Be nice to your kids … They will pick out your nursing home.