Jarhyn
Wizard
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2010
- Messages
- 14,519
- Gender
- Androgyne; they/them
- Basic Beliefs
- Natural Philosophy, Game Theoretic Ethicist
So, I would like to discuss Mercy as a concept of morality.
There are many definitions of this idea perhaps, but the one I am personally going to be treating is "an act of giving someone or something that which they have no right to demand, but which they need, without expectation of return."
I expect there are a few different variations of discussion available on this: discussions on the right to lethally withhold mercy; the definition of "mercy" itself; whether the concept itself remains coherent in a comprehensive exploration of ethics; when and whether mercy is to be allowed towards someone or some thing.
I personally do not see it as moral or ethical to require mercy to be given by any individual, except when the mercy offered resolves more misery of the group and ultimately reduces expense (such as housing and feeding the homeless and treating preventable diseases rather than letting them die on the street and end up occupying more expensive mercies).
I would expect mercy and the ideas that undergird it
Some variations are explicitly evil, such as knowingly offering "mercies" that arm those who would take power over others (such as freeing a serial killer in a military arms room and a stocked ammo dump) or taking mercy on, say, a giant swarm of malarial mosquitoes.
As such, it seems to me publicly offered mercies may imply publicly restricted in the same manner, under the same conditions.
There are many definitions of this idea perhaps, but the one I am personally going to be treating is "an act of giving someone or something that which they have no right to demand, but which they need, without expectation of return."
I expect there are a few different variations of discussion available on this: discussions on the right to lethally withhold mercy; the definition of "mercy" itself; whether the concept itself remains coherent in a comprehensive exploration of ethics; when and whether mercy is to be allowed towards someone or some thing.
I personally do not see it as moral or ethical to require mercy to be given by any individual, except when the mercy offered resolves more misery of the group and ultimately reduces expense (such as housing and feeding the homeless and treating preventable diseases rather than letting them die on the street and end up occupying more expensive mercies).
I would expect mercy and the ideas that undergird it
Some variations are explicitly evil, such as knowingly offering "mercies" that arm those who would take power over others (such as freeing a serial killer in a military arms room and a stocked ammo dump) or taking mercy on, say, a giant swarm of malarial mosquitoes.
As such, it seems to me publicly offered mercies may imply publicly restricted in the same manner, under the same conditions.