tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post3081420227756751680..comments2024-03-27T18:43:12.776+00:00Comments on Darwinian Conservatism by Larry Arnhart: Hume's ReligionLarry Arnharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-17264499097286838722009-05-29T01:22:43.883+01:002009-05-29T01:22:43.883+01:00Dr. Arnhart-
This is Mr. Tolhurst from your Hume ...Dr. Arnhart-<br /><br />This is Mr. Tolhurst from your Hume seminar. <br /><br />I've been catching up on a few of your blog posts and I had a few thoughts.<br /><br />1) Both Tocqueville and Hume seem to endorse the political practicality of religion because of its role in supporting common morality. (which, for De Tocqueville, is key for preserving democratic liberty) However, can such a institution serve its purpose unless its underlying theology is seen as true? <br /><br />After all, in an age of rising education many question the foundations of such institutions and as such they may be seen to cease to be viable sources of moral instruction in proportion as their metaphysical claims are denied.<br /><br />What alternative church or institution of moral education would Hume (or Tocqueville) put in its place to serve the practical political goal of preserving morality, and yet not advocate and put forward claims that they would regard as false? <br /><br />(What would 'Humean Theology' or a 'Darwinian Church' look like?)<br /><br />And, as in Hume's 'Perfect Commonwealth' would such institutions, ultimately, only be able to derive their authority from the state? <br /><br />2) It strikes me that a morality based on natural sentiment cannot give us much guidance in what we ought to do.<br /><br />Why, after all, <I>should</I> the enterprising transhumanist endorse the set of moral emotions and human mental capacities given to him by the outcome of an evolutionary process, and not attempt to take charge of this process himself? (and attempt to make himself or his offspring something 'more than human'?)<br /><br />So while 'metaphysical' conservatism might be rightly regarded as suspect given its past history, might such a conception perhaps provide extra grounding to the need to attend to the human tradition and the natural human functioning? (how do we generate the command 'Thou shalt not meddle with the results of evolution and human society in a capricious manner!')<br /><br />3) While many of your posts note a distinction between 'metaphysical' and 'naturalist' conservatism and tend to place religious conservatism in the realm of the 'metaphysical,' what are we to make of the Christian doctrine of the incarnation? This strikes me as a instance of the 'metaphysical' <I>becoming</I> the natural in a very curious fashion! I'm not quite sure of it's final significance, but could this potentially provide a bridge between 'metaphysical' and 'natural' conservatism?<br /><br /><br />All the best, and thanks for your time,<br /><br />-MikeSensible Knavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13199344933456486072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-76153406633231400182009-05-14T15:15:00.000+01:002009-05-14T15:15:00.000+01:00Oh, you see. My Freudian slips never become consc...Oh, you see. My Freudian slips never become conscious until someone forces me to see them.Larry Arnharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-90518935597059186882009-05-14T14:49:00.000+01:002009-05-14T14:49:00.000+01:00Sorry, I was being to subtle. I was trying to give...Sorry, I was being to subtle. I was trying to give you a gentle correction. You left out the first 't' in your original text, as in my quoted matter, and it created an amusingly Freudian typo.Davehttp://sophronismos.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-29294230014148957092009-05-12T20:59:00.000+01:002009-05-12T20:59:00.000+01:00In his essay "Of the Immortality of the Soul" and ...In his essay "Of the Immortality of the Soul" and in section 11 of the ENQUIRY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING.Larry Arnharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-3470679747993742172009-05-12T19:46:00.000+01:002009-05-12T19:46:00.000+01:00Could you give the passage where Hume rejects the ...Could you give the passage where Hume rejects the "immorality of the soul"?<br /><br />:-]Davehttp://sophronismos.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com