“Virtue as a necessity”

September 27, 2012

in Bombs and rockets, Films and movies, Politics, Psychology

Jordan Peterson, Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

. September 27, 2012 at 3:46 pm: “The Nuremberg decision denied human beings – regardless of their ethnicity or national background or beliefs – the legal right to use [the fact that they had been following orders] as a defence under certain limited circumstances.

And the argument was:

There are some things that are so self-evidently not good – not virtuous – that if you engage in them you’re existentially guilty – you’re guilty outside the bounds of your culture. There’s a trans-national and trans-ethnic morality. We don’t know what it is, but we know what it isn’t.

It isn’t pointless torture and genocide.

At minimum, to be virtuous is to live your life in such a way that the probability that you would engage in such actions – given the opportunity – is minimized.”

13:30 – 14:34
. September 27, 2012 at 4:32 pm: “You should always be cautious about making yourself the Judge of Being – because there’s always the possibility that there’s a few things you don’t know.”

22:50
Sasha September 28, 2012 at 3:11 pm: Looks as though the link is broken or the video is down. I wanted to watch on the train!
Milan September 28, 2012 at 4:47 pm: It works for me. Maybe VIA Rail blocks YouTube.
Milan September 28, 2012 at 4:48 pm: You may be able to get just the audio here:

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/big-ideas-audio/id129166905

It is also available for free through the iTunes store.

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