X-Message-Number: 16895
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 20:12:48 -0700
From: Mike Perry <>
Subject: Values

Dave Pizer and others have expressed some views on values, with apparently 
the idea that a "selfish" orientation is not as good as a more altruistic 
one. My remedy is to consider *enlightened* self-interest, and particularly 
the idea that life should not terminate after a few decades as it does now. 
With this in mind, it is easy to argue that consideration for fellow beings 
should be important, without requiring any denial that selfish interests, 
on some level, are really all that matter or can matter for the individual. 
If you're going to be sharing the same reality with someone else for 
centuries and more, it makes sense to be on good terms with that person, 
and even to seek interactions that will mutually benefit. With sufficient 
enlightenment, I'll conjecture, all selfish values become universal values, 
shared equally, thus you could call them inherent values.

Mike Perry

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