01 November, 2012

Massachusetts ballot on assisted suicide opens door to culture of death | Holy Post | National Post

Massachusetts ballot on assisted suicide opens door to culture of death | Holy Post | National Post
Posted by at

8 comments:

  1. "culture of death" is a good term to contrive and use if one wants to evoke fear and revulsion within a ‘death denying culture.’
    The slippery slope, contrary to a widely accepted definition is a fallacious argument and really does nothing but convey a lame and disingenuous attempt to impose groundless values on others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Larry: I've been thinking a lot about the 'slippery slope' argument. I've usually taken the same approach as you, but recently am wondering if I am wrong.

      Can you think of one example of social engineering (the redefinition of basic morality and social principles that began in the 1960s) where the predicted negative consequences have not come true? For example, I recently re-read Humanae Vitae and found that every negative consequence that P6 predicted has come to pass.

      I want to believe that the slippery slope is a fallacy, but I am losing my conviction that this is indeed the case.

      Fr. Tim

      P.S. Nice to hear from you again. Did you and Arden enjoy a nice summer?

      Delete

    2. Larry, as usual you take an approach which is not supported by history. A well-worn saying- give them an inch and they will take a mile- was around long before we were born- and came out of experience that gave rise to the slippery slope saying.

      Delete

    3. Tom, I don't know who you are but I think you must be from shack town.

      Delete

  2. I’m not sure what you mean by “the same approach” Tim . Perhaps you are assuming I am arguing for the opposite view.
    It’s a fallacious argument but that doesn’t mean that the conclusion is necessarily false, only that such a conclusion isn’t reasonably demonstrated by such an argument. A claim that stands alone is nothing more than an arbitrary one and the laws of probability say that sometimes it will be true and sometimes it will be false. No matter how many times a conclusion from one turns out to be true, it doesn’t change the fallacious nature of the slippery slope into a sound argument.
    I personally believe that we need to find ways to let go of our certitudes and become less judgmental.

    P.S. We had a great summer Tim and an extremely busy one . We have a little place in Quebec where we have 2 horses and we spend a lot of time there. It’s beautiful.

    ReplyDelete

  3. Larry: I'm with you in believing there's little that could match this summer in the Pontiac. I appreciate that some of the farmers would have preferred more rain, but as a vacationer with a cottage there I could not have asked for better.

    My apologies if I misread your comment and assumed too much. I didn't consider that something could be factually true and logically false at the same time. That's a thought worth contemplating on the next sunny, warm day off alongside the river! I'll add it to my list.

    I think you're committing a version of 'Post hoc ergo propter hoc' fallacy... but I'm not sure. I never studied Latin for one thing, (grin) but I think your formulation is sure worthy of study and consideration. Thanks!

    Fr. Tim

    Fr. Tim

    ReplyDelete

  4. Fr. Tim, my apologies, the "assumptions" are mine and I truly am sorry.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

About Fr. Tim

My Photo
A Roman Catholic Evangelical Priest of the Diocese of Pembroke, Canada. Shown in my profile photo with my canine companion, Mateo.

Followers of this blog:

Visitors to this page

Locations of visitors to this page

Blog Archive

Google Analytics