Wandering Idiot wrote:
Oh, solved that whole nature/nurture debate by ourselves, have we? Do you have a working computer model of the entire human phenotyping process you've been holding out on us about?
Well, I was somewhat exaggerating and overreacting, because I *hate* it when people say that personality is determined by genetics. That kind of thinking leads quite directly to things like eugenics.
Actually, the nature nurture dichotomy really isn't as clear-cut as it's made out to be. (This is of course true of most "opposing" categories.) Society is really created by individuals interacting - or really, individual genetic tendencies bouncing off each other. At the same time, many of the genes in your body aren't actually "turned on" - it's society that determines what genes are turned on and what genes aren't. So it creates a kind of feedback loop - genetics determines society determines genetics.
[quote=revolutio]Izy one point: You say that the death penalty is based on the principle that two wrongs make a right. It is your own personal belief that death is always "wrong," since last I checked right and wrong were not well defined, however many people believe it to be an acceptable option or "right."[/quote]
"Two wrongs make a right" is shorthand for the idea that if you do something that, under normal circumstances, would be considered bad, to someone who has done something bad, then that is good. It's pretty stupid when you get right down to it, and makes morality a total joke. After all, it's easy to be nice to good people - the real challenge is to love your enemies.