24 Jun '07 16:15>1 edit
If you are a determinist or a compatabilist one must logically believe that the guy who did the virginia tech. massacre was pre-determined to do so (give or take a few random factors). At least it would seem that way to me.
Does this mean that if you subscribe to determinism that there was no hope for him from the start ?
Does it mean that if anyone of us was born as him (his name escapes me) then we would have done the same?
Surely determinism means that people are born to do bad stuff (and vice versa) and that there is nothing that these people could have done to avoid it . Hitler , Stalin , Osama , all pre-determined ? Jesus , Ghandi , Bob Geldoff too?
Was Virginia tech always going to happen? Could he have chosen to do otherwise? Does this mean that we have no right to stand over his charactor and judge him as bad or evil since if any one of us had been born as him we would have done exactly the same thing?
We might say that his life circumstances and his charactor are no excuse for what he did , but is this meaningful unless determinism can be subverted or counteracted?
Does this mean that if you subscribe to determinism that there was no hope for him from the start ?
Does it mean that if anyone of us was born as him (his name escapes me) then we would have done the same?
Surely determinism means that people are born to do bad stuff (and vice versa) and that there is nothing that these people could have done to avoid it . Hitler , Stalin , Osama , all pre-determined ? Jesus , Ghandi , Bob Geldoff too?
Was Virginia tech always going to happen? Could he have chosen to do otherwise? Does this mean that we have no right to stand over his charactor and judge him as bad or evil since if any one of us had been born as him we would have done exactly the same thing?
We might say that his life circumstances and his charactor are no excuse for what he did , but is this meaningful unless determinism can be subverted or counteracted?