What if God were dead? WAS: In defending my belief

Dr. Ernest N. Prabhakar (ernest@drernie.scruz.net)
Mon, 10 Nov 97 21:36:28 -0800


Rohit wrote:
> That said, I think if there were any other religions besides
> Rohitism, the best control hypothesis would be kync -- keep your =
nose
> clean. Do right by the game theory -- preturb it a little to =
believe
> in timless responsiblity rather than playing it as a game to =
exploit
> the finite span of your own life -- and then abide by the rules =
you
> create. You'll find convergence, non interference, and pretty much
> leave people alone -- the kinds of privacy which lead to =
capitalism.
> That is to say, in circular form, that there is more observed need
> for politics than for piousness. Others may believe that politics =
is
> rooted in morality, but the transactions between people are in
> language and in goods, not in souls.
>=20
> Rohit Koan

Forgive me if I'm misremembering, but I think this was precisely the =
scenario Nietzsche analyzed in his "God is dead" hypothesis. That =
is, if there is no God, the only reason for conformance to =
conventional morality is in order to make sure other people treat =
you nicely. Politics, not piety, in your terms. That was okay for =
normal people, but that wasn't the highest morality. To Nietzsche, =
a "superman" was someone who realized that God was dead, and that =
morality was a useful convention, but that those who dared could go =
beyond that, "beyond morality."

In more Heisenbergian terms, the important thing was not so much to =
be moral, but never to be caught being immoral. Or as Socrates =
would say, isn't the appearance of morality the best cover for being =
immoral?

I think we can all agree that it works better for everyone if the =
majority of people act "morally" most of the time, for a suitable =
definition of morality. The hard question is why is it important =
for -me- to act morally, when I can arguably be better off by acting =
against social convention. In the absence of any sort of divine =
judgement, the only rationale is our tortured conscience. But to =
Nietzsche, the superman is someone who has killed his conscience. =
Hitler was a failure because he was insufficiently competent to =
realize his vision, not because his premise was flawed.

So, would Rohitian theology survive a Nietzchian heresy?

-- Ernie P.