Mar 29, 2020, 11:44 AM
—“…JFG claimed that morality is subjective entirely…”—
Well, I corrected him. Personal moral bias is subjective. We compete with others in a market of moral biases. We converge to reciprocity within our local geographic, demographic, familial, social, economic, and political organizations, and we absolutely converge on reciprocity in international affairs where there is no means of enforcement other than boycott, trade war, or war.
Personal Moral Bias > Local Market Moral Bias > World Market Moral bias.
We rarely if ever find people who do not engage in reciprocity within the limits of proportionality who are not outcast or imprisoned or worse.
So it’s false that we do not practice reciprocity. We just limit the scope of reciprocity that we take to market to avoid others, cooperate with others, or prey upon others.
But the differences in our scopes of reciprocity narrow as we approach the global Because the utility of of our choice declines with scale.
Sociopaths often practice reciprocity just fine. Because it’s useful. Empathics practice reciprocity just fine, because they intuit it. the difference is that the first is by experience and reason, the second is by biological intuition.
A cooperative species – meaning one that can select whether to cooperate or not – cannot survive without moral intuition.