1 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Is-Ought Problem responses
It's really not. It's an attempt at a rationally justified account of what makes something alive.
What we elect to think of as a rational justification is aesthetic. We choose X to be rational, rather than Y, because of the other data inputs we have chosen to constitute rationality. Rationality is about relations; rationality is logic. The things we elect to put in those relations is aesthetic.
because they think it doesn't meet the criteria for being an autopoietic unity. I have no idea why you think it all boils down to aesthetic preference.
It's an aesthetic preference because "they think it doesn't meet the criteria" is a subjective aesthetic assessment. They elect to decide upon criteria. The criteria are not self-justifying, we choose what criteria count.
Comment by autopoetic at 26/07/2016 at 10:40 UTC*
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Congrats, you've found a means of disagreeing with any argument, without having to engage with its structure or content! You can just say 'well, you choose to think that argument is rationally justified, but that's just an aesthetic choice which itself cannot be rationally justified'.
This will save you lots of thinking and reading, but it will also mean nobody will want to talk to you. I guess you have an aesthetic choice to make about that!