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Cadzao Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

an equal evil

"When you act upon a hypothesis which you know to be uncertain, your action should be such as will not have very harmful results if your hypothesis is false. In the matter of the picnic, you may risk a wetting if all your party are robust, but not if one of them is so delicate as to run a risk of pneumonia Or suppose you meet a Muggletonian, you will be justified in arguing with him, because not much harm will have beer done if Mr Muggleton was in fact as great a man as his disciples suppose, but you will not be justified in burning him at the stake, because the evil of being burnt alive is more certain than any proposition of theology. Of course if the Muggletonians were so numerous and so fanatical that either you or they must be killed the question would grow more difficult, but the general principle remains, that an uncertain hypothesis cannot justify a certain evil unless an equal evil is equally certain on the opposite hypothesis." (Bertrand Russell, "Philosophy for Laymen") http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/russell03.htm

Could you please rephrase the blue sentence?

Thank you.

Cadzao
  

Top answer

An interesting mixture of science (hypotheses) and morality/philosophy (evils). Damned if you do; damned if you don't. an uncertain hypothesis cannot justify a certain evil certain evil = if we hold our picnic, Joe might get pneumonia uncertain hypothesis = it's not going to rain action: we hold the picnic unless an equal evil is equally certain on the opposite hypothesis.

— Avangi

  • An interesting mixture of science (hypotheses) and morality/philosophy (evils).
  • Damned if you do; damned if you don't.
  • an uncertain hypothesis cannot justify a certain evil certain evil = if we hold our picnic, Joe might get pneumonia uncertain hypothesis = it's not going to rain action: we hold the picnic unless an equal evil is equally certain on the opposite hypothesis.
  • equal evil = if we don't hold our picnic, Joe's wife might divorce him opposite hypothesis = it's going to rain action: we don't hold the picnic Either action is justified because the opposite would risk an equally certain evil.
  • You can't justify acting on a hypothesis you're not sure of, when a bad result is possible if you're wrong; unless failing to act could produce an equally bad result.
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2 Answers
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An interesting mixture of science (hypotheses) and morality/philosophy (evils). Damned if you do; damned if you don't.


an uncertain hypothesis cannot justify a certain evil certain evil = if we hold our picnic, Joe might get pneumonia
uncertain hypothesis = it's not going to rain action: we hold the picnic

unless an equal ev
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Thank you, Avangi, very very much for your detailed explanation.

Cadzao
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