Might is right is wrong

[Compassionist]

I think that might is right is wrong. History shows that if one has enough power, one can get away with anything. What do you think?

[Munchskreem]

I think that might is right is wrong. History shows that if one has enough power, one can get away with anything. What do you think?

I don't think it's right or wrong. It's more a property of the world we live in, a way that things tend to logically follow from each other. What produces the most influence typically shapes the world and how it is structured.

If it is evaluated with moral realism, though, it would follow that it is wrong, as moral valuations are formed independent of context. I don't see those valuations as existing at all, though, so that means that context is irrelevant, and any action can only be described through properties which are not valuations (i.e. shape, size, color, etc.).

[Compassionist]

I think that might is right is wrong. History shows that if one has enough power, one can get away with anything. What do you think?

I don't think it's right or wrong. It's more a property of the world we live in, a way that things tend to logically follow from each other. What produces the most influence typically shapes the world and how it is structured.

If it is evaluated with moral realism, though, it would follow that it is wrong, as moral valuations are formed independent of context. I don't see those valuations as existing at all, though, so that means that context is irrelevant, and any action can only be described through properties which are not valuations (i.e. shape, size, color, etc.).

I see your point. Morality is in the mind. What is moral for one is immoral for another. Ultimately, those with power get away with things and those without power get trampled. There is nothing fair about who lives how and who dies how. In life, only death is guaranteed.

[Artheos]

Might continues to drive things.

It's just manifested differently. Instead of swords and horses (my first recollection of Might is Right discussion is The Once and Future King by T.H. White), might is now manifested by economics, politics and cultural influence.

[Defender of Truth]

Might is Right is clearly wrong.

The statement "Might is Right" automatically assumes two things.

(1) There's a such thing as Might

(2) There's a such thing as Right

Let's use illogical proofs to show that Might is Right is illogical.


Let's suppose Might is Right is a correct statement. Someone is ruler of an island and says that murder is right. The ruler of another island says that murder is wrong. According to the statement "Might is Right" murder could be both wrong and not wrong. The law of non-contradiction states that "a and non-a cannot both exist at the same time and in the same sense". The statement "might is right" breaks the law of non-contradiction.

The original statement runs into the problem of "self-reference". "Self-reference" is when a statement refutes itself. Sort of if I say "I can't speak a word of English". I refute the statement with the statement (by speaking seven words in English). Might can't be right, because according to the statement, right doesn't exist.