Veritas Posted August 7, 2011 Report Share Posted August 7, 2011 Let's say that I have been a bank robber for several years and have never been caught. Someone loaned me a book on "The Virtue of Selfishness" and I noticed that what I was doing has been immoral this whole time. What should I do? Do I turn myself in? Do I forgive myself for that action and start living a productive life? Should I try to give tha money back? What should I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaka Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 (edited) You should judge yourself just as harshly as you judge any other person (and act to rectify your failings), but you should not act as the Judge of yourself. Leave that to a Judge appointed by society. Yes, I know, that's a more clever than intelligent way to make a point, so let me explain: In Objectivism, egoism is the premise, justice a conclusion, not the other way around, but ultimately they are linked in more than one way. If you act to destroy yourself, then that's not a form of justice. If you refuse to restore justice, that's not egoism. It's not a simple thing to do, but egoism and justice can and should be defined and applied in a non-contradictory way. I don't think there's any point in trying to speculate too much about what that means for your hypothetical scenario, except to say that "you" (the criminal) should look for a way to restore justice without giving away your freedom for too long. Serving some prison time in exchange for peace of mind for the rest of your life is fine, choosing to go to jail for the rest of your life is not. You definitely shouldn't keep any of the money, there's no justification for that. Edited August 8, 2011 by Tanaka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirius1 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Let's say that I have been a bank robber for several years and have never been caught. Someone loaned me a book on "The Virtue of Selfishness" and I noticed that what I was doing has been immoral this whole time. What should I do? Do I turn myself in? Do I forgive myself for that action and start living a productive life? Should I try to give tha money back? What should I do? Perhaps you could return the money in exchange for immunity and a job as a bank security expert. Then you would have the self-esteem that comes from honest and productive work, and they would be guarded against future theft. They would be stupid to say no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottd Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Perhaps you could return the money in exchange for immunity and a job as a bank security expert. Then you would have the self-esteem that comes from honest and productive work, and they would be guarded against future theft. They would be stupid to say no. They would be stupid not to go along with blackmail???????? A criminal is not entitled to "exchange" that which he has STOLEN FROM OTHERS. They would be stupid to say yes. Rewarding a thief is not an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritas Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 You should judge yourself just as harshly as you judge any other person (and act to rectify your failings), but you should not act as the Judge of yourself. Leave that to a Judge appointed by society. Yes, I know, that's a more clever than intelligent way to make a point, so let me explain: In Objectivism, egoism is the premise, justice a conclusion, not the other way around, but ultimately they are linked in more than one way. If you act to destroy yourself, then that's not a form of justice. If you refuse to restore justice, that's not egoism. It's not a simple thing to do, but egoism and justice can and should be defined and applied in a non-contradictory way. I don't think there's any point in trying to speculate too much about what that means for your hypothetical scenario, except to say that "you" (the criminal) should look for a way to restore justice without giving away your freedom for too long. Serving some prison time in exchange for peace of mind for the rest of your life is fine, choosing to go to jail for the rest of your life is not. You definitely shouldn't keep any of the money, there's no justification for I don't understand the justice restored part. I wouldn't be able to undo the past. What part of reality is restored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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