atomic fireball
Favorite Answer
No. What about the evil that also exists within your heart?
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No. Empirical facts can be objectively tested repeatedly with the same results occurring consistently after each trial regardless of how many times the tests are conducted.Science and mathematics for example are based on empirical studies.Facts that are empirically knowable involve the mind and not the heart.
"Facts" that involve the heart are relative and subjective. An empirical fact of the mind will always (unless proven otherwise) be a constant, whereas one person's "fact" in regard to the heart may be different for each person who's asked. Even acts of relative benevolence in one culture can be interpreted as hardly
being a heartfelt "fact" when viewed via the mores of another.
wayfaroutthere
Yes, but my reasoning may sound odd. I'm not sure how you could possibly determine any definition for "empirically good" without looking at what exists in your heart. The only way I can think of accomplishing that would practically be claiming a belief about good in a religious fashion, such as "helping society=good" or "most people agree that it is good, therefore it is good" or something along those lines. Without religion or at least a belief, what is "empirically good"? First you need to figure out a definition of "good" and then figure out how to test whether something falls into the good category. I can't see how you even define "good" without looking at your heart--you may look at other factors as well, but your final answer will begin with something that means "I believe" if it is honest. Otherwise it makes the pompous assumption that whatever you believe is good is actually good. (And that's before you get empirical and try to measure anything.)
Anonymous
That sounds self absorbed. If we look into our own heart, we are being subjective.
Of course no one knows ourselves better than us.. but that doesn't make us "impeccable".
"I think, therefore I am". We exist, we exist like we see ourselves. Other people may view us differently, which image is the true one? We have all been raised differently, we may value some things more and some things less, others may not agree with. What is "good" in your eyes, may not be as good as in my eyes.
Anything that has to do with us, has been felt by us, it's subjective. Everything else, is viewed through the eyes of that person, which is subjective as well. Maybe math is the only knowledge we can achieve. The laws of nature, perceived by us, through observation. Through formulas of which we are sure that they don't only apply to just one case.
Esoteric Order of Dagon
No, that sounds bullshit.
For one your ideas of good and evil come from the brain. The heart pumps blood. Good and evil are not about empirical anything. It's subjective terminology for the things we judge... just like we can judge something to be tasty or interesting.