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From: rh@mit-eddi.UUCP (Randy Haskins)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Life as a basis for good vs evil
Message-ID: <319@mit-eddi.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 26-Jun-83 15:20:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.319
Posted: Sun Jun 26 15:20:39 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 26-Jun-83 18:53:51 EDT
References: mhuxt.11
Lines: 20

On the presumption of life as a basis for deciding EVIL:

In Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land," Mike (the
human raised on Mars (yes, he was raised, not reared))
tells his friends on earth of 'the fifth planet' that
used to be where the asteroids are.  The Martians
came to know the people of the planet, and grokked them,
and thought they were a thing of beauty.  And after a
very long period of time (Martians take a very, very long
time to make decisions.  That's why earth was safe.),
the Martians destroyed the planet, and that, too, was a
thing of beauty.  Mike said that this would never happen
on Earth, because the humans would learn to grok and 
would be able to prevent it long before the Martians
would get around to deciding to destroy Earth.  Also,
grass 'likes to be stepped on.'  Also, not all societies
are based on our presumption that killing is bad.  So,
evil is maybe in the eye of the beholder.  The Martians
didn't think destroying the fifth planet was evil.
			-Randy