metonymy4u

For centuries, western authors have debated the so called “fact-value” distinction. This is the idea that values are fundamentally different from facts, and that no value can ever be logically deduced from any observed fact. This would seem to imply that humans, as the value speaking species, are fundamentally different from all other species. It would also seem to imply that there are two worlds out there: the fact based world and the value based world (sometimes called the kingdom of god), and that a human life properly understood is the occasion for the (very difficult?) ascent from the former to the latter. Authors like Darwin of course threw a metaphysical monkey wrench into the whole affair by proposing a model in which values are the evolutionary consequence of a whole bunch of valueless facts. This is no doubt why there is so much animosity towards teaching his theories in Trump-Pence voting communities. Where do you stand?

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