Mar 272003
Eugene Volokh dissects the various meanings of “natural” with his usual insight and precision. (Scroll up for more.) From a philosophical perspective, attempts to justify normative claims on the basis of “nature” seem to run headlong into Hume’s is-ought gap. We cannot determine what we ought to do simply on the basis of our capacities and functions, for all the reasons Eugene indicates.
I would say more but work beckons… — and not because philosophizing and programming are natural!
