Unthinkable Thoughts

I wanted to move this up from the comments section, and see what everybody thought-

CM said...
Speaking of Fahrenheit 451, have you guys seen this article before? It's an oldie but goodie. It was mentioned on Benatar's UCT page, but there was no link, so I'd never read it until a couple days ago.

The author (a U of Helsinki Philosophy prof - I can't imagine how Matti Hayry must feel when in company with that specimen) basically says that some ideas are so unthinkable (and so outside of the human moral framework) that they should not be tolerated, no matter how logical the arguments may be, and he uses Benatar as an example. It's not like he's advocating burning his book, per se. He doesn't even suggest it shouldn't have been allowed to go to print. All he asks is merely that no one read it or think about it. That is all. Also, "there are indeed culturally loaded ethical limits to what we may truly think and still remain human beings".

What's interesting to me is that this comes from a Philosophy professor. "Please, students, neither read nor think about this subject. Das ist verboten!" Not that we're unfamiliar with this sentiment, but to see it emerge from this particular corner, and proclaimed so unashamedly, well...I guess I can still be surprised.

UPDATE: I was just mentioning to Chip in the comments section that it might be nice if he'd write something substantial addressing the essay offered by CM. Considering the subjects he often grapples with, I'd imagine he's faced this sort of challenge on more than one occasion. I was also thinking that others might like to give it a shot, plus it would allow me to shine a light on some the brainpower that drops by here on a frequent basis. If you're interested, mail your piece to quidproquo55@rocketmail.com, and I'll put it up. Make sure you label it 'unthinkable', as this is my public email addy, I receive 5 to 10 Nigerian email scams per day, and so am quick with the trigger finger.

Please don't feel rushed. Whenever they come in is fine with me. I'll go ahead and tag them so anyone interested can pull them up all together. I just thought this subject warranted a real group-think, and I'm hoping everyone will participate.