Q&A: Question from Lesson 7 of Critical Thinking
Question from Lesson 7 of Critical Thinking
Question
Hello Rabbi,
In the lesson I asked you about Gush Katif, and I was glad that you said every interesting discussion rests on a scale of values.
My question is this: how is that scale of values built? If it is only on the basis of arguments that convinced me, that means I have always been trapped within the four cubits of my assumptions (which God knows when they were formed; we talked about tracing things backward…)! And on that same topic—when studying Torah, are there times when I should read a text not critically?
P.S.
In yeshiva we are learning Rabbi Kook's article "Knowledge of God." Does the Rabbi agree that we can show the guys the five minutes in which you spoke about pantheism?
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Answer
Arguments are always based on assumptions, and ethical arguments are based on ethical axioms (= values).
In my book Stable and Unstable Truth, and also in the third book of the trilogy, I explained that values are shaped in light of our moral intuitions, where intuition, in my view, is a cognitive tool and not only a mental one. We “contemplate” the idea of morality and from it understand which values are binding.
I think every reading should be critical.
Yes. These things are also written in the second book of the trilogy.
Discussion on Answer
There are no algorithms for prioritizing values. In fact, logically there cannot be such things (because values have no common measure—the incommensurability of values). The scale of values is built by observing the idea of the good. Just as one observes values and understands what a value is, so too one observes and understands which stands above which. And if not, then we are in doubt. All this was explained in the third book and in various lessons.
Rabbi, I would be glad for some clarification. How do you build the scale, if at all? Let us return to the example of the disengagement—the Land of Israel versus human life (assuming the facts are correct and agreed upon)—how do you prioritize?