<<Yes, it may be rational to assume that people are like ourselves in
general, but my question was why it necessarily follows that we should
treat others the way we like to be treated, instead of simply taking
advantage of them? You have not shown why maximizing happiness is
rational, nor have you shown why it is moral.>>
Well put, Adrian. That is exactly the point.
It IS logical to assume others don't like to be hurt, just as we don't like to
be hurt. But it is an unsupportable leap to say that THEREFORE it is "bad,"
that we OUGHT NOT hurt other people. How do we know it is a "bad" thing for
someone to be hurt? Because they don't like it? That doesn't tell me that it
is "bad," only that they don't like it.
What if I don't care what they don't like?
Hitler believed that hurt (death) could be inflicted on an entire people for a
higher good. For him, hurt was a GOOD thing. And, as always, the materialist
is powerless to contend for the "wrongness" of his actions.
Jim