The statement "either it rains tommorrow or it does not rain tommorrow" can
also mean that it will not be snowing tommorrow.
All philosophy, therefore ethics, involves analysis, or in other words
explaining. Mathematics, on the other hand, is all about synthesis. So if in
ethics we're to believe that there is an opportunity cost, or a value lost,
then the realization that there was an 'opportunity' cost or loss of 'value'
would be known in advance.
Therefore an ethical based decision has to 'weigh' the economic costs of
lost opportunities implicitly. An ethical based decision relies on a wide
array of values and considerations, only when there is 'analysis'.
Economics, and therefore opportunity cost assessments, rely on 'synthesis'
or a 'perceptible operation' involving symbolic meaning.
chao
john
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Bissell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: Lomborg
> (snip)
>
> Steve further explains: The notion of opportunity cost is that by
> making a decision you have "lost" out on the other opportunities that
> were open to you at the time of making a decision. It is not connected
> to political mud slinging.
>
> Bissell here: In other words *every time* you make an economic decision
> there is an opportunity cost? That's why I said it was tautological.
>
>
> > you
> > chose to spend the money on, the opportunity to spent it on something
> > else is lost. It is a tautology, but it sounds reasonable.
>
> Steve continues: No, I'd say it is more along the lines of stating the
> obvious, or giving a name to something obvious that doesn't have a name.
>
> A tautology would be:
>
> Either it will rain tomorrow or it will not rain tomorrow.
>
> Bissell here; No a tautology would be "It will rain this morning unless
> it rains." A tautology is a statement (incidentally tautologies can be
> musical or graphic) which adds nothing to the meaning or understanding
> of the issue.
>
> Sb
>
> Even errors must be respected
> when they are more than
> two thousand years old.
> Sangharakshita
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