Comment by barry-cotter
2 years ago
Cultures that don’t practice infanticide are the exception in the historical and anthropological record. Not killing your children was invented by the Egyptians, taken up by the Jews and spread by the Christians, Muslims, presumably other Abrahamic faiths and cultures derived from them. It has not been obvious to the huge majority of people ever born that there was anything wrong with infanticide. If you think it is obviously wrong you might want to make an argument of some kind.
> Cultures that don’t practice infanticide are the exception in the historical and anthropological record
That's a non-argument. People did all kinds of horrible things in the past (human sacrifice, cruel corporal punishment, slavery) and yet it is now obvious to us that these things are bad. I think it is safe to say that infanticide is one of the things that we don't need to debate in modern times.
You’re saying that it’s obvious infanticide is wrong. I’m pointing out that most humans ever have disagreed. Then you’re saying it’s obvious again and that it doesn’t need to be debated. Your “argument” is that the current moral fashions of your society are true and that this is obvious to all.
At best this is an attempt at persuasion by “Everyone else is doing it and so should you.”
Again, the same thing can be said about slavery.
In fact, if something is perceived as horrible by most people in current society, I think the burden is on you to explain why and when it is justified. (So far your only argument was that people in the old times did it, which is no argument at all.)
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