Questions about evolution

[Ani Osiris]

hmmm... meaning is not really the same thing as a definition like you'd find in a dictionary (which can only be true for this particular world), which is why I use the term intension (not to be confused with intention). I like to think of it as the meaning created by the "tension" in the relational state. More formally, an intension is the "sense" (or more formally still, the function) which maps the referents (i.e. instantiations) in a particular world. In our world, for example, the term water refers to H20, while in, say, an anti-matter world it might refer to a molecule made up of different anti-elements peculiar to that world, yet still have the same sense, would still be "water" in that it would be in the same relation to its world as H20 is in ours.Quote:Can moral values exist in relation to other moral values independent of consciousness and can they be universally objective for that matter?I believe they can, though I think you need to be very, very careful in how it's understood. Or, if I can restate what you've said... moral values and/or concepts are a product of consciousness; but I feel we can get at more fundamental level (which is why I used the term Good instead of moral) - so it's not the relation between different moral values that is an issue, but rather it is the relational state which generates the potential for moral action. If we have a meaning for the term Good which is true in all possible worlds (universally true in the deepest sense), then we have a moral imperative from which the values can be derived, a principle of Good relation upon which moral action is based. The Good relation part is what is independent of consciousness, though it only gains moral weight with awareness of it.