Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Institutional VIRTU3

Most institutions grow out of a set rules for two of the three domains of VITRU3. Communities depend on a set of moral and ethical standards to avoid conflicts and resolve disputes peacefully. Markets function through a set of ethical and consequential conventions that foster mutually beneficial exchanges. Governments grow out of the attempt to codify a set of moral standards that will lead to long-term positive outcomes. Each of these institutions is subject to one of the three types of blindness.

The table below shows how differences in the priorities of institutions contribute to conflicts within and between societies. True VIRTU3 comes from each of these institutions compensating for the weaknesses in the others.

COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT MARKETPLACE
DOMAIN Moral & Ethical Moral & Consequential Ethical & Consequential
PLUS/MINUS Right & Good/
Wrong & Bad
Positive & Good/
Negative & Bad
Right & Positive/
Wrong & Negative
CATEGORY Theory & Beliefs History & Beliefs Theory & History
TIME The Present & Future The Past & Future The Past & Present
SPACE Local National Global
HIGHEST
VALUE
Idealized Truth Idealized Authority Revealed Truth
MEASURE OF SUCCESS Population Growth National Autonomy International Influence
BASIS Self-Knowledge &
Human Nature
Self-Knowledge &
Observed Results
Human Nature &
Observed Results
STYLES OF
REASONING
Intuitive &
Deductive
Intuitive &
Inductive
Deductive &
Inductive
FAILURE
MODES
Self-Delusion/
Logical Fallacies
Self-Delusion/
Black Swans
Logical Fallacies/
Black Swans
SOURCE OF ERROR Consequential Blindness Ethical Blindness Moral Blindness
MORAL PHILOSOPHY Religion Interventionism Laissez-Faire
SCIENTIFIC PRIORITY Social Correctness Social Engineering Engineering
JUDICIAL EMPHASIS Mens Rea &
Fault-Based Liability
Mens Rea &
No-Fault Liability
Fault-Based Liability &
No-Fault Liability
RELIGIOUS FOCUS Divine Grace & Justice Divine Grace & Favor Divine Justice & Favor
ECONOMIC TOOLS Economic Philosophy &
Economic Praxeology
Economic Philosophy &
Econometric Analysis
Economic Praxeology &
Econometric Analysis
POLITICAL NARRATIVES Aspirational
Rationalism
Aspirational
Pragmatism
Rational
Pragmatism
AMERICAN POLITICS Progressive
Movement
Bipartisan
Establishment
Conservative
Movement
POLITICAL ECONOMICS Cooperative Socialism Regulatory Corporatism Market Capitalism
POLITICAL HIERARCHY Cooperative
Meritocracy
Authoritarian
Collectivism
Market
Aristocracy
POLITICAL POWER-GROUP Revolutionary
Patriot-Insurgents
The Government
(Civil & Military)
Reactionary
Patriot-Insurgents
POLITICAL FAILURE MODE Revolutionary
Fragmentation
Military
Totalitarianism
Reactionary
Fragmentation

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Personal VIRTU3

The three domains of VITRU3 show up in many other areas of human action. The table below shows how some important conflicts and differences of opinion map back to fundamental disagreements about the nature of virtue. The columns represent the three absolutist stances on each of the different topics. More complex, nuanced views would apply to the three blindnesses. A full understanding of VIRTU3 comes from synthesizing these views without compromising any of them.

INTENTIONS ACTIONS RESULTS
DOMAIN Moral Ethical Consequential
PLUS/MINUS Good/Bad Right/Wrong Positive/Negative
CATEGORY Belief Theory History
TIME The Future The Present The Past
SPACE Hearts and Minds The World of Forms The Real World
HIGHEST
VALUE
Ideals Truth Experience
MEASURE OF SUCCESS Popularity Wisdom Prosperity
BASIS Self-Knowledge Human Nature Observed Results
STYLE OF
REASONING
Intuitive Deductive Inductive
FAILURE
MODE
Self-Delusion Logical Fallacies Black Swans
SOURCE OF
ERROR
Belief ≠ Reality Theory ≠ Reality Data ≠ Reality
MORAL
PHILOSOPHY
Intentionalism Natural Law Utilitarianism
SCIENTIFIC
PRIORITY
Social
Advancement
Procedural
Correctness
Practical
Utility
JUDICIAL
EMPHASIS
Mens Rea Fault-Based
Liability
No-Fault
Liability
RELIGIOUS
FOCUS
Divine
Grace
Divine
Justice
Divine
Favor
ECONOMIC
TOOLS
Economic
Philosophy
Economic
Praxeology
Econometric
Analysis
POLITICAL
NARRATIVES
Aspirational Rational Pragmatic
AMERICAN
POLITICS
Democratic
Party
Liberty
Movement
Republican
Party
POLITICAL
ECONOMICS
Socialism Voluntaryism Capitalism
POLITICAL
HIERARCHY
Progressive
Meritocracy
Associative
Individualism
Traditional
Aristocracy
POLITICAL
POWER-GROUP
Scientific-Technical
Elite
Guerilla
Patriot-Terrorists
Military-Industrial
Complex
POLITICAL
FAILURE MODE
Totalitarian
Communism
Feudal
Anarchy
Totalitarian
Fascism

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The 10 Commandments of VIRTU3

  1. Live virtuously at all times.
  2. Act only with good intentions towards yourself and others.
  3. Act only in accordance with the rights of yourself and others.
  4. Act only in ways that will yield positive results for yourself and others.
  5. Do not act with bad intentions towards yourself or others.
  6. Do not wrong yourself or others by your actions.
  7. Do not act in ways that will yield negative results for yourself or others.
  8. Do not use good intentions to justify wrong actions or negative results.
  9. Do not use right actions to justify bad intentions or negative results.
  10. Do not use positive results to justify bad intentions or wrong actions.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The 3 Types of Blindness

Some people believe that one of the three domains of virtue is completely irrelevant. Because of this belief, they voluntarily blind themselves to the full view of VIRTU3-space.

Moral Blindness

Those who believe that morality is irrelevant are susceptible to moral blindness. For the morally blind, ethics and consequences are the only standards of virtue. An action can be judged as wholly good without any consideration of the moral intentions that led to the behavior. Immoral behavior is justified and wholly excused by correct ethics and positive outcomes. Moral blindness is associated with sayings like "fake it 'til you make it" and totally rejects personal morality as having any weight, even as a secondary or side constraint.

This figure shows how the morally blind orient VIRTU3-space. The yellow and white corners are considered equally virtuous. The blue and black corners are considered equally vicious. The other four corners are mixed, since they are either ethical or constructive, but not both.


Ethical Blindness

Those who believe that ethics are irrelevant are susceptible to ethical blindness. For the ethically blind, morals and consequences are the only standards of virtue. An action can be judged as wholly good without any consideration of the ethical nature of the behavior. Unethical behavior is justified and wholly excused by correct morals and positive outcomes. Ethical blindness is associated with sayings like "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs" and totally rejects ethical rights as having any weight, even as a secondary or side constraint.

This figure shows how the ethically blind orient VIRTU3-space. The purple and white corners are considered equally virtuous. The green and black corners are considered equally vicious. The other four corners are mixed, since they are either moral or constructive, but not both.


Consequential Blindness

Those who believe that results are irrelevant are susceptible to consequential blindness. For the consequentially blind, morals and ethics are the only standards of virtue. An action can be judged as wholly good without any consideration of the real or predictable outcomes of a given behavior. Destructive behavior is justified and wholly excused by personal morality and correct ethics. Consequential blindness is associated with sayings like "do what's right, come what may" and totally rejects real-world results as having any weight, even as a secondary or side constraint.

This figure shows how the consequentially blind orient VIRTU3-space. The aqua and white corners are considered equally virtuous. The red and black corners are considered equally vicious. The other four corners are mixed, since they are either moral or ethical, but not both.