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Is there such a thing as a fair advantage?

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  • Is there such a thing as a fair advantage?

    Why or why not?

    (This question prompted by the discussion here over bed-time reading being an "unfair advantage.")

    Discuss.
    Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

    Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
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    I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

  • #2
    Fairness is a human quality. There are no fair advantages. There are only fair competitors. But that only begs the question: Is life a game? And who would we rather have win?

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    • #3
      Whenever somebody says "fair", I immediately ask "fair to whom?"
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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      • #4
        Is "unfair advantage" then a tautology?
        Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

        Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
        sigpic
        I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

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        • #5
          Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
          Is "unfair advantage" then a tautology?
          In the way that both words seem to be generally used in this context, it would seem to be.
          I DENOUNCE DONALD J. TRUMP AND ALL HIS IMMORAL ACTS.

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          • #6
            It is a fair advantage if I have it. It is an unfair advantage if I don't.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
              Why or why not?

              (This question prompted by the discussion here over bed-time reading being an "unfair advantage.")

              Discuss.
              Yes; one can imagine a scenario where two people equal at a starting point are unequal at a finish point, due entirely to one person's extra effort, all else being equal.

              Of course, it's much more useful to ask whether advantages can be "more or less" fair or, even better, to analyze systemic or structural unfairness to determine whether a given unfair advantage is justified by another compelling purpose, necessary for some important aspect of society, etc. That's the thrust of the source article of the other thread, trying to create a framework that allows those more pragmatic analyses of fairness.
              "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

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              • #8
                Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                Why or why not?

                (This question prompted by the discussion here over bed-time reading being an "unfair advantage.")

                Discuss.
                An advantage that is not obtained or used unfairly would be properly referred to as a 'fair advantage'.
                "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

                "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

                My Personal Blog

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                • #9
                  How about 2 athletes in a competition. One trains and one does not. We would say the guy who trained had a fair advantage.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by pancreasman View Post
                    How about 2 athletes in a competition. One trains and one does not. We would say the guy who trained had a fair advantage.
                    Unless the rules forbade training.


                    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

                    "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

                    My Personal Blog

                    My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)

                    Quill Sword

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Teallaura View Post
                      Unless the rules forbade training.


                      Yes, your post was right. As long as what you do is within the rules, it is a fair advantage.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Sam View Post
                        Yes; one can imagine a scenario where two people equal at a starting point are unequal at a finish point, due entirely to one person's extra effort, all else being equal.
                        Why is an advantage gained entirely due to one person's extra effort fair? After all people don't choose their personalities either.

                        Of course, it's much more useful to ask whether advantages can be "more or less" fair or, even better, to analyze systemic or structural unfairness to determine whether a given unfair advantage is justified by another compelling purpose, necessary for some important aspect of society, etc. That's the thrust of the source article of the other thread, trying to create a framework that allows those more pragmatic analyses of fairness.
                        Why does an unfair advantage need to be justified in the first place?
                        "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12

                        There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

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                        • #13
                          Affirmative action. (At least according to the left.)
                          Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                          But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                          Than a fool in the eyes of God


                          From "Fools Gold" by Petra

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by pancreasman View Post
                            How about 2 athletes in a competition. One trains and one does not. We would say the guy who trained had a fair advantage.
                            High-class athletic competitions generally involve statistical deviants, those that gain an exceptional advantage due to their genetics.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                              Why or why not?

                              (This question prompted by the discussion here over bed-time reading being an "unfair advantage.")

                              Discuss.
                              There is no such thing as a fair advantage, an advantage means that the advantaged start on an unequal footing. In that respect, life is not fair in that we are not all born equal. But two people could be born with equal abilities and yet the one may have an unfair advantage than the other due to the circumstances they are born into. If you just happen to be born to parents who are educated and wealthy, then you would have an unfair advantage over another who is born to parents who are uneducated and poor.

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