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Over-Laws Are Even Higher Than the Supreme Law of the Land
Constitutional Supremacy
It is well-settled that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning that no law can conflict with the Constitution and still be deemed valid. That is the case here in the United States, and many other countries also have a document or body of law that is treated as supreme in that country.
In these instances, laws of lower priority (local laws, for instance) must yield to the supreme law of the sovereign nation. Meanwhile, foreign laws have even lower status, namely, no effect at all; the law in France does not apply to me, unless, of course, I go to France or become a French citizen.
The discussion of supremacy could end there and, typically, it does. But, in fact, there are laws that trump even the supreme law of the land. And there are laws that apply in every country, transcending all national boundaries, regardless of sovereignty.
The Immorality of Bad Logic
Morality as Personality
Ask a friend to describe the essence of moral or ethical behavior, and he or she will probably list a number of personality traits: Unselfishness, courage, commitment to ideals and values, patience, willingness to forgive, and similar qualities. Many religious faiths and philosophical systems teach as much. The Christian Beatitudes, for instance, praise meekness, purity of spirit and peacefulness, while the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism emphasizes honesty and detachment.
Against such a backdrop, you can bet that almost no one, when asked, "What is morality?" would reply, "Good logic skills."
Logical ability simply does not get factored into discussions of morality, neither in religious nor philosophical, nor politically correct circles, at least those to which I am privy. Personality, not processing power, is what we believe to be the heart of morality.
The Silent Guardian of Morality
But the omission of reasoning skills from the landscape of morality is a mistake. In fact, it is not difficult to demonstrate that bad logic and bad acts morally bad acts often go hand in hand.
Looking into the history of a particular instance of slavery or genocide. We often find an entire network of pseudo-scientists, philosophers, writers and speakers who laid the foundation. They did so through clever, manipulative, but logically untenable, theories and "discoveries."
The crimes against humanity committed in Nazi Germany, for instance, were in large part enabled by widespread dissemination of specious arguments about German racial superiority. These specious arguments were then embodied in the Nuremberg Laws and elsewhere.
A person armed with strong logic skills sees through such garbage. But someone without sufficient reasoning skills is easy prey for these pseudoscientists and demagogues.
