No, I don't know better

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I know how hard it is when you’re confined to 600 words to grapple thoroughly with any issue, but especially where ideas expressed are contrary to dogma by which one may have lived one’s life.

So I won’t trouble Peter Espeut for expressing a different, although unidentified, philosophy to mine in his December 7 column ‘All ideas are not equal’, nor for his clumsy misstatement of the philosophy behind my column ‘That dirty three-letter word’. 

I shall simply restate, in summary, that the philosophy I expressed, as being life’s purpose, was experience and choice, NOT hedonism. Duty would be one such choice.

My sole disagreement with Peter’s struggle to identify differing philosophies would be his closing: “Come now, Gordon, you know better than that.”

I’m sorry, Peter, I don’t. Obviously, neither do you.

GORDON ROBINSON

St Andrew