I don't think the replies are advocating for baby torturing but pointing out logical flaws in the argument.

It's true almost all people would argue it's bad but things like lions might like it which makes in not a universal law but a common human opinion. I think real moral systems do come down to human opinions basically, sometimes common sense ones, sometimes weird.

A problem with making out morality is absolute rather than common sense opinions is you get visionaries trying to see these absolute morals and you end up with stuff like Deuteronomy 25:11-12 "if a woman intervenes in a fight between two men by grabbing the assailant's genitals to rescue her husband, her hand is to be cut off without pity" and the like.

I think I've said several times over the years here this is the phenomenon that happens on HN - basically being a contrarian just to be a contrarian. HN users are extremely intelligent, and many of them seem to have a lot of time on their hands. Prime example is this thread and many like them, which end up going into a different universe entirely. I totally get it though - in my younger days when I had more time for myself, I was capable of extreme forms of abstract thought, and used it like a superpower. Now though with a lot of software to write and a family, I try to limit to 15 min per day.

I went on a tangent... Ultimately I'm not saying abstract thought and/or being contrarian is a bad thing, because it's actually very useful. But I would agree, it can be a vice when taken too far. Like many things in life, it should be used in moderation.