Of course this single post does not "get to the deepest consequences," but you really have to look at it as a small piece of the much larger ongoing conversation at Less Wrong. For example, your last question is better answered by the discussions in this sequence:
http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Metaethics_sequence
And I hope your stereotypes of rationalism as "cold" might be partly dispelled by one of Less Wrong's favorite topics, Fun Theory. :)
http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Fun_theory