Tonight we had the Ideas Cafe at the new location in the Waves Coffee House at Columbia and Bagbie in New Westminster.
It was a heated discussion, a lot of which evolves around how notions of right and wrong are different in different cultures with different value systems and how some of these conflicting systems can live together.
First of all, though, we need to clarify that there are many types of right and wrong. We are not dealing with factual and logical outcomes of observations or mathematics but more with our evaluative judgment of human behavior. More in the moral territory than legal, religious, or traditional areas.
1. Some suggested that we will know if certain actions are right or wrong base on the reaction and emotions of the people out there affected by these actions. Our sense of right and wrong is ultimately based on how our actions affect other people. This ties in with the previous post on morality being the behavior code with other people.
2. While most would agree that our sense of right and wrong were first introduced to us by our parents in our upbringing, we continually re-evaluate this and shift our sense as we are exposed to other ideas and arguments.
3. Our sense of right and wrong guides us in locating the dividing line between these two opposing segments. While we all place this dividing line differently due to our background and life experience, it is important to note that we agree on most things like not killing and stealing etc. We tend to concentrate on the disagreements but we do agree on the majority.
4. It takes a long time for us to shift our moral compass or sense of right and wrong. So it is not realistic to look for an answer that will instantly reduce the conflict from social groups of different backgrounds having disagreements on what is right versus wrong. A continual dialog and patience is required.
5. Our desires motivates us to action and these actions often affect others. We negotiate with others to best satisfy our desires while they satisfy theirs. The sum of these negotiations is a consensus on how we can live harmoniously with others while satisfying our respective desires and form the basis of what is right and wrong.
6. Logic and recognizing other points of view is eventually what leads to better harmony in living with others. Education and reflection on history shed light on this. Even previously privileged social classes can now look back and see that it is better with more equality even at the loss of the privileged status.
7. There are times when we can feel something is wrong but cannot "put our finger on it". This may be an emotional reaction such as seeing cruelty to other humans or animals, seeing others being treated unequally, or perhaps from the inertia of our upbringing.
It was actually quite a lively discussion obviously not reflected in this write-up. What can I say, come and join us some Wednesday!
Oliver.
Just happens to comment in the first place :> Well yet we all did have our upbringing. If it did fails to the society, how should we react? Panic？Yet how we could 'exchanging lives'. Should we actually exchange our life in the first place? Being logical and live like a machine,saying yet we should have this code..... well your choice..:> I choose to cry.... yet it looks more like insane, i just want to live.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea here is to recognize that our sense of right and wrong is rooted in our upbringing. Once that is recognized, we should be able to use logic and our social knowledge to alter and fine tune what was instilled in us.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, there was a time when nobility through birth was worthy of respect and parents teach their children to respect their monarch and noblemen. We don't do that now because we realize now that the lottery of birth should not give someone more privilege than others.
I would say that life is about the choices that we make and it is up to us to make choices base on our knowledge and logic. The fact that our upbringing (our parents) told us what is right and wrong does not make it so. They only heard it from their parents, modified by their own life experience. We get to continue the process and modify it some more.
What I am getting from the discussion is that right and wrong is not as black and white as some in society would like to see it. There is a lot of "it depends" that goes along with it and there is not an ultimate source that we can go to to get judgment on whether something is right or wrong.
Life is messy but that is also what makes it interesting!
Oliver.