We have seen some sources for values:
feelings - sometimes in conjunction with, sometimes opposed to reason - e.g., feeling good about tricking an unpleasant boss
consequences (e.g., the consequences of JoAnne's telling/not telling she's HIV positive) - a variant of which is
appeal to force (the force of the many, the force of the individual who will beat the crap out of the drug dealer, etc.)
universal duties/obligations/rights (grounded in reason, religion, "nature" - and/or some combination of the three) - e.g., Doug's "right to know"; a duty to keep someone from harm if you can; responsibility to children (both one's own and others)
We would be well served to have some possible issues/cases we might consider in common, e.g.,:
Should the U.S. use military force against Iraq for failing to comply with its agreement to allow U.N. weapons inspectors into all requested sites?
?????
[comments about just war theory vs. early Christian pacifism; the fundamental wordviews - including the metaphysics or ontology of hierarchical vs. egalitarian societies.]
"Are some cultures more moral than others?
Ibn Khaldun (Muslim): argues that nomadic cultures are morally superior to sedentary ones)
John Fire Lame Deer: presents the Native American case that "all things are alive" - and thus the European/American view of "matter" as "dead stuff" to be exploited as we choose is immoral.
[these two views - from cultures widely separated in time and space - rest on the metaphysics/ontology of a more egalitarian relationship between humanity and nature - a view involving a logic of complementarity, rather than the hierarchical/dualistic view of agricultural societies.]
Harriet Tubman: a U.S. slave who escaped to Canada - U.S. slave laws are immoral
General claim: "Because those at the center of the moral community benefit most from promoting cultural relativism, social reformers are more likely to come from the ranks of those who are oppressed by the prevailing cultural mores." (130)
Writing: 132f., #'s 1, 4, 6, 8
"The Holocaust and Disillusionment with Cultural Relativism
Why does the Holocaust undermine acceptance of Cultural Relativism?
U.N. tribunal: one is obliged to disobey unjust laws (136)
Eichman as "everyman"
Writing: 138f., #'s 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
Critiques of Cultural Relativism
illogical (commits the naturalistic fallacy; fallacy of affirming the consequent; contradiction - there are no universal standards so we must tolerate all moral standards - so tolerance becomes a moral universal...)
does not work in a pluralist society: i.e., "whose culture?"
confuses custom with morality
people act more morally when others are not around:
Social groups, rather than encouraging us to behave morally, actually seem to inhibit helpful behavior. Our primary motivation for helping others, the researchers concluded, seems not to be social pressure or culturalnorms, but a sense of personal responsibility that tends to be diffused, rather than reinforced, when one is part of a crowd. (141)
does not correctly describe how we make moral judgments - example of young children who, at the age of three, can distinguish between cultural practices and "moral" judgments.
there are widely shared moral practices (in part, earlier reports were simply wrong)
C.R. is divisive and creates a we/they mentality
Writing: 144, #'s 2, 3
Assignment for Tuesday, Feb. 17: Boss, ch. 5, pp. 147-163
Writing: 149, #'s 1,4
153, # 1
158, #'s 1,2, 3
163, # 1, 3, 4
modification: on # 2: find a case from the ones listed which seems to you to count as an example of civil disobedience. Justify your analysis - i.e., explain carefully why this case fits the criteria provided for civil disobedience.