Getting Better All The Time

I apologize for not writing in so long. I wanted to get things set up at school first, and I really wanted to make a point to be social for the first week or so. No computers or TV or the like. Things are going well here, but alot has happened in the first week. My last two entires have been terrible, so I'm gonna try and generate a little intelligent conversation now.

I'm really enjoying my Ethics class now. Things are seriously looking like a philosophy major at this point. Then, because you can't do anything with a philosophy major, on the more school. Law school? Who knows...

I just finished reading a chapter on Cultural Relativism. It's really interesting. Basically, Moral Relativism says that morals change from culture to culture, that there really is no unifying 'moral code'. It's easy to blow off, but there's alot to be taken in consideration. It gave examples or different cultures, and how some will perform such things such as infantcide in ancient Eskimo culture. It's a horrifying concept to most western civilization, but there are lots of things to consider. The infantcide isn't being done by Eskimo's because they hate babies, it's done because when you yourself can barely get by, there's no way you could possibly provide for ten children. It's a matter of survival, not lack of morals. Just because the Eskimos were not able to keep their children around, does not mean that they loved them any less than any other person.

It's interesting to think of though. If a person in a diffferent culture does something that is normally accepted otherwise, but not accepted in other places, is it still wrong?

Cultural Relativism is a very complex issue, you can't really be all for it or all against it. It's hard to compare cultures. Sometimes it's difficult to know when something should be an accepted part of culture, and when things have become immoral. Perhaps there is merit in Eskimos disposing of individuals where there is no way to care for them, resulting in only a long drawn out death that damages the community as well. But one must be careful where the line is drawn. Sometimes things can be a slipery slope, that same argument can be used to promote very immoral things such as genecide.

This is not to say that there is no right or wrong, because I believe there is. There are many ideas of right and wrong that are shared by most all cultures. Most are simply just general rules that allow society to continue. If you kill everyone, you're not going to be able to continue your society.

Ethics is such a great class, it really makes you think and question yourself. There is right and wrong, but you simply can't make general statements. You cannot simply say things like "Abortion is right/wrong" There are always acceptions to the rule. The idea is to look at the individual issues, and find what best serves that individual case.

Hm, let's hope I get some interesting comments on this one!

Until Later,

Sondra