fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, September 27]

When the students came into the classroom, they found Anakin scrawling a quote on the board:

“In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.”--John Ruskin

He turned around with an eyebrow raised. "Is Master Ruskin correct? How about Master Lao Tzu? He said: 'Pride attaches undue importance to the superiority of one's status in the eyes of others; and shame is fear of humiliation at one's inferior status in the estimation of others. When one sets his heart on being highly esteemed, and achieves such rating, then he is automatically involved in fear of losing his status.'"

He began pacing around the room. "Does pride always go before a fall? Do we have to be humiliated before we can learn? How high do the stakes have to be before we'll admit we've made a mistake, or have been fooled?"

Anakin wasn't making eye contact with Jaina as he gazed around the room. This topic hit a little too close to home for him to be entirely comfortable looking at family.

"In order to deal ethically with other people, we need to acknowledge this very human flaw in ourselves and others. We want to believe that we are different, better than everyone around us." His gaze sharpened. "We're not. Everything is connected. You, me, the desks, the rocks outside, the deer in the preserve, the annoying person in the dorm who plays their music too loudly. Take pride in being yourself, certainly," he concluded. "But don't for a moment believe that who you are makes you more than the person sitting next to you. Because that kind of pride is where you make your first mistake."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"No," Gavin said. "You don't have to be humiliated to learn anything. Sometimes it happens that way but it's not something that has to happen all the time before you learn a lesson. Some people are just more hard headed or stubborn and might have to get the lesson learned in a harder way. But it doesn't have to be that way."

Anakin nodded. "You don't have to become a canyon wall smear to learn to turn faster," he agreed, "but lessons of leadership can become more nebulous. How do you know if you are giving the correct orders?"

"Can you really know if the orders are correct until the end result?" Gavin asked. "The bes and most strategic plans could end up being the worst."

"And if it leads to an ambush?" Anakin asked. "Do you blame incompetent intelligence officers or yourself?"

"I'd take the blame if I gave the order," Gavin said.

Anakin flashed him a smile. "That makes you a vastly different kind of officer than the Empire was used to."

Ethics [Thursday, September 27]

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