sith_happened: (Anakin: from behind)
Anakin Skywalker ([personal profile] sith_happened) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2008-01-23 11:05 pm
Entry tags:

Ethics [Thursday, January 24]

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?"

"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."

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Re: Listen to the lecture [1/24]

[identity profile] wannabe-pan.livejournal.com 2008-01-24 02:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Andrew was barely paying attention. He was lazily drawing stick figures in his notebook -- stick figures with cool swirling cloaks, stick figures flying around on broom sticks, stick figures crawling under rocks...

Re: Listen to the lecture [1/24]

[identity profile] wannabe-pan.livejournal.com 2008-01-24 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Without missing a beat, Andrew wrote Everything is connected: at the top of his page and began drawing arrows between the various stick figures. He then labeled the entire page Ethics, Diagram 2.1.