Ethics [Tuesday, January 26, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

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."

Comments

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"Is there a lesson you find yourself relearning a lot?" Anakin asked.

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"What my limits are," she said. "Where I currently sit in terms of skill. I tend to over-estimate my ability, and then have to relearn where I am."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"A tough lesson to learn," Anakin agreed. "No one ever aims for middle management."

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"And no one likes learning that their skills aren't ever going to be equal across the board--everyone has their own areas, and trying to learn other things is good, but you've still got to... know where your talents are and use that."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "I will never become a galaxy-renowned chef, for instance."

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"But you can probably cook well enough to not starve, right?" she asked. "I don't like learning things like that."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"Learning skills you will merely be adequate at?" Anakin replied.

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"No, learning that I'll only be adequate at them. The skills themselves I don't mind."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

Anakin smiled. "The universe provides balance. We can't be good at everything."

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"Doesn't mean a girl can't try," she said stubbornly.

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"Then you're going to be doomed to a lot of disappointment," Anakin warned.

Re: Answer the questions

[intraspective]

"No kidding," she said dryly. "But life would be really boring if I just stuck with what I was really good at."