Ethics [Tuesday, January 19, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

"Today we talk about something called the Golden Rule, a concept which unites many of the separate religions on this planet," Anakin began as he leaned against his desk and stared around the classroom. "It sounds altruistic: 'do unto others as you would have done unto you', but there seem to be a few logical flaws in it. What if you don't mind getting poked in the stomach? Does it follow that you could wander around aimlessly poking people? What if you don't see anything wrong with stealing? Or killing? Or hating entire groups of people on principle? If the practical application is supposed to be you randomly help people because they could be good, wouldn't the opposite be that you could randomly harm people because they might be evil?"

He shrugged. "I suppose the Golden Rule could be broken down to 'be nice to people, and they'll be nice to you' but out here in the real world, we all know it doesn't exactly work like that, and the concept could also be reinterpreted as 'it doesn't bother me, so why does it bother you?' Is this a case of aiming for an ideal and hoping that it will cause a ripple effect of positive things, or something overly simplistic that taken to its logical extreme renders itself useless?"

He smiled. "I like to ask nice, easy questions."

Comments

Sign in [1/19]

[sith_happened]

Like you're still cold.

Re: Sign in [1/19]

[iknowstuff.livejournal.com]

Layla Miller

Re: Sign in [1/19]

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

Bruce Wayne

Listen to the lecture [1/19]

[sith_happened]

Take notes! Hope that Anakin isn't going to expect you to remember all of those questions...

Re: Listen to the lecture [1/19]

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

Claire jotted down a few notes.

Answer one of his many, many questions!

[sith_happened]

"If the practical application is supposed to be you randomly help people because they could be good, wouldn't the opposite be that you could randomly harm people because they might be evil? Can the Golden Rule be reinterpreted as 'it doesn't bother me, so why does it bother you?' Is this a case of aiming for an ideal and hoping that it will cause a ripple effect of positive things, or something overly simplistic that taken to its logical extreme renders itself useless?"

Pick one of his questions, answer it, and start an argument with a classmate! Mmm. Messy threads.

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[iknowstuff.livejournal.com]

"The concept of the Golden Rule is one of simple reciprocity," Layla said resting her chin on her hand. "Essentially all people deserve to have just treatment and a responsibility to ensure justice to others. This means you treat everyone, even the people you can't stand, with equal consideration."

Then she shrugged.

"Of course you might get screwed over. But at least you treated people nicely."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

"And what if they're asses who actually don't deserve it?" Jacob asked. "You drowned someone and said he had it coming."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[sith_happened]

"Is it inevitable that you'll get screwed over?" Anakin asked. "And if it happens, would that make you re-examine your responsibility to ensure justice?"

Like, say, if your father figure turned out to have been playing you from the beginning and now you're accidentally evil...not that Anakin had put thought into this.

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

"It's overly simplistic and misses the point entirely," Bruce said. "If you're going to bother treating people well, you shouldn't do it on the off-chance that they'll respond well. You should do it because it's right. If they become better people because of it, then you've truly done something worthwhile, but that shouldn't be the reason you do it."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[sith_happened]

"Good," Anakin said. "It's my personal thought that that was the idea behind this rule--following it shouldn't be a box to check. 'Look, I have followed these 3600 rules exactly, what a righteous person I must be.' This involves examination and cannot be done by rote."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"I think it's less a suggestion of a way to live and more a description of what generally happens," Andy said. "Karma. Like the way good moods are usually contagious and so are bad moods. And no, it doesn't happen that way every time, but that would make everything too predictable, I think."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[sith_happened]

"So this Rule is an attempt to bring balance to the universe?" Anakin replied. "Interesting."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[not_tylerdurden]

"It's basically a karmic protection racket," Calvin said. "Be nice to people or the universe'll get you. Theoretically."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[therewaslife]

"It sounds like a case of paying it forward to me," said Bod. He'd heard the rule before but never labeled as golden. It just seemed like a good way to live. Silas, he thought, would call it simple respect and Bod agreed with him. "If I'm nice to you, maybe you'll be encouraged to be nice or helpful to someone else. I don't generally think it's a rule but optimistic hopefulness on how people should act. It's not always going to work and I'm fine with that. Not everyone is a good person."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[likes_scoundrels]

"You treat people well because it's the right thing to do," Leia said. "Not because you want to be treated well in return. You can hope for that, but it shouldn't be the reason for your actions. Justice and fairness are the reasons, not just reciprocity."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[bitchy_smurf]

"It is a way of life fit only for sheep," Illyria stated flatly, no so much disgusted by the idea as simply unimpressed. "Those who have no care for their own safety or the likelihood of betrayal by those who don't follow the same path."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[need-no-moon.livejournal.com]

Jacob shrugged. "I don't think it works like that. It goes both ways, why would you treat a murderer well? Because you like to be treated well? At a certain point, someone just loses the right to be treated well."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[wantstocheer.livejournal.com]

"I think the opposite would be if you harm someone you are more likely to be harmed in return," Claire said. "It makes sense to treat people well unless they do something that makes them unworthy of being treated well."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[puppy_fair]

Zack chewed on his lip for a moment before speaking up.

"It seems to me as though the point of the rule is to treat people how you want to be treated, not how you don't mind being treated. But," and this was going to pain Zack-the-eternal-optimist to admit, "sometimes the world just doesn't work that way. If everything was really as simple as being nice to everybody all of the time, then there wouldn't be any need for things like SOLDIER, and war wouldn't exist. Either both sides would play nice in the first place, or else whoever did follow the Golden Rule would find themselves taken advantage of. You can't always just roll over and play nice, just because someone else will appreciate it."

He shrugged.

"I like to be nice to people as much as I can, but there's a line between being friendly and actually hurting yourself for someone else's gain."

Re: Answer one of his many, many questions!

[bitchprince]

Arthur had actually thought on this one quite a while.

Contain your shock.

"There is nothing wrong with keeping to your ideal," he said at last, several irritating conversations with Leto playing up all at once. "If someone attacks you, then you can respond in like kind. But likewise there should still be a role for duty and honour and nobility in the world. You take someone at their word unless proven otherwise."

He took another moment or so.

"And yet it's untrue in another sense. Some of us are stronger and more capable or of higher standing. It's our duty to take care of those lesser than us; to expect them to do the same in turn is lunacy born of arrogance. We all have our own roles to play." And the final cause, "But as an idea of justice and fairness and kindness, it can't be so easily maligned. Unless the person in question enjoys being ill-treated."

Talk to the TA

[sith_happened]

Hello, Griff!

Re: Talk to the TA

[youcantfollow.livejournal.com]

Griff was over at his desk, grumbling something about people who treat you like shit first not deserving to be given any consideration.

Maybe later he'd go start something with strangers, but until he did, they were welcome to overhear his mutterings.

Talk to Anakin [1/19]

[sith_happened]

Hello, Anakin!

OOC

[sith_happened]

La!