fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, September 16, 2nd period]

"'Do unto others as you would have done unto you,'" Anakin quoted as the students found their seats. "On this planet, that phrase is known as the Golden Rule. It sounds quite altruistic, which might be why they are more than a few more cynical versions of it around: 'do unto others before they can do unto you,' and the like. The rule also seems to be assuming that everyone wants the same things done to them. But what if you don't mind getting poked in the stomach? Does it follow that you could aimlessly poke people? What if you don't see anything wrong with stealing, or killing, or hating entire groups of people?"

He shrugged. "I suppose the Golden Rule could be simplified as 'be nice to people, so 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."

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With your most forgiving icon!

Take notes! Wonder how you are going to answer all of those questions.

"What if you don't mind getting poked in the stomach? According to the Golden Rule, would it follow that you could aimlessly poke people? What if you don't see anything wrong with stealing, or killing, or hating entire groups of people?"

Or:

"Is the Golden Rule 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?"

Hello, Kennedy and Cassidy!

Hello, Anakin!

Not enough coffee in the world for today, ya'll.

Rosalind

Rosalind frowned slightly as she listened.

Too simple by far, she thought.

Jonothon Starsmore

Jono's eyebrow furrowed a bit as he listened to the lecture. Anakin's logic made sense, if you didn't think on it too hard, but it all seemed a little... Skewed, perhaps.

Cara

//I think th'point of the rule isn't, 'do unto others as you don't mind people doing unto you,// Jonothon noted, crossing his arms over his something-like-a-chest and raising his eyebrows. //Even if somebody didn't mind being poked, I should think they would mind if somebody else chose not to respect their personal levels of comfort. And stealing is an inside-out notion entirely, really. A better question to ask would be, 'what if you don't see anything wrong with being stolen from, or murdered, or hated because of what you are?'//

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes a little, somewhere toward his desk.

//I can't think of many people who are terribly keen on any of that, really.//

Leda

Depending on the circumstances, Leda didn't see anything wrong with stealing. She was going to not think about the second part of that thank you very much.

And she was pretty sure that someone who was inclined to hate entire groups of people, really didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Sounds like it's a case of, take an ideal, and put a catchy, easily remembered phrase to it and hope it catches on."

Elphaba Thropp

Elphaba almost laughed. No one, not until Fandom, had truly treated her in a way they would want to be treated.

She dutifully jotted down notes, though.

"It's a foolish rule," Elphaba said. "While well intentioned, it doesn't make sense. If you don't think well enough of a person to not make fun of them, then you hardly care if they try to make fun of you. So you treat them terribly and that's that. It's not going to make anyone be nice."

She had quite a bit of experience, there.

"The best to say would be... don't deliberately hurt others, and try to make amends if you do. But even then, you realize that sometimes you have to hurt others to stop them from... hurting others." She frowned at the imprecise nature of her statement.

阿祖拉
Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation

Azula was barely listening at this point. She knew nothing about Professor Skywalker's Golden Rules. The only only golden rule she knew was related entirely to the Fire Nation.

"And what if I don't find killing or hating entire groups of people wrong?" Azula countered to see how Master Skywalker would answer the question.

Jono cast a sideways sort of look at the girl. Green, he noted. Well, add that to the list of interesting rainbow colours that he'd seen on people over the past handful of years.

//You can't make people like you just by giving them th'respect that you want in turn, gel, but there's little need to provoke people needlessly, either. Hate begets hate, isn't that what they say? It might not make anybody play nice, but if it's a rule that isn't twisted out of context, at th'very least, it can save people from more trouble than there might be otherwise.// He shifted his weight a little. He still didn't care much for speaking so much in front of so many people. //I think... if it's a case of stepping in to intervene when somebody is causing someone else needless pain, they've somewhat... forfeit their right to have their wishes respected. Th'rule in that case ought to apply to the victim. Rescue as you would like to be rescued.//

Kennedy

Jono wasn't about to say anything to that statement, but there was a wince from him, before he turned his gaze downward and shook his head a little.

He happened to be a member of a group that was hated, hunted, and killed by virtue of their being different. Hearing a friend saying something like that managed to rub a bit of a raw nerve.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

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Ethics [Thursday, September 16, 2nd period]

Sign in [9/16]

Listen to the lecture [9/16]

Answer one of the many, many questions! [9/16]

Talk to the TAs [9/16]

Talk to Anakin [9/16]

OOC

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