university re-visited

I was flipping through an old file on my computer and I found this essay on ethics. It may be a little dry, but I like it. So..I decided to post it.

The first thing that comes to mind when asked ‘why ought one be ethical’ is to say that their conscience would be afflicted if they were not ethical. The question then becomes what is the conscience? I believe that the conscience is a construct of society which subconsciously and uncontrollably means that it is external, societal forces which deem what is ethical. Therefore, if external forces are what define ethics; we must look to the outside as to why we ought to be ethical. This makes the reason that one ought to be ethical simple, one ought to be ethical to conform to society.
This leaves me, personally, with an ethical conundrum. In order to function in society one has to be aware of ethics, whether one chooses to follow them or not. Kant argues that “we can readily distinguish whether the action which agrees with duty is done from duty, or from a selfish view” (Kant 297). Kant points out that it is out of duty to society that people should act ethically: “Now an action done from duty must wholly exclude the influence of inclination and with it every object of the will, so that nothing remains which can determine the will except objectively the law, and subjectively pure respect for this practical law, and consequently the maxim that I should follow this law even to the thwarting of all my inclinations” (Kant 299). However, on the other side of the coin, one questions the method in which these societal ethics and the laws which Kant deems important enough to define our moral code came into fruition.
Nietzsche points out that “no one is responsible for the fact that he exists at all, that he is constituted as he is, and that he happens to be in certain circumstances and in a particular environment. The fatality of his being cannot be divorced from the fatality of all that which has been and will be. This is not the result of and individual attention, of a will, of an aim, there is no attempt at attaining to any ‘ideal man,’ or ‘ideal happiness’ or ‘ideal morality’ with him” (314). When unpacking this in relation to ethics, Nietzsche is basically arguing that a person’s very being is dependent upon all that has happened before him and everything that is to come and I conclude that if there is no ideal to strive for, a person is only performing what he deems will keep him fit for society. This is an unconscious decision which is not a decision at all because the ‘truths’ of society are so engrained into a person that they are unable to escape and therefore it is society which deems ethics yet again.
The original question of this essay is, “why ought one be ethical”? The answer which I have delineated for the last couple of pages are simply that people ought to be ethical in order to conform to society; however, I do not think that everyone ought to be ethical and thus ensues an ethical conundrum. First of all, ethics vary within different cultures which becomes evident during war times and whose juridical systems deem which ethics are the most ethical (not to sound redundant). Second of all, even within the same culture, if everyone were ethical, how would we even know the difference? Also, there is an inherent problem with the history which defines our ethics.
Historically, it was the leaders with the best armies and/or propaganda that deemed what was right. This has not changed and will never change. This makes ethics very ethnocentric. Most societies began out of violence and greed and then once set up are the very people who formulate a moral code for the masses without even knowing it. The fact that it is greed and violence which put leaders in control is unethical itself which makes the entire notion of ethics ludicrous.
The question of ethics now comes under fire, which deems the question of this essay ridiculous. When traced, my own personal ethics can be traced to my parents, which inevitably winds up at the Judeo-Christian model of morality found in the Bible. The very nature of the bible then comes into question. It is simply a book based on many parables written by men, apparently under the influence of God, who say very lofty and at times contradictory things. People have used this model of ethics to do very unethical things like bomb buildings, kill people, and wage war on countries that do not see eye to eye with what political leaders deem correct. It is hard to swallow that this is what our society’s moral code is based upon and therefore it makes the question, ‘why ought one be ethical’ a really hard one to answer and the very nature of the question ridiculous.
If it the question was, “why is one ethical” it would be much easier to turn to society and explain that most people want to avoid detainment and chastisement and therefore conform to the rules of society. I do not know if people ought to be ethical. If one wants to fit into the construct that is society, by all means, they must be ethical; however, if there is an inherent problem with the ethics that society has deemed necessity, they will never change unless there are people who act unethically according to the laws of their particular society.
If a person believes in the society in which they live, they ought to act ethically at all costs. If, however, they view inherent problems with the doctrines of the society in which they live, it would be impossible for them to act ethically under the construct of their particular society. When this is the case, if the questioner of society is a powerful enough figure, there is violence and thus that questioner now becomes the moral leader and the masses simply follow whoever’s ethics are the most powerful at the time (i.e., Constantine making Christianity the thing to do in Rome). Ethics, therefore, are ever changing and the only reason to be ethical is to conform to society in which one currently lives.







Works Cited
Kant, Immanuel. “The Categorical Imperative”. Philosophy: History and

Problems. Ed. Samuel Enoch Stumpf and James Fieser. New York:

McGraw Hill, 2003.

Nietzsche, Freiderich. “Turning Values Upside Down”. Philosophy: History

and Problems. Ed. Samuel Enoch Stumpf and James Fieser. New York:

McGraw Hill, 2003.

Blogging

What is this foolishly addictive pass-time that I have started? It has seemingly turned into a journal/sounding board/forum for my random thoughts. It's crazy to think that people read this.

Until I was forced into blogging, I thought it was the most ridiculous thing on the planet. It's seemingly something that has grown on me in a big way.

It's ended up being the catalyst for some pretty major things happening.

Print

With every ending comes new beginnings. The print industry is going through an evolution of sorts. It seems like a grim time for newspapers across the world as people seemingly find their news from other, much faster, sources.

I think that it is an exciting time to be in print because you have the ability to reinvent the wheel. The industry will die if it follows the path it's on. Newspapers aren't used to break news anymore. They need to be looked at like a community machine, if you will.

Take Woodstock, for example. The Bugle Observer (or the Carleton FreePress when they were here) don't pretend that they are the only place that people are finding news. Anything huge, we're going to hear about on radio, television or the internet. The traditional response is that the newspaper is supposed to further detail things for us.

I will even go so far as to say that the newspaper has the ability to transform itself into something wholly different by covering events in the community. Papers will sell if your kid, or your dog, or your team, or your friend, or your business is featured. And ads will sell if papers are selling. I'm sure that's why papers in smaller centers are staying alive (even if it's barely alive).

Maybe I'm not saying anything new, but alas, that's what I think right now.

Old Friends and Bookends

Life is a funny little thing sometimes. The things that probably should be awkward and weird are not, and things that should be natural are.

I said on this very blog not too long ago that some things are better left unsaid. I was wrong.

I'm not saying you should say every little thing that pops in your head...you'd start sounding like a James Joyce novel. (That is a headtrip to read...even more of one to listen to someone like that). However, in the last couple of weeks, I've discovered a lot about myself and the people around me. Some of it impacted me initially in a rather negative way; however, it has turned into one of the most positive times in my life.

If there's somethin' on your mind....spill it. You'll feel better. I promise.

He's Just Not That Into You

So...I just completed a rather enjoyable day. I realized how exceptionally cool I was when after watching a girly romantic-comedy with two great girls, I say (in my out loud voice), "wow, I feel like I need to go home and blog about this."

Seriously, this is what my life has become. A few short months ago, I thought blogging was the epitome of self-centered, gratuitous, public journals--I have become the person I once loathed (And I LOVE it!! muahahaha). Occasionally I may actually blog about important things..but not tonight.

The movie I saw tonight, He's Just Not That Into You, was hilarious. Hilarious because I saw myself and many of my friends in every female character in that movie. The protagonist was essentially a caricature of many single women in their twenties and thirties. EVERYTHING a guy does contains some sort of sign or secret message. Then, we analyze each of these signs ad nauseum with friends, until we convince ourselves that the particular male character in our lives LIKES US! Actually Like Likes us. Any logical person knows and will tell you that this is irrational behaviour. Does it stop??? OF COURSE NOT!

I think, to some degree, that it gives us hope. Most of us know that our very own John Cusack isn't going to stand outside our bedroom window with his ghetto blaster playing a love song, or that Richard Gere is going to drive up in his white limousine, whilst overcoming his fear of heights to climb the fire escape into our apartment...we know that. But part of us REALLY, REALLY wants to believe that some guy (no, not just some guy, THE GUY) is going to swoop in and perform that grand romantic gesture.

Well...I am most definitely a sap. Oh well, I will go to sleep tonight with a smile in my heart.

P.S. I am aware that it is perfectly alright and awesome being an independent person, and I'm kind of rocking that life. That's why I'm not willing to settle for just anyone.

The link is to The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love." They used it in the end credits of the film, and I LOVE IT!!

Hold On

My grandmother had a heart attack this weekend. No one knew it was a heart attack until tests were run later. In the last ten years, nanny has had two strokes and now two heart attacks. When her doctor recommended she move to a nursing home seven years ago, I'm sure he didn't think she had much longer. She did. This weekend, the hospital called my mom and her sister and told them to get there at 3am because they weren't sure she'd pull through the night. She did. I'm not sure why anyone is surprised. Pierette Woods is probably the strongest, most dignified woman I know.

She's a mother of seven: five boys and two girls. There were three kids in diapers at one time. That is strength.

She made three meals a day for her large family. At the time, this was the norm in society. Hard to believe. I can't even imagine peeling potatoes for nine people. That is strength.

Her third born, Kenny, died in a car accident at the age of seventeen. No mother should ever have to lose a child. That is strength.

Having none of your children, for various reasons, stay in the town that you live in after they finished high school. Possibly feeling abaondoned, though I'm sure that wasn't the case. That is strength.

Losing the love of your life, who you've known since you were three years old, to a long battle with cancer, and being able to carry on. That is strength.

Now, suffering with congestive heart failure for many years. It seems unlikely that she'll make it much longer. Though, it has seemed unlikely that she'd survive as long as she has. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she outlasted us all. But why would she want to?

The pain she's in now, compounded with the pain she's already endured. It would be easy to just let go. She keeps holding on. That is strength.

In like a lamb..no lion...no lamb..no lion..no, LAMB.

Well...I've started two separate blogs in the past couple of days that I just couldn't complete. One was about Tasers, and the other I just opened a "new post" and didn't make it any further than that.

This feels like the first March break that I've really had since I was in high school. I started working when I was 18 (which I realize is fairly late, but I babysat forty hours a week the two summers before I worked at Kent), and once I started working, I worked every break I had. Then, when I graduated from university in 'o5, the working world consumed me. My point is really that I'm taking an actual break right now. It's wholly strange. Certainly not anything I'm accustomed to, considering I take life on at 100 miles an hour 98.376% of the time.

March has traditionally been my favourite month. I'm not gonna lie about it, my birthday being in March doesn't hurt...but it goes further than that. Days have grown long enough that you don't feel like curling up and sleeping at 6pm; there are signs (however small they may be..like 8 or 9 birds in a tree) of spring; and really the promise of new beginnings and fresh starts. That's what it's about.

February ended in a cataclysmically cathartic chaos for me. March, even before I left Woodstock, began much more serenely, with a fresh outlook. Thus, March has come in like a lamb...that's the final consensus. I sure hope it's not out like a LION!!! (or if it is, I hope it's the lion from The Wizard of Oz....I really could while away the hours....)