Teaching ethics makes people say some strange things. For example I often ask my students, as I did this past week, what they think about a moral dilemma. There is one answer that always seems to come up: "...it depends on who you ask."
My gut reaction to that phrase is to say: you, you moron, I want to know what you think, that's why I'm asking!
My reaction aside, the more I think about it, the stranger that phrase appears. Is the utterer saying that rightness or wrongness is literally dependent on what people say? So if someone says cheating on your taxes is okay, does that make it okay? That's just crazy.
Or are they saying that different people have different views? If that's what they mean, then isn't that obvious and completely irrelevant?
Here's what I really think. I think people simply don't like to make moral judgments. The culture has beaten into our heads the idea that moral disagreement is to be avoided at all costs. Thus people are uncomfortable taking a stand. There are too many moral cowards. Of course no one likes moral bullies either, but it seems that for now, the pendulum has swung toward moral cowardice.
Posted by Tim at February 21, 2004 02:44 PMPostmodernism, ya gotta love it!
Posted by: Anthony at February 23, 2004 09:23 AMYa, no doubt. The other phrase I love is, "who are we to decide what's right or wrong..." Bleh!
Posted by: Tim at February 25, 2004 01:33 PMI wonder whether you would be equally annoyed if people responded by saying, "it depends on what you mean by 'a moral dilemma.'" just a thought.
Posted by: skye at February 29, 2004 09:07 PMThey're pluralists, ya bonehead...just like most of the contemporary world. It's all in Gebser.
Posted by: goethean at May 5, 2004 04:45 PM