Strange thoughts about dualism...
Apr. 11th, 2014 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnpalmerDon't ask me why or how but recently, I found myself hearing that monotheism encouraged dualism and started thinking about it, and realizing how crazy-sensible that model could be.
How often do we think that there's a right and a wrong thing, that there's good and evil? I know that I have many times pondered that there might be a kind of universal "right" or "good".
But what if that's ridiculous? I mean, how can you be "good" when there are so many things that happen as a result of our actions?
Were our ancestors good when they burned coal for industry? Without that, much of our modern life would be completely different. But in that time, they dumped both toxins and huge amounts of carbon into the air. There are fish that you really oughtn't eat at all due to mercury content (and a lot of that mercury came from burning coal), and many that you maybe shouldn't eat too much of. Of course, we're probably overfishing all of our stocks anyway, so that problem might not last too long.
It meshes neatly with the idea I had of a fundamental theory of morality - that once you feel you've come to the best moral conclusion you can, then you should do that. (Because what *else* should you do? Something that you feel is less moral/right?) Here, there is no universal standard of good, because people are all different, both in their desires and their perceptions. One person wants a particular forest to stand untouched, another person thinks that's the best forest to use for lumber. They might even agree with each other on the base level of protection of native forests - they might just disagree on the importance of this forest. And in the end, neither of them knows if this forest is better for leaving or cutting down - there isn't any universal standard they can use to inform themselves.
I've seen it said that polytheism views the world as conflicting forces - not good versus evil, but an awareness that forces exist and make changes, and those changes might be assisted or opposed. It's an interesting thought, something upon which to think and philosophize.
How often do we think that there's a right and a wrong thing, that there's good and evil? I know that I have many times pondered that there might be a kind of universal "right" or "good".
But what if that's ridiculous? I mean, how can you be "good" when there are so many things that happen as a result of our actions?
Were our ancestors good when they burned coal for industry? Without that, much of our modern life would be completely different. But in that time, they dumped both toxins and huge amounts of carbon into the air. There are fish that you really oughtn't eat at all due to mercury content (and a lot of that mercury came from burning coal), and many that you maybe shouldn't eat too much of. Of course, we're probably overfishing all of our stocks anyway, so that problem might not last too long.
It meshes neatly with the idea I had of a fundamental theory of morality - that once you feel you've come to the best moral conclusion you can, then you should do that. (Because what *else* should you do? Something that you feel is less moral/right?) Here, there is no universal standard of good, because people are all different, both in their desires and their perceptions. One person wants a particular forest to stand untouched, another person thinks that's the best forest to use for lumber. They might even agree with each other on the base level of protection of native forests - they might just disagree on the importance of this forest. And in the end, neither of them knows if this forest is better for leaving or cutting down - there isn't any universal standard they can use to inform themselves.
I've seen it said that polytheism views the world as conflicting forces - not good versus evil, but an awareness that forces exist and make changes, and those changes might be assisted or opposed. It's an interesting thought, something upon which to think and philosophize.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-15 02:48 am (UTC)Rather than a duality, constantly battling for supremacy and a rather childish set of motivations, I view the conflicting forces in the world as...somewhere in between currents and tides. They tend, in my view, to wax and wane, and to shift, both with time and sometimes with location. E.g. what might be moral and reasonable in one part of the country, or even in part of a state, might not be so moral or reasonable in another.
Personally, I constantly revise my moral assumptions and judgements, as I'm constantly learning about the world, my fellow people (both human and not,) and life itself. I'm far less rigid, morally and ethically, than I was in my younger days, and I tend to be far more forgiving and, I hope, compassionate. I imagine I'm more rigid and intolerant, in some areas, also, but that's for another discussion.
Basically, I think that we all do the best we can figure out how to do, based upon the information we have at a given time. Sometimes looking back on that can make us proud. Other times, it makes us feel like utter jackasses. That said, judging the past by the present's standards is an exercise in tomfoolery, as would be judging the current day by the standards of the past. As we evolve and change, and as does our environment, so must our ethics and morals. Most folks find that scary, though, and so (especially in our culture,) cling rigidly and desperately to outmoded and outdated lists of "correct" behavior, on the assumption that then they need not take risks and / or have to actually think about what moral and ethical behavior might be. And, of course, in seeking to avoid becoming evil, many of the folks seeking to avoid it become evil, because the lists of rigid propriety and conduct they cling to give them false senses of assurance and of superiority.
Gods help me, I'm about to quote Nietzsche, but in this case I think it's appropriate, given the whole "duty to oppose evil™" theme in Judeo-Christian-Islamic culture:
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you1."I've a feeling that having to determine for oneself what is and isn't moral and / or ethical behavior without one of those sanctified and accredited lists feels very much to the folks who subscribe to them like staring into an abyss.
1Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146 (1886)