Through out the life of man we are taught to have certain morals and values to determine what is truly right or wrong, what is sacred and what is not, what is just and what is unjust. Man is a devious creature that we all have become, we lie, steal, cheat, and stab each other in the back, but only when we are not seen. Glaucon's story in the Plato's Republic is the perfect example of what I mean. Glaucon's story is a statement that man is only willing to commit a crime if he is under the shroud of the night. The fact is is that man is scared, terrified that justice will strike them down and that keeps things like this from happening. Everyone wants to do or know something wrong in this world no matter what that may be, from stealing money from a bank to listening to private conversations. Though, it is our established morals and our fear of the consequences that keeps man from doing these things. Our established morals help us instate and tell what we truly think is just and unjust some people may say that if you are doing the crime that is all that it is an unjust crime others have their own opinion of what is truly just or unjust. Some choose to live life never thinking that something is wrong unless someone tells them that it is wrong. It is similar to the old saying, it is only a crime if you get caught, and with that mind set people blur the lines of what is truly unjust. Is man truly doomed to go this path or are able to repent and save us from the way that we have become.
Though my writing went off on a slight tangent, what do you think is truly just/unjust and what is crossing the line of what is just/unjust?
In my opinion, truly just/unjust cannot be answered. As we discussed in class, everything depends on the situation. Most of the situations have two sides. For example, the Government think that is just to charge us with taxes. In most of the time we do not think it is just. Where does this money go? Why am I paying? Who said it is moral right to pay all the bills? We do it because it is easier, we do not want to get in trouble. In other words, we have in mind what it just, but in the same situation, people can have the opposite idea and still thinking they are being just as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Diego's post above that a definite answer as to what is right and wrong is not available. We as humans are constantly trying to solve these dilemmas and therefore turn to other sources for the answers. We see aspects of religion, with Christianity's Ten Commandments being a popular choice, as constant references and guides to the laws and expectations in society today. With religions differing on some core values and ideas, we see conflict between religious and ethnic groups that are clearly present on the global scale today. Also, when we begin using ideology from the past we run into the issue of interpretation and translation of the true meaning, whether it be passed down from wise rulers before us or an omnipotent, higher being. I think the majority of people have good morals and a good conscience that lead them to do the "right" thing; they may follow a religious guideline or they may not, but none the less they have and follow their good morals. There will always be a few bad eggs in the bunch who will not think twice about killing or stealing, but as for myself and many others, I'm sure we would feel guilty of hurting someone whether it be concealed or in broad daylight. We all have morals, where we get these morals determines if we are seen as good or evil in the eyes of society.
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