Hmmm...I suppose a long-lasting stable culture could have ethics that endure for hundreds or thousands of years, like an ethical shark or dragonfly or coelacanth, so to speak.
My society changes rapidly enough that while I may not be pleased with everything we currently do, I would not want to step back to the ethics of my childhood, or my parents' or grandparents' childhoods.
I'm glad to live somewhere:
- where child soldiers and slavery are considered bad (even if wage slavery, ownership of nonhuman persons and slave AIs are a concern)
- where if I marry my husband cannot legally abuse me (even if we need to work on the issues of abuse in same-sex marriages or abusive heterosexual wives)
- where I can retain my own property after marriage
- where I can follow my own religion without being jailed, exiled or executed (even though we are biased against some religions - and my specific beliefs might encourage me to challenge the status quo enough to be arrested)
I guess...it not impossible to have an 'ethical dragonfly.' Our culture might just need something that'll change a little faster. (I'm glad seatbelts in cars and banning drunk driving took a few decades...instead of several hundred years. )
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dancing_serpent
Re: Reality is stranger than fiction
Date: 2021-07-06 11:55 pm (UTC)My society changes rapidly enough that while I may not be pleased with everything we currently do, I would not want to step back to the ethics of my childhood, or my parents' or grandparents' childhoods.
I'm glad to live somewhere:
- where child soldiers and slavery are considered bad (even if wage slavery, ownership of nonhuman persons and slave AIs are a concern)
- where if I marry my husband cannot legally abuse me (even if we need to work on the issues of abuse in same-sex marriages or abusive heterosexual wives)
- where I can retain my own property after marriage
- where I can follow my own religion without being jailed, exiled or executed (even though we are biased against some religions - and my specific beliefs might encourage me to challenge the status quo enough to be arrested)
I guess...it not impossible to have an 'ethical dragonfly.' Our culture might just need something that'll change a little faster. (I'm glad seatbelts in cars and banning drunk driving took a few decades...instead of several hundred years. )