Homework answers / question archive / Edward response Reflection Post 1: Question: The lecture "Knowing and Doing" says "One might believe that in order to live well and good, the child does not require a better answer to his question than the one offered

Edward response Reflection Post 1: Question: The lecture "Knowing and Doing" says "One might believe that in order to live well and good, the child does not require a better answer to his question than the one offered

Sociology

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Edward response Reflection Post 1: Question: The lecture "Knowing and Doing" says "One might believe that in order to live well and good, the child does not require a better answer to his question than the one offered." Do you believe this? In other words, do you believe that it is possible to live a moral life without knowing why it is a moral life? Or do you believe that to live morally you are required to have a philosophical basis for your beliefs about ethics? Response: I believe that I may be on the fence on this. For me to answer the question, do I believe it is possible to live a moral life without knowing why it is a moral life? I feel I must provide a two part response. My first response is no, I don’t believe blind followership leads to a moral life. I believe that one must be able to think or reason for themselves in order to truly arrive at a place where they can question and critique themselves. If they identify and challenge their own motives regularly it can lead to living morally because they are actively involved. Following someone’s instructions, in this case a mother’s, without thought could possibly lead one to live an immoral life unwittingly. Examples of this type of behavior are numerous throughout world history. At the appropriate time an explanation should be provided to the young. That explanation could form a foundation of thought that will empower the child as it grows old. The child will gain an understanding of how moral decisions are made. They could then share and live that knowledge. That shared knowledge and critical thought could then spread and expand the moral culture. With that said however, I also believe the word possible in the question provides more than enough room to reason that yes one could live a moral life simply by following instruction if the source was moral. I have had the privilege of living among people groups that truly care for their fellow man. The live morally and care because they were raised to do so without explanation. The people are told that in their culture they help their fellow man because it is best for all and they believe it because of what they see every day. The people don’t challenge the systems in place. They are rule followers because their culture promotes selflessness. They live moral lives and have done so for many year. Therefore I say it is possible. I must note that I have seen some from the same selfless culture I referenced relocate to a culture vastly different from their own and the individuals changed. They didn’t become immoral but they did change. They initially tried to live by the moral code of their upbringing but it yielded a different response because the new culture did not value selflessness. Things like sharing personal information which in their culture was a tool to help others was exploited in the new one. The people ultimately shut themselves off from those around them in the new culture. If they had children I don’t know if their offspring would be able to live moral lives because the parents may not be able to explain or model the moral life due to the new culture.