One must not contradict himself because the mental acceptance of two conflicting facts is not possible for our brain. In the book 1984 they use the term “doublethink” to describe this phenomenon. The government can tell the people one thing, which they have evidence to believe otherwise, and the people are content with believing both. Our society does not have this. It is impossible to truly believe two opposing facts are both true. We can use this idea of contradiction to form our moral behavior. If one person believes that it is good to please and bring pleasure to others, they must not act in contradiction of his belief and ignore the emotional well beings of others in differing situations.
I am finding this very difficult to respond to. I cannot seem to find a starting point upon which the foundation can be built. I can continue to say that you should not contradict yourself by lying after you say truth is virtuous, but I feel like this is not a solid model upon which a whole moral code can be built.
But, if it is like Hume says, and all morality is built into human nature, then shouldn’t we all know what is right and wrong? If we all do, and all vow to not contradict what we know is right, there would be no more vice. This seems too easy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment