The Key to Unlock the Door
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 12:37 am
The Key to Unlock the Door – and thus make a dent in corruption, abuse, war, and revenge.
I would like you to inform me if we can gain agreement on these points.
We need a key to unlock the door, to overcome the barrier. In the present context, what is the door (the barrier)? It is that not enough people behave ethically
Someone might ask: Why should they?
If they did, we would have a better world: we wouldn’t be plagued with problems that are so oppressive. You can list them as well as I. [For example, in an ethical world, rather than have a massive “unemployment crisis” we – both business and government - would pay people while they are retraining in the skills that society needs. We would then welcome the onrush of automation and robotics – which now are replacing traditional human labor – welcome them as facilitating the introduction of a Resource-Based-Economy. (Research this on Google if you are not familiar with it.) We would teach people not to go into debt, and how to avoid getting into debt.]
There is room for self-improvement – even among those who believe that they do behave ethically, and who understand what this might mean.
THE KEY: We need a massive self-improvement awareness campaign aimed at drilling in a comprehensive insight into the principles of Ethics and how to live them. Maybe a special “month,” set aside to publicize that awareness, would help launch the campaign; and some spectacular entertainment event(s) to dramatize it.
What is the Critical Path leading to the campaign to teach the basic principles of Ethics? What preparations have to be made? In what order – with what deadlines? Will it require funding? Will a Foundation sponsor it? How does that get arranged?
A friend named John said this, with regard to action that needs to be taken in the U.S.A., and it is worth quoting here:
“Real social progress is achieved by making structural changes in a gradual manner, and … ‘Three steps forward, two backwards’ applies to efforts to improvement. Given the present circumstances, the changes required in many different areas are substantial and almost overwhelming because we have ignored too much for too long a time ("kicking the can"), and because they are significant in scope, we seem to fail to make even a small step in any area.
But we can begin. First, we should assure that no child (or family) goes hungry even for a day. Second, we can eliminate large political contributions by individuals, corporations, and PACs. Third, Congress can reform its own bylaws to prevent one or two people from blocking bills or nominations. Fourth, we can mandate in slow, incremental steps the amount of energy provided by renewable sources of power and improvements in the electrical grid (50 percent of the electricity generated is lost in transmission). Fifth, we can attempt to curb school violence and bullying. The list of small steps can, of course be extended to all sorts of areas; but the important thing is that these steps can be accomplished at many different levels by many different groups all working towards the same goals.”
You may observe: There is far more anger and resentment among people than anyone likes to admit. What information can banish these harmful emotions?
Here I would quote an ancient philosopher, Seneca, who wrote:
A physician is not angry at the intemperance of a mad patient, nor does he take it ill to be insulted by a man in a fever. Just so should a wise man treat all mankind as a physician treats a patient, and look upon it only as sick and irresponsible.
You may inquire: How does the law of Cause-and-Effect operate in our relations with others?
Coleridge had an answer when he explained: “We receive but what we give.”
And that same law will explain why the individual who does good to herself will spontaneously do good to others; and whosoever harms himself also hurts others. It follows from this that self-development must be our first development.
We can’t depend upon anyone, even a friend, who doesn’t depend on himself. Only a person who acts beneficially toward himself will do so toward others. Ethical insight takes priority before worthwhile political change, before we devise better systems, better institutions. For why would anyone design a superior more-effective system if he/she didn’t have ethical awareness to begin with?
Are we in accord on those points? Let me know what you think about all this, okay?
All constructive comments are most welcome.
I would like you to inform me if we can gain agreement on these points.
We need a key to unlock the door, to overcome the barrier. In the present context, what is the door (the barrier)? It is that not enough people behave ethically
Someone might ask: Why should they?
If they did, we would have a better world: we wouldn’t be plagued with problems that are so oppressive. You can list them as well as I. [For example, in an ethical world, rather than have a massive “unemployment crisis” we – both business and government - would pay people while they are retraining in the skills that society needs. We would then welcome the onrush of automation and robotics – which now are replacing traditional human labor – welcome them as facilitating the introduction of a Resource-Based-Economy. (Research this on Google if you are not familiar with it.) We would teach people not to go into debt, and how to avoid getting into debt.]
There is room for self-improvement – even among those who believe that they do behave ethically, and who understand what this might mean.
THE KEY: We need a massive self-improvement awareness campaign aimed at drilling in a comprehensive insight into the principles of Ethics and how to live them. Maybe a special “month,” set aside to publicize that awareness, would help launch the campaign; and some spectacular entertainment event(s) to dramatize it.
What is the Critical Path leading to the campaign to teach the basic principles of Ethics? What preparations have to be made? In what order – with what deadlines? Will it require funding? Will a Foundation sponsor it? How does that get arranged?
A friend named John said this, with regard to action that needs to be taken in the U.S.A., and it is worth quoting here:
“Real social progress is achieved by making structural changes in a gradual manner, and … ‘Three steps forward, two backwards’ applies to efforts to improvement. Given the present circumstances, the changes required in many different areas are substantial and almost overwhelming because we have ignored too much for too long a time ("kicking the can"), and because they are significant in scope, we seem to fail to make even a small step in any area.
But we can begin. First, we should assure that no child (or family) goes hungry even for a day. Second, we can eliminate large political contributions by individuals, corporations, and PACs. Third, Congress can reform its own bylaws to prevent one or two people from blocking bills or nominations. Fourth, we can mandate in slow, incremental steps the amount of energy provided by renewable sources of power and improvements in the electrical grid (50 percent of the electricity generated is lost in transmission). Fifth, we can attempt to curb school violence and bullying. The list of small steps can, of course be extended to all sorts of areas; but the important thing is that these steps can be accomplished at many different levels by many different groups all working towards the same goals.”
You may observe: There is far more anger and resentment among people than anyone likes to admit. What information can banish these harmful emotions?
Here I would quote an ancient philosopher, Seneca, who wrote:
A physician is not angry at the intemperance of a mad patient, nor does he take it ill to be insulted by a man in a fever. Just so should a wise man treat all mankind as a physician treats a patient, and look upon it only as sick and irresponsible.
You may inquire: How does the law of Cause-and-Effect operate in our relations with others?
Coleridge had an answer when he explained: “We receive but what we give.”
And that same law will explain why the individual who does good to herself will spontaneously do good to others; and whosoever harms himself also hurts others. It follows from this that self-development must be our first development.
We can’t depend upon anyone, even a friend, who doesn’t depend on himself. Only a person who acts beneficially toward himself will do so toward others. Ethical insight takes priority before worthwhile political change, before we devise better systems, better institutions. For why would anyone design a superior more-effective system if he/she didn’t have ethical awareness to begin with?
Are we in accord on those points? Let me know what you think about all this, okay?
All constructive comments are most welcome.
At the end of Katz - ASPECTS OF ETHICS you will find a list of Ethical Principles. Those are what I would teach to the young student you mention. I would explain each principle in language suitable to the student's level of understanding. That paper is the last sequel to the Unified Theory; it is the fourth part of the book.