Hey guys so if you haven't check out my first video podcast you should!! I recorded it with my flip video player so the quality isn't as great as I'd like it to be but for a first run through I feel like we did a good job. Hopefully through Skype and oovoo I can get other people involved in this podcast and get a wide variety of perspectives.
As for this note, I wanted to talk about people's expectations and what they appreciate. Maybe appreciation isn't the best word that encompasses this topic but I feel like it does justice. I got the inspiration for this topic when I was sick and was wondering why bad things happen in the world. I was wondering why we just couldn’t be healthy all the time and not have to be miserable during the times our immune system is fighting diseases. After contemplating this I realized that we need these downers to give purpose to our lives. Whenever something bad happens it makes us reflect on times when things were better and realize how great they were. It can also inspire hope that future events will be better than the current ones. Everybody takes things for granted. Whether it is subconscious or not, there is something that we never consider how much importance it holds in our lives and what we would do if we ever lost it or it changed. They can be everyday commodities whose existence can be imperative to how we live our lives. Just think of anything that you regularly use like on a daily basis and just try to imagine how you would live without it. Sometimes its impact is miniscule, but other times they play a major role in your lives that can cause sadness if you were to lose it all of a sudden. Based on society today, if somehow we were to lose our beloved gadgets like cell phones, we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves and realize how important it was to us. With Lent occurring as I write this, one of the benefits of giving up something during this time period is being given the opportunity to know what it is like to not have something that you hold dearly but may not fully appreciate its impact in your life. To the opposite effect, if something never impacted you life then you will not miss what you never had.
Unless some omnipotent being decides to take away your cell phone it is usually hard to take away what is already in place. Humans can be very stubborn and because of things like fear of change, they refuse to give up what brings them comfort, at least not without a fight. They are very reluctant to change because of the instability it could bring unless it promises benefits. Usually the only welcomed changes are those that can cause improvement. However, this improvement has to be noticeable to those being affected or they will never agree to give up something if they believe parting with it will negatively impact their lives. When the government enacted prohibition, the citizens of the United States were in uproar over the fact that they lost their legal rights to drink alcohol. They obviously had an appreciation for alcohol or else they wouldn’t have fought so hard to make it legal again or continued to drink it regardless of the legal implications. Another example is trying to make things previously free now have some monetary value attached to it that you're required to pay to utilize or own it. If something was once free and then all of a sudden cost money, the people who took advantage of the lack of a price would be outraged. This is because they felt entitled to the product once the companies who gave it away put it into the consumers brains that they could have that product for free and that it was their right to have it for free. Once this supposed "right" that the consumers have when the product is free, is taken away by making it cost money, it incites the inner appreciation people had for it and causes them to revolt against this change. In the cases where change promises benefits, it leads people to do very drastic things because they hold an appreciation for the potential that the future can yield happier circumstances. These drastic measures occur because those people aren't satisfied with their current situation. In the case of the pilgrims, their religion wasn’t appreciated by England, therefore causing them to trek the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of a new land where their beliefs would be appreciated and not scrutinized.
Material things aren't the sole things that can be appreciated or taken for granted of like with the religious example above. Concrete things aren't the only things people don't have full appreciation for as abstract concepts like success would be meaningless without their counterparts. If you always accomplish whatever you set your mind to then its impact would be less than if you experienced struggles and failures along the way to its completion. While yes it is good to succeed, it doesn’t hold meaning or real value to you unless you know what failing feels like. Not only does failing provide a learning experience to improve off your mistakes, it also adds value to those things that you do succeed in reaching. If you don't get a job, then the next job you apply for and get feels a lot more fulfilling knowing you had to work for it and knowing the progression you make from a bad situation into a better one. If you are a kid born with a silver spoon in your mouth who is born into a world of luxury and riches you will probably enjoy life but you won't get the same feeling of success as much as a rags to riches situation. If you were born in a bad situation you can relate to others that are in similar circumstances and you can also experience the great feeling inside or knowing you made it. If you never had a bad situation then you can't provide any basis or foundation for what a good time is. This is where the relative concept comes into play. You can get a pretty good idea for what success is by relating yourself to your peers like if you got an A on a test and your friend got an F you can weigh the different factors that played a role in your outcome versus your friend's less than stellar outcome. Perhaps you got lucky, but most likely you worked hard studying and your efforts can be seen through your actions and how well you did on that test. The media also does similar things where they advertize and make apparent the great lives and successes that celebrities have. It can make average people jealous and makes them want more while not appreciating the things the currently have. Just remember the next time you feel the need to buy something new, whatever it may be, just realize that there is always someone out there who is in a worse off situation than you are and perhaps that will make you appreciate the things in your life more.
-Allan Nicholas
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Philosophy on Facebook #21 - Norms of Society
Hey guys! I'm hoping to get the first podcast recorded tomorrow and up sometime this weekend. I'm probably going to record it at my friend's house so it isn't necessarily the format that I want the next shows to follow but I think it'll be a good starter and first episode that will pave a path for a fun experience and many insightful conversations.
I got the inspiration to write this post after listening in physics about how Copernicus received hate by society during his time. Most of society is determined by those who have power. Those in power in turn transfer their values and interests into what is normal for societies and their people to follow. If you don't follow the ideals of those ruling, then you will be cast out and looked down upon for not sharing a certain view. This is especially the case when the view is held by a majority of the public as well. As evident from the past, the ruling party doesn’t necessarily have to be a majority to determine what is normal. Copernicus experienced oppression in spreading his ideas that the earth and other planets revolved around the sun. This resistance was upheld by the church who at the time said what was acceptable and wasn’t. Religion is only one of the driving forces in determining right and wrong and it was even more influential in those times than it is today. Since Copernicus's ideas contradicted those of the church, he was cast out as a lunatic and not normal until his ideas actually gained footing with other notable scholars. If you have this perspective on what is right and wrong you can, with some exceptions, say that there is no definitive right or wrong. While there are general concurrences on what is ethically sound, like you don't murder other people, there aren't fundamental right or wrong decisions and viewpoints. For the time being, these right and wrongs are determined by those who administer control over their country and in our case it is our government. We have laws that tell us what is right and wrong but not all civilizations in the past have had these guidelines to determine what to abide by. In the past most of society was based on certain structures that repressed others from gaining control. Women have gained much more power and have had major impacts in determining the norms of society than in the past where they basically had no say on what should be done. Not only have women in the past be wronged of a chance to contribute to the norms of society, but plenty more races, religions, etc have been forced to follow those in power. Those in power were particularly effective in spreading their ideals if they could enforce them.
These norms of society are a big reason of why people are prejudice. As we know most people like a sense of stability that change tries to undo, thus they perceive it as negative. When people meet something that is different of threatens to change the way they live, those people are often reluctant to accept it. This leads to prejudices and negative impressions of others just because they are different or have different views. A reason why those who are different aren't usually accepted into society and assimilate their ideas with the "normal" people's at least at first is because the change that they bring with them. Sometimes things are ahead of their times and while they may be a great improvement for life, it is too early to institute into modern society and people need time in order to accept new ways of thinking. Like with Copernicus, his ideas improved our knowledge of the world around us, but his surrounding unfortunately weren't ready to accept his views until later down the timeline.
Norms aren't only an external issue as they can be internal with a person to person case basis. People have their own values and ethics that govern what is normal to them. While these are greatly affected by their environment as it helps set the foundation for their own ethics, internal norms also have an impact on society as well. Anybody who ever sees something in society that doesn’t follow what they believe, they are fully able in trying to change it. This lead to many changes in our society that would have otherwise remain the same. Martin Luther King and his dream helped lead to racial equality in the U.S. This task wasn’t a walk in the park however as he met a lot of resistance society imposed upon him and his followers. When you are faced with opposition from society there are many ways to respond. One way would to keep your opinions to yourself and keep quiet so society doesn’t outcast you or you can attempt to change the norms by inciting things like revolutions. Both of these have their pros and cons. Keeping quite can cause benefits like not being prosecuted for your beliefs but also lead to feelings of regret and remorse. There are situations where the outcome looks bleak for you and it might be better to keep your views private but if you believe in something enough it might be better to go for it and suffer the punishments society with impose on you than doing nothing. If you decide to completely reform society to fit your views and values then you have the chance to make your dreams the norms of society. Thus you with no longer be looked down upon for your views but look down upon others that don't follow yours. There is always the possibility that you fail trying to incite change. Another possibility is that the replaced views aren't the ones you intended for and it can be hard to establish as the dominant norm compared to the others trying to claim that spot.
U.S. society has been based upon many cultures that helped make it the great country it is today so they have been pretty good about accepting almost all views, beliefs, ethics, and opinions. I believe that no one opinion, view, etc is better than others as there are many ways to go about solving problems or many ways to live life. I feel in order to grow as a civilization you have to be accepting of everything that doesn’t endanger your own way of living (i.e. no terrorists). If you do this you have the ability to look at certain issues plaguing society today from many different perspectives and weigh their possible outcomes. Norms can sometimes alienate those that could help make a difference regardless of their views. I feel that you do need norms to offer some structure for daily life but not ones that are so specific that they end up ostracizing or excluding those who can make a positive difference in the world.
-Allan Nicholas
I got the inspiration to write this post after listening in physics about how Copernicus received hate by society during his time. Most of society is determined by those who have power. Those in power in turn transfer their values and interests into what is normal for societies and their people to follow. If you don't follow the ideals of those ruling, then you will be cast out and looked down upon for not sharing a certain view. This is especially the case when the view is held by a majority of the public as well. As evident from the past, the ruling party doesn’t necessarily have to be a majority to determine what is normal. Copernicus experienced oppression in spreading his ideas that the earth and other planets revolved around the sun. This resistance was upheld by the church who at the time said what was acceptable and wasn’t. Religion is only one of the driving forces in determining right and wrong and it was even more influential in those times than it is today. Since Copernicus's ideas contradicted those of the church, he was cast out as a lunatic and not normal until his ideas actually gained footing with other notable scholars. If you have this perspective on what is right and wrong you can, with some exceptions, say that there is no definitive right or wrong. While there are general concurrences on what is ethically sound, like you don't murder other people, there aren't fundamental right or wrong decisions and viewpoints. For the time being, these right and wrongs are determined by those who administer control over their country and in our case it is our government. We have laws that tell us what is right and wrong but not all civilizations in the past have had these guidelines to determine what to abide by. In the past most of society was based on certain structures that repressed others from gaining control. Women have gained much more power and have had major impacts in determining the norms of society than in the past where they basically had no say on what should be done. Not only have women in the past be wronged of a chance to contribute to the norms of society, but plenty more races, religions, etc have been forced to follow those in power. Those in power were particularly effective in spreading their ideals if they could enforce them.
These norms of society are a big reason of why people are prejudice. As we know most people like a sense of stability that change tries to undo, thus they perceive it as negative. When people meet something that is different of threatens to change the way they live, those people are often reluctant to accept it. This leads to prejudices and negative impressions of others just because they are different or have different views. A reason why those who are different aren't usually accepted into society and assimilate their ideas with the "normal" people's at least at first is because the change that they bring with them. Sometimes things are ahead of their times and while they may be a great improvement for life, it is too early to institute into modern society and people need time in order to accept new ways of thinking. Like with Copernicus, his ideas improved our knowledge of the world around us, but his surrounding unfortunately weren't ready to accept his views until later down the timeline.
Norms aren't only an external issue as they can be internal with a person to person case basis. People have their own values and ethics that govern what is normal to them. While these are greatly affected by their environment as it helps set the foundation for their own ethics, internal norms also have an impact on society as well. Anybody who ever sees something in society that doesn’t follow what they believe, they are fully able in trying to change it. This lead to many changes in our society that would have otherwise remain the same. Martin Luther King and his dream helped lead to racial equality in the U.S. This task wasn’t a walk in the park however as he met a lot of resistance society imposed upon him and his followers. When you are faced with opposition from society there are many ways to respond. One way would to keep your opinions to yourself and keep quiet so society doesn’t outcast you or you can attempt to change the norms by inciting things like revolutions. Both of these have their pros and cons. Keeping quite can cause benefits like not being prosecuted for your beliefs but also lead to feelings of regret and remorse. There are situations where the outcome looks bleak for you and it might be better to keep your views private but if you believe in something enough it might be better to go for it and suffer the punishments society with impose on you than doing nothing. If you decide to completely reform society to fit your views and values then you have the chance to make your dreams the norms of society. Thus you with no longer be looked down upon for your views but look down upon others that don't follow yours. There is always the possibility that you fail trying to incite change. Another possibility is that the replaced views aren't the ones you intended for and it can be hard to establish as the dominant norm compared to the others trying to claim that spot.
U.S. society has been based upon many cultures that helped make it the great country it is today so they have been pretty good about accepting almost all views, beliefs, ethics, and opinions. I believe that no one opinion, view, etc is better than others as there are many ways to go about solving problems or many ways to live life. I feel in order to grow as a civilization you have to be accepting of everything that doesn’t endanger your own way of living (i.e. no terrorists). If you do this you have the ability to look at certain issues plaguing society today from many different perspectives and weigh their possible outcomes. Norms can sometimes alienate those that could help make a difference regardless of their views. I feel that you do need norms to offer some structure for daily life but not ones that are so specific that they end up ostracizing or excluding those who can make a positive difference in the world.
-Allan Nicholas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
