Not to insist too much on accuracy, it is obvious that the secondary definition of stewardship was the one most relevant to our discussion: especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care <stewardship of our natural resources>
I did not say that you said I was lurking. You are mistaken in assuming that I knew you had spoken of human dominion over other men at the point I entered the discussion. Again, that should be clear enough. Whether brees mislead or not, I cannot say. The post of his I referred to was as far back as I got.
Guiding behaviour is just another, gentler, way of saying one tries to control it. Since I already said that human beings deserve respect, and that "dominion" was too strong a term for even a relationship of guardianship, I do not know what horse you are flogging.
Reiterating something does not make it factual, nor does it constitute an argument. I deny your assertion that we have no claims upon one another. I guess we are at an impasse.
If one's moral obligation is to one's own nature, and one's nature is to be a busybody, than since there is no objective moral order, you have no claim to be left alone. Since there is no inherent moral obligation to let you follow your bliss, if I want to make what you do my business, well, tough. You are, in fact, assuming a claim upon me, a right to be left alone. It must be grounded in some moral order, or it is bogus and cannot be usefully asserted.
We are "expected" to behave in various ways by society, and the moral teachings inculcated in us from infancy. We may meet those expectations, rebel against them, or critically refine them, but they are always the starting point. Even in a situation of moral relativism, we do not, as individuals, make up values in a vacuum, but in reaction to the society in which we were brought up. Your autonomy is never absolute.
By the way, I did not anywhere claim to be your steward, nor that you were mine. I only claimed that there are rules that govern social interaction, from wherever derived. |
