"The point is, however, that there is a factual beginning to our moral development, in the internalization of standards, and that feelings of shame and/or guilt accompany not meeting minimum expectations"
The overriding point is that these "expectations" were likewise conditioned by parents, priests, and professors. So yes--society maintains a cohesive structure by reflecting the reality of human needs for acceptance, cooperation, and conformity to norms--but it remains for the rebellious and the individualistic to wake society from her endless stupors and to move her along.
As to the right to judge...I have always said that individuals have an obligation to honour their value as free creatures, and a duty to assess and judge. The only place I recognize "duty" is to oneself. The accident of life compels one to value. Judging others is not the same as controlling them. And honoring ones own values by "expecting" better of others is quite sensible. But there is always a tension between the need of the "group" for predictability and control..and the need of the individual for independence and freedom. It is the weight given respectively to these differing entities which informs the sort of society one inhabits.
As to complaining of caddish behaviour and so forth...there is nothing wrong with standing up for ones values. But it is necessary to keep in mind that we all assess things from a subjective point of view...and we all were raised at mothers' knees to emulate THEIR values. The values are not absolute but relative to family, culture, conditioning, and circumstance. |
