You seem to have not read my post. Certainly, you did not understand it. So I will repeat it.
"And how would they answer the "So What?" question, at least for the immediate time frame?"
Explained below:
"It depends on values. Africa is involved in civil wars where everyone acts in good conscience. War is never an easy choice. Perhaps nowhere was it more difficult than the American Civil War where so many disparate values had to be weighed in order for the soldiers (in particular) to make heart wrenching choices based on prioritization of values. One Brother is going to the Union and one to the South. Both are leaving their homes--perhaps loved ones unprotected, etc. etc. etc.
A lot of you guys seem to think that conscience is simply “feeling” a certain pull and then rightly following the pull or wrongly disabling it through repression or distraction. But that is a simplistic and misguided view and it is not helpful in any way. “Feelings” and “inner voices” don’t just come through the ether. They stem from an inner dialogue involving what courses of action to take in accordance with “best practices” of values. Depending on the rational/logical capacity of the individual these values may or may not be illuminated and rationally processed. They may merely be vague naggings with much of the turmoil and conflict below the tip of the ice berg.
Let us take “blood diamonds”. Firstly, thank you for giving an example to replace your vague and essentially meaningless comments about "somebody" wondering about "something."
Now, if a person knows nothing about “blood diamonds” then they could not make a value judgment could they??? Just like if you don’t know anything about (say) Wal-Mart allegedly exploiting labor in developing countries, there would be no value conflicts and no “inner voices” when you buy. Once you get some facts you will need to make a decision on what you consider to be right and wrong. One person might say, “well, in principle, I naturally don’t support exploitation but I believe it is assisting poor people who would otherwise be worse off and it definitely allows me to feed my children and clothe them on my meager income and so on and on. Another might say, well I’ve devoted my life to fighting against exploitation. I’ve taken 578 University courses on Economics and Sociology and I’ve been involved in 729 strikes and Activist Demonstrations and this IS a bloody crime against humanity in the worst and largest proportions but I have no problem with genetically modified food because I don’t think it is a health issue but my dumb sister won’t eat it because she sees it as a moral responsibility to preserve our food supply before the world is all dead. And long hair is immoral...or was that short hair. The bible says both!
The BIBLE...yawn!!!
So those “feelings” do not just happen. They are the result of thinking about what we value--what we believe in.
____________________________
"It shows how people justify themselves and their actions, which they would not have to do except for the nag on their conscience"
People need to justify every move they make if they are rational. Otherwise, it (justification) doesn't matter to them or it is done through "feeling" rather than thought. I've explained how "conscience" follows culture, belief, and values. I can't give you understanding and I'm not going to try too much harder... |
