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I think the reason comes down to differences in values. Values are the measuring sticks by which people quantify success in life. Whether or not we realize it

I think the reason comes down to differences in values. Values are the measuring sticks by which people quantify success in life. Whether or not we realize it, we constantly measure our actions against our values, and how we 'measure up' determines our self-worth. If I had to guess, kindness and compassion are core to your values. As a result, when you see a greedy person, you feel disgust because you would feel worthless if you were in their shoes acting in such an unkind/selfish manner. For better or worse, not everyone holds the same values. For example, some people value 'winning'. Individuals who value 'winning' want to be the best no matter what. There are many ways to measure the value of 'winning', but money/material possessions is one scoreboard/metric. If they accumulate more of it, they feel more self-worth. Why do people hold less 'wholesome' value sets? Are certain values less worthy of others? Should we pass judgement on people who hold conflicting values? These are interesting questions. On the topic of 'why', I'd expect environment plays a major factor. If you're brought up in an isolated bubble of wealthy individuals, it's quite easy to imagine how one would grow a value attachment to the associated luxuries. Personally, I don't think there's inherent value in anything. As a result, no one value is 'truly' better than another. However, some values drive actions that harm other people, and those are worth passing judgement from a utilitarian standpoint.

whack 9y ago
> "Personally, it's hard for me judge other value sets because I see so much dissonance and irrationality in value norms, and I'd end up passing judgment on most people. My current belief is that there's no real inherent value in anything. As a result, no one value is truly better than another. I've found that this perspective makes me more understanding and tolerant of other people whom I previously would have been repelled by." Most of your post was pretty well thought out, but you're likely getting downvoted because this last part just sounds strange, and intellectually lazy to boot. By the reasoning above, any behavior, including murder and rape, can be justified. "They just happen to have different values. Who am I to judge them?" I agree that it's hard to judge the relative merits of different values, but just because it's hard doesn't mean we should give up and call it a day.
- smallgovt 9y ago
  Thanks for the feedback - I'm still trying to sort out my beliefs :). Edited to more appropriately reflect what I learned by writing this response.

whack 9y ago

> "Personally, it's hard for me judge other value sets because I see so much dissonance and irrationality in value norms, and I'd end up passing judgment on most people. My current belief is that there's no real inherent value in anything. As a result, no one value is truly better than another. I've found that this perspective makes me more understanding and tolerant of other people whom I previously would have been repelled by." Most of your post was pretty well thought out, but you're likely getting downvoted because this last part just sounds strange, and intellectually lazy to boot. By the reasoning above, any behavior, including murder and rape, can be justified. "They just happen to have different values. Who am I to judge them?" I agree that it's hard to judge the relative merits of different values, but just because it's hard doesn't mean we should give up and call it a day.

smallgovt 9y ago
Thanks for the feedback - I'm still trying to sort out my beliefs :). Edited to more appropriately reflect what I learned by writing this response.