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So would slavery similarly be more justifiable if it was also done not only because slave owners liked it but because it was part of American culture?

• coldtea 8y ago
  Yes. That's also part of how it was justified back in the day. Or do you think that those practicing it thought it wasn't justified as they were doing it? The fact that people have now changed their minds on that particular matter doesn't mean that anything people haven't changed their minds but consider tradition is equally wrong. Or that there's some law-of-nature-style "right and wrong" aside what a culture deems as such. For all our modern posturing, if we were merely born 200 years ago in the US, heck, not even the South, we would statistically be far more likely to be in favor than against the practice (and still be considered perfectly "modern" for those times).
  • hjek 8y ago
    > The fact that people have now changed their minds on that particular matter doesn't mean that anything people haven't changed their minds but consider tradition is equally wrong. No, but it does mean that tradition can be an obstacle for considering the rightness of an action. > Or that there's some law-of-nature-style "right and wrong" aside what a culture deems as such. Agreed. But if we assume some basic principles (e.g. like preventable pain and suffering should be avoided or human existence is good or whatever), then we can question whether something is right according to those principles.