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> They would just get better at appearing to be ethical, which really isn't the same thing. There's a long and hard-to-kill tradition of thought, both in the W

by kijin 12y ago

> They would just get better at appearing to be ethical, which really isn't the same thing. There's a long and hard-to-kill tradition of thought, both in the West and in other cultures, that says something along the lines of "If you try hard enough to look like you care about X for a long time, you'll end up actually caring about X." It's the idea behind every educational system that requires students to wear uniforms: "Make them dress like ladies and gentlemen for several years, and they'll actually become ladies and gentlemen." It has also been the idea behind many state religions, both ancient and modern: "Make them participate in religious rituals from birth to death, and they'll actually come to have faith in our god(s)." What's scary is that this often works. It's an extremely powerful tool of social manipulation.

Mz 12y ago
I was sexually abused as a child. My healing process has been a long, strange journey. HN is not the right place to get into an in-depth discussion of my experiences. Suffice it to say that I have done a great deal of reading and thinking about sexual ethics and I have come to believe that there is a really huge difference between looking ethical and behaving in an ethical fashion. In fact, most "moral" people seem to be mostly concerned with social approval and doing things other people will agree is right. Actually ethical people seem to often be (or appear to be) amoral: They have standards they live by and public opinion be damned. That last stance gets harder if everything is in view. The first one easier. It isn't an outcome I long for.
dinkumthinkum 12y ago
Those are different things. Unless you think the anti-privacy technology will enter our thoughts or something, you may "try hard," meaning to deceive those around you, this is not the same thing as "if you want to be a charitable person, start giving to charities and you will become charitable" or whatever. The parent is just noting the obvious that you will not be fundamentally turning people into ethical people or whatever, they will simply try to find ways to exploit the system.

by kijin 12y ago

Mz 12y ago

I was sexually abused as a child. My healing process has been a long, strange journey. HN is not the right place to get into an in-depth discussion of my experiences. Suffice it to say that I have done a great deal of reading and thinking about sexual ethics and I have come to believe that there is a really huge difference between looking ethical and behaving in an ethical fashion. In fact, most "moral" people seem to be mostly concerned with social approval and doing things other people will agree is right. Actually ethical people seem to often be (or appear to be) amoral: They have standards they live by and public opinion be damned. That last stance gets harder if everything is in view. The first one easier. It isn't an outcome I long for.

dinkumthinkum 12y ago

Those are different things. Unless you think the anti-privacy technology will enter our thoughts or something, you may "try hard," meaning to deceive those around you, this is not the same thing as "if you want to be a charitable person, start giving to charities and you will become charitable" or whatever. The parent is just noting the obvious that you will not be fundamentally turning people into ethical people or whatever, they will simply try to find ways to exploit the system.