Hi all:
Hey P, I think so too re morality. As a matter of fact, emotions can cloud morality, imo. That may sound cold or uncaring but actually, for me, it's tough and requires great caring to implement. I feel strong emotions and sometimes, a great need to express them, especially re moral issues.
If I try to make a moral decision, for instance, and I allow my emotions to be the biggest factor in the decision, I'm actually making an emotional decision, not a moral one.
If I try to make a moral decision, and I allow my cognitive skills to do the work......my decision will be a more morally based one (assuming I'm being cognitive about morals).
it matters not one whit whether we care about or empathize with other people so long as we respect their rights as human beings.
That sounds like such a cut and dry statement doesn't it?
Truly, if we respect people's rights as human beings, we are being caring, I think, without expressing emotion. We don't have to like it all or feel happy about it, in order to be respectful. That's what I think anyhow. If I decide stuff based on my personal feelings, I might not be being respectful of that other person's rights. I might be putting my rights ahead of others (and maybe not even aware of it). So leaving emotions out of it (which is not easy to do sometimes) just seems the more fair, reasonable, and truly decent way to work things through.
That's my take, anyhow, and I had not seen that described so boldly, like that before, so this article grabbed my attention.
It’s sexist to both sexes:
I think so too. There are no male or female ways of thinking or emotions. Those are just ideas....imposed on us.....by our society/media/current times. Ladies used to be expected to faint at the sight of anything distasteful and men were never to cry. I'm glad some of those ideas have changed and I think they will continue to. I hope so anyway.
Too much doing, not enough thinking!
Yep. And we can all act without thinking too eh?
This was something very big that I had to learn. I used to have such clear ideas about what I would do, not do, how I would act, never act, etc in certain circumstances or under specific conditions. Now I realize, I truly don't know much at all.
Hi MS:
fear can serve as a warning that something isn't right and needs to be thought through carefully. Fear can be a healthy warning in certain circumstances, but it can also prevent growth in other circumstances. The trick is knowing whether the fear is a healthy one. That's not always easy I think.
Good points. Another trick is asking ourselves why? Why am I (or not) acting? What am I afraid of?
And if the answers can be found and dealt with.......things can go better eh? Or at least.....they go real.
Decisions shouldn't be made based on fear alone.
I think I disagree with you. Sometimes, fear is the best reason to make a decision. For example:
If someone is holding a gun to my head......fear will keep me doing whatever I must to survive. Ofcourse, it's arguable that thought....thinking logically... also plays a part in my decision to act/not act, in such a case.
So how about.......I meet some dude and I don't like what I see in his eyes. I feel fear (for some reason I can't explain). I decide not to accept his invitation for a date or to give him my number.
There is no logical reason for this other than what my gut feeling of fear is communicating right? So in this case, it seems to me......the right thing to do is to base my decision on my gut feeling of fear. It seems illogical to ignore my instincts.
I guess there are no absolutes eh? My basic reasoning is that often, fears can be overcome and decisions need not be ruled by fear (often.....not always, ofcourse). And I would agree with you (and contradict myself again) that fear alone is not usually a good thing to base decisions on (usually....but not always eh?)
Have I talked myself in a big enough circle yet?
Thanks for putting up with me (((((((all))))))).
Hey Hoppy: Maybe drag out that old machine and use it for breaks/relief from the other tedious tasks at hand? Could be a good thingy?
Sela
