Monday, November 7, 2011

Mind Your Own Business

In these modern times, people think too much.

Too much self-reflection, too much mind-numbing mind-puzzling.

All of this is in reaction to a society which has placed the borders of right and wrong squarely on the individual, independent of tradition, faith, or practice.

If the criteria for proper conduct and purpose lies exclusively within the individual, what other resource does an individual possess to make informed decisions but his own mind?

This is a gross miscalculation, one which philosopher David Hume disputed long ago: "Np 'is' implies an 'ought'" Just because a surface phenomenon may offend us, or rather the act itself, does not therefore justify our deeming it right or wrong. These are matters which must be evaluated in light of values, history, and tradition.

We cannot make the world with our thoughts alone, nor should we content ourselves with trying to.

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