- #1
baywax
Gold Member
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By using the term "common ethics" I am referring somewhat to the idea of "common sense". You see it everyday in traffic, among pedestrians, in classrooms and everywhere there is human activity. We could say you can find it in the animal and plant kingdoms as well, but that would be an outright anthropomorphic projection of a concept purely concocted by the collective human mind.
I am interested in the idea of common ethics because it appears to be a natural phenomenon rather than a human endeavor or construct. It appears to be the lubricant to the natural progression of the organization and evolution of all things, including non-living things.
But I am jumping ahead of myself. If you observe the nuances of automobile traffic in practically every city or town in North America you'll notice that there is a high degree of ethics or common ethic that go into the smooth working of the function of traffic which is to transport people from A to B (etc). Without this common ethic or "common courtesy" traffic would be at a stand still and "constructive" progress would cease. Without the obligatory braking at red lights or to avoid rear-enders, without the pauses in movement to allow pedestrians to cross and the speed limits to minimize accidents, our entire society would quickly fall into anarchy and eventual ruin.
In terms of non-living things and those living in the plant and animal kingdoms, where ethics is not a consciously-aware choice, we still see common ethics or events that make sense in terms of continuing the species and/or existence in general taking place across a broad, common spectrum. We sometimes refer to them as the laws (ethics) of nature and or of physics.
When we study the concepts of "karma" and "all things being equal" and interpretations of the balance of "power" or energy in the universe, the result is a view of a magnificent, natural mechanism that has evolved over the last 13.5 billion or so years. And, what I'm proposing here is that one of the developments that have helped to bring about this entire universal environment is the natural selection of what I'm calling "common ethics". What do you think?
I am interested in the idea of common ethics because it appears to be a natural phenomenon rather than a human endeavor or construct. It appears to be the lubricant to the natural progression of the organization and evolution of all things, including non-living things.
But I am jumping ahead of myself. If you observe the nuances of automobile traffic in practically every city or town in North America you'll notice that there is a high degree of ethics or common ethic that go into the smooth working of the function of traffic which is to transport people from A to B (etc). Without this common ethic or "common courtesy" traffic would be at a stand still and "constructive" progress would cease. Without the obligatory braking at red lights or to avoid rear-enders, without the pauses in movement to allow pedestrians to cross and the speed limits to minimize accidents, our entire society would quickly fall into anarchy and eventual ruin.
In terms of non-living things and those living in the plant and animal kingdoms, where ethics is not a consciously-aware choice, we still see common ethics or events that make sense in terms of continuing the species and/or existence in general taking place across a broad, common spectrum. We sometimes refer to them as the laws (ethics) of nature and or of physics.
When we study the concepts of "karma" and "all things being equal" and interpretations of the balance of "power" or energy in the universe, the result is a view of a magnificent, natural mechanism that has evolved over the last 13.5 billion or so years. And, what I'm proposing here is that one of the developments that have helped to bring about this entire universal environment is the natural selection of what I'm calling "common ethics". What do you think?