Brief update
By Andrew Medworth @ 21:58 | Filed under: PersonalRegular readers can’t have failed to notice that this blog has not been updated in a while. This is for a collection of personal reasons: all I can say is that there are things going on in my life right now which are taking priority over writing.
I apologise for this, but right now I don’t know when (or even whether) the situation will change.
In the meantime, interesting things are continuing to happen in the world. An excellent column against moral relativism appeared in the Times a few days ago, which is worth reading. While the author makes some excellent points against moral relativism, she seems less sure of what should replace it.
The problem with this is that most people already know, on some level, what is wrong with moral relativism. Relativism is not something one can consistently practice. It does nothing to help you live. For a great many people, relativism functions as a rationalisation for immoral behaviour, to be called upon when it seems convenient. But in other areas of their lives, people do believe in firm moral principles, which they believe are factually superior to the alternatives. (If you don’t believe me, talk to a relativist whose car has been stolen.)
Refuting relativism is an important step, but by itself, it can at most deprive people of a rationalisation for immorality. However, human beings are rather good at finding replacement rationalisations, if they are determined to do so. To heal our world, the only moral code which will suffice is one which people have a genuine reason to follow, where any attempt to cheat is simply senseless. This, I believe, is what Ayn Rand has given us, and why I think the recent surge of interest in her work is such a positive sign.
October 27th, 2009 at 22:51
Thank you for the last paragraph in particular. That, in generalized form, is a very important point for those of us who want to make our world a better place in which to live.
Like swatting flies, being able to refute common varieties of irrational doctrines has some importance. However, an irrational person will latch onto an irrational replacement quickly, and there are many forms of the irrational. The solution long-term is to emphasize the rational alternative — clearly, concisely, and radically.
My own future efforts — at http://reasonversusmysticism.blogspot.com/ — will be focused in part on identifying the many forms of mysticism flourishing in our culture, and in part identifying the few voices of reason.
I wish you well in your own situation. I hope you are able to resolve it in a way that aids you in achieving your highest goals.