This is just a quick entry to get the gears in your heads turning. I had a really interesting discussion with a couple friends of mine one time, and we discussed the idea that right vs. wrong is a man-made construction. This is to say that humans make up what we believe is right and wrong, and that, in reality, there is no such thing as right or wrong - Right and wrong are what you make them to be. This sounds simple enough, right? I mean, for people who don't believe in a higher power who makes the rules, this seems pretty logical when you think about it. I mean this is a lot like the cultural universality debate, which I previously discussed in my 12th Dodger Logic entry. Is there a definite right and wrong, no matter the culture? Is there some wiggle room there? Can one person believe something is wrong, while someone else believes it's right, and neither one of these people is wrong in their belief?
This sounds great, but this requires a belief that murder, for example, is not necessarily wrong - It is what we make of it. It is wrong if we say so and believe it to be wrong. But if another culture does human sacrifices or lets people run around doing whatever they want, including killing people, then that's totally fine, because they don't believe that's wrong. Can we possibly force ourselves to believe this? Is it wrong to kill, simply because our cultural norms and our government say so, or is it simply wrong to kill, no matter what your personal belief is? What makes an action right or wrong? Who dictates those rules? Of course, I know religious people will say their god does, and that's perfectly fine. That's a legitimate answer, for sure, depending on your beliefs. However, that won't work as an answer for everyone, especially people who are not religious. Again, we come to an impass between beliefs. Who is right, and who is wrong? Or does that even exist?
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