So many of our most difficult choices have been reasoned through and discussed thousands of times through the years. Socrates was already pondering most of the same questions we think about today.
And until recently, the issues hadn’t really changed through the years. Ethical problems are human problems, and humans have been the same for a long time. That is, we still love, fight, care for, and betray each other in the same ways. So the questions have remained mostly the same about how we do it.
For thousands of years (at least since writing was invented), humans have been able to look to history for insight into how to handle problems of humanity. What did Socrates say? What did Lao Tsu say? What did Abraham say?
And that’ll remain true for most questions. But the Frozen Girl issue made me think about how little we can rely on past thinkers for some of the toughest issues today.
How can we guess at Plato’s thoughts on whether a woman can use her dead husband’s frozen sperm to impregnate herself? Ot whether a person should be able to sell his kidney? Cloning? Or, yes, whether parents should remove their brain-damaged daughter’s uterus to prevent her from menstruating?
We’re the ancients here. We’re the first ones to comment on the moral implications of these questions. We’re breaking new ground. I say, revel in it.
The world is a hugely interesting place.
We’re the ancients? Hmmm. I’m hopeful that you’re right.
But honestly, how much of the “Wisdom of the Ages” have we been listening to lately, anyway? Have we really been taking our guidance from Abraham, Socrates, or Lao Tsu? Or have we just been free-forming it?
The most influentials thinkers of the last hundred and fifty years have specifically rejected the wisdom of the ages, instead arguing that existence precedes essence, that Hell is other people, and that right and wrong are just points of view.
Interestingly, we’ve also made more scientific progress during this period.
So, was the wisdom of the ancients (here, I’m specifically thinking of religious texts) holding us back? By turning away from religion, have our eyes been opened. Or, has the period of scientific advance shaken our beliefs and caused us to turn away from religion?
Maybe we’re the new ancients, and that would be good. But maybe there’s a reason some of the these questions never came up before. Maybe we took a wrong turn a few miles back, and now we’re lost. Maybe we’re just the people who ignored the ancients, screwed everything up, and wind up being the example for what not to do for future generations (assuming we don’t screw things up so bad there aren’t any).
Of course, I like you’re idea better.
I should be clear that my thinking that we’re the new ancients doesn’t mean that I think that we’re RIGHT! It just means that we’re the first to address some of these questions. I have no illusions about our getting it right, and especially not about how future generations will look on our decisions.
But I also don’t think that we’re any more lost than practically any other age. The more I read writings from way back, the more I think that every age is screwed up. Every age has its thinkers who fear that something has gone terribly wrong.
Of course, we have the technology to literally end the way of life of most people on earth. That’s a new thing, and could make a difference.