I've decided that I don't need to give you a prompt. You all do a great job at engaging the text and linking to service--so, I'm leaving it wide open. If you find yourself struggling to link--email me and I will give you a prompt, no problem.
Here's my quote for the day that relates to relativism and whether or not there ARE universal moral truths:
The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.
- Flannery O'Connor (a great Southern novelist)
Appiah writes, "One is the idea that we have obligations to others, obligations that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by the ties of kith and kind, or even the more formal ties of a shared citizenship. The other is that we take seriously the value not just of human life but of particular human lives, which means taking an interest in the practices and belies that lend them significance" (xv). I found this quote to be so applicable to the service we are all doing as part of this course. In serving our community, we are, in a sense, performing our obligations to others--to our community. For some of us, we are serving people that we did not know before, who may have come from very different backgrounds than we have and may have different beliefs. Yet, in serving, we connect ourselves to them, creating a bond between us that makes us seem not so separate. Service allows us the opportunity to understand where they are coming from and for them to understand where we come from. I see this so strongly in stories from those doing tutoring and the needle exchange project in class. Even in my own service, though I am not serving people from a drastically different background than myself, I am serving people who often have different ideas about what and how to do something than my own. Like Appiah says, "there is much to learn from our differences" (xv).
ReplyDeleteAnother idea that I found very applicable was this: Appiah states, "The deepest mistake...is to think that your little shard of the mirror can reflect the whole" (8). This one I see in my service work constantly. I have been involved in the world of the arts for as long as I can remember. Yet, I really have only seen the creative or active side of it. It led me to have the distorted view that this is all there is and is all that matters. In being in the "behind the scenes" of a studio, I've seen past my shard of the mirror. I'm being exposed to a different part of something---that deals with moving chairs, marking floors, decorating bulletin boards rather than moving, creating, and doing. It has opened my eyes to see all that works to make what I do daily possible.
Thanks, Sarah--this is a great kick-off for the rest of the blog discussion. . . Great connections. . . and yes, we we so often seek sameness because differences can cause discomfort--but this is where we stretch ourselves, isn't it?
ReplyDelete“The challenge, then, is to take minds and hearts formed over the long millennia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas and institutions that will allow us to live together as the global tribe we have become.” (p.xiii) It has only been recently that humans have been able to travel the world in a matter of hours, live wherever they want, and bring their culture, language, and religion with them. We truly are a global community. This aspect is both beautiful and troublesome. It is beautiful because people of many different ideas and backgrounds can come together and work for a common good. Yet it is also difficult because personal racisms become more pronounced when surrounded by varying cultures and religions. The MYC, my place of service learning, works to lessen the interracial gaps that exist and create a community free of racism. It includes people of varying ethnicities, including Caucasian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Indian, and African American. The more that youth are surrounded by an array of colors, creeds, and cultures, in a structured environment, the more understanding an accepting they may be. People tend to fear what they do not know. This goal of interracial compatibility at the MYC is perhaps their most important.
ReplyDeleteA very important quotation that relates to interracial compatibility is found on page xvi of the preface, “…no local loyalty can ever justify forgetting that each human being has responsibilities to every other.” If every person in the world believed these words, the world would be a much more peaceful place. This quotation immediately reminded me of the recent terror attack at Fort Hood. Nidal Malik Hassan, killer of 14 innocent people, put his extreme beliefs above his responsibility to his fellow human beings. As result, over 50 people were shot and 14 innocent lives were terminated. Many other tragedies of our time can be attributed to a perpetrator’s loyalty to something lesser than the human-to-human responsibility.
Appiah works hard to show that we need to live together peacefully; that humans need to have respect for one another. I agree with him, but it is going to take a lot of time and work to get people to have respect for each other and live in peace. There are two notions of cosmopolitanism according to Appiah. The first is that we have obligations to others, beyond those people we are related to and the second is taking seriously the value of human life, which is taking the practices and interests to make that life significant (Appiah xv). In order for us to bring peace and have understanding as well as respect for others, we need to be willing to sacrifice a little bit of ourselves and show respect towards others. We need to show that we are not selfish in order for others to show that they care about us as well. When individuals start finding trust in each other, a bond can build and they can work together towards making a difference in the world. The other notion is that we need to take life interests seriously and no matter what the interests of other people are, we need to respect them. Appiah mentions an important point that “If we can’t learn from one another what is right, then the conversation between us would be pointless” (Appiah 31). He is trying to show that interacting with others, respecting their views, and learning from them are essential to making a difference in the world, no matter how small.
ReplyDeleteDiversity also plays a key role in moving towards a more peaceful world, which “suggests that, from within different moral codes, different answers emerge” (Lukes 62). Hearing other people’s views can make a huge impact on how we work together to make a change. “People are different, the cosmopolitan knows, and there is much to learn from our differences” (Appiah xv). It is very important that we learn from others and use the new information to our advantage to make good in our lives and others. At service learning the students’ everyday learn something new, whether it is from school, their peers, or spending time at the MYC. They learn from the diversity that they are surrounded in. I really hope they take the advices given to them and use them in the future, so one day through their knowledge and experiences they can also make give advice and make differences in the lives of others.
In the introduction, Appiah states that Cosmopolitanism, in a sense, is "the name not of the solution but of the challenge ... [b]ecause there are so many human possibilities worth exploring, we neither expect nor desire that every person or every society should converge on a single mode of life (xv)... The challenge then is to take minds and hearts formed over the long millennia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas and institutions that will allow us to live together as the global tribe we have become (xiii)." As human beings, I believe that we should all take the time out to accept, if not understand, the fact that there are over 6 billion people inhabiting this planet. This means 6 billion different minds, 6 billion different morals, and 6 billion different meanings. Among these differences, however, exists this underlying message that we are all trying to find the reasons behind what we value in life. The processes that we go through to find this reasoning or justification behind the values we stand by are truly unique and self-defining for every person. With this being said, we should take into consideration that despite the differences in belief and approach, the "stranger" or person to the left or right of you is doing the same thing as you are: trying to make sense of their lives. We need to acknowledge that what might be right for you may not be right for someone else. Tolerance leads to chance; chance leads to opportunity; opportunity leads to understanding; and understanding leads to respect.
ReplyDeleteWith my service learning at Marin Link, I have begun to see a pattern among businesses that band together to fight for a certain cause. Despite what business they conduct, they manage to get past their differences, if only for a while, to fight for what they believe in. Businesses in the business world can have this stigma on them as being cut-throat and methodical in a way that gets them what they want at all costs, but seeing all these firms work together cohesively and respectfully gives me hope towards the arising challenge that is Cosmopolitanism. It makes me believe that this challenge is possible to respond to, even if it takes a while to reach the other side. Getting there is only half the battle, coming back with the story is the other.
Appiah’s discussion of the relationship of positivism and cosmopolitanism, generated a feeling of conflict. I’d felt before that maybe being a world citizen was a decent if far away ideal. Yet, when he spoke about his own life in terms of already seeing a globalized society, I took the time to re-examine just what I thought cosmopolitanism was, and tried to decide if we were in fact living multi-cultural lives. “I always had a sense of family and tribe that was multiple and overlapping; nothing could have seemed more commonplace” (Appiah xviii). This statement perfectly sums up my and many of my friends existences. Most of us are either first or second generation Americans, learning how to reconcile American customs with the traditions of our parents and grand parents while simultaneously coping with the merging of many other people attempting the same thing. Appiah mentions the many different societies living together as one people in Ghana, and America is not much different in that respect.
ReplyDeleteMy service learning seems to embody this aspect of cosmopolitanism that Appiah advocates. Because of Sonia’s Chilean descent, world travels, and life experiences, her worldview is perfectly mutli-cultural. Listening to her speak and give advice is an enlightenment in and of itself. I’ve always enjoyed hearing what she has to say.
Therefore, it came as somewhat of a shock, when Appiah, in discussing positivism, puts forth the idea that maybe a truly cosmopolitan way of life isn’t so ideal. From what I understood, cosmopolitanism demands tolerance. Positivism, which is a focus on the real, or empirical parts of life questions this dedication to tolerance, not because it’s a bad thing, but because it has limited universal potential and cannot, thus, be based on something tangible. This idea seemed entirely foreign to me. While normally, the ability to generalize is a key part of experimental findings, I never thought to apply this approach to something as broad and vague as an idea, or a word. Eventually though, in presenting an alternative to Positivism, Appiah was able to affirm my belief that not everything can be so strictly classified. While that doesn’t mean that things shouldn’t be questioned and that everything should be just blindly tolerated; he mentions that this would lead to a lack of conversation, and a halt of all communication between cultures (anti-cosmopolitan), it is clear that in order for human beings to maximize their potential some sort of balance should be found that softens the harsh realities of positivism while maintaining the benefits of a cosmopolitan lifestyle (Appiah 31).
Throughout Appiah’s first chapter she discusses the idea of a shattered mirror. This mirror holds the individual truths of every culture, of every person. However, because the mirror is shattered we can not reach a global agreement on the truths that seem common sense to one tribe or another. I believe that this idea of separate truths is best expressed through the segment of a poem stating that “all Faith is false, all Faith is true;/ Truth is the shattered mirror strown/ In myriad bits; while each believes/ His little bit the whole to own” (5). I find my own truth in Appiah’s description of Burton’s words and beliefs. Every country and society, even those within the U.S., contains a thought process that the citizens believe as undeniable truth. Due to the large variety of cultures, the truths do not always agree with each other, such as the story of witchcraft that Appaih describes in her second chapter in contrast to the study of science that is believed to show truth in most western countries. The problem is that because these societies have been living by these truths for centuries and these truths have lead to their survival, citizens are convinced that the truth they believe has no faults and all the other thought processes are wrong if they are different. In my opinion this creates the chattered mirror where “you will find parts of truth…everywhere and the whole truth nowhere” (8). This concept has been shown to me through my service learning experience because the individuals who come and talk to us, who receive the needles to do what society sees as bad by obvious truth, have different opinions. Some of them see no problem with the drugs they take and instead find the fault within the society that looks down on them.
ReplyDeleteAnother comment I find true in Appaih’s first chapter is the statement that “no ‘country can produce everything it needs; whatever it has, it I bound to lack something’” (6). On a personal level I believe this relates to idea that every individual needs to rely on others for survival. No one person can farm and slaughter their own food, construct their own tools, heal their own wounds, and provide for themselves at the same time. This also leads me to believe that living in a society is one of the most important aspects of human life, not just for physical survival, but for communication and company. This relates largely to the needle exchange because it provides a place to individuals to communicate and not have to be judged, for people to be open and have no fear of being left alone. I believe that this is the most important service a human can provide, to be available, to be someone another can come to and count on, to not leave or be left alone in such a large and rapidly moving world.
Mina and Joanna put alot of emphasis on the need to work together and respect eachother in order to have a more peaceful and understanding world. I agree with this wholeheartedly. We don't need to agree or disagree with another's religions, traditions or beliefs. We must only RESPECT them. Alot of adults have problems with this, but I do believe that the younger generation is starting to become acquainted to the diverse population in America. We understand the differences and conflicts between two groups of people, but with respect, we get along. With nursing as our major, we are being taught about cultural diversity. We are taught to respect the cultures and beliefs of others, at the same time, do our job to the best of our ability. We are told about Jehovah Witnesses who refuse to receive blood transplants or transfusions because they believe that blood is sacred. Even in a life-or-death situation, they would choose death over a transfusion. Though some disagree with this decision, as nurses and as humans we respect their choice. We may not encourage or support it, but we give respect. I think the problems with alot of countries, organizations or even individuals comes with the lack of respect.
ReplyDeleteThe example of female circumcision is a widely discussed topic. We have heard this example in Moral Relativism and here it is again in Cosmopolitanism. I was one of the people who believed that female circumcision was absolutely wrong in every aspect. This book allowed me to see the "other side" of the issue. It was through that example that I was able to understand the example of the shattered mirror. How everyone's perspectives and viewpoints are different but at the same time, for themselves, true and appropriate. There is not one line between right or wrong, a clear divide between good or bad, and morality doesn't live in black or white-- there are grays depending on circumstances, cultures, people. "So perhaps, when it comes to morality, there is no single truth. In that case, there is no one shattered mirror. There are lots of mirrors; lots of moral truths, and we can at best agree to differ." (Appiah, 11)
In "Cosmoplitanism" the author, Kwame Anthony Appiah, begins with a concept of German Voltaire that "Cosmopolitans...regard all the peoples of the earth as so many branches of a single family, and the universe as a state, of which they, with innumerable other rational beings, are citizens, promoting together under the general laws of nature the perfection of the whole, while each in his own fashion is busy about his own well-being" (xv). It is our obligation as a human, as a single individual ans as a citizen to take part in this world. In order for us to make a change in the world we have to be willing to understand each other since we live in the same planet. What affects us may affect others and by willing to understand each other we can make it easier for one another to make sense of what we value in life and what it is we want in life. It is our duety and a need to understand one another because that will help us improve any issues we may come across. If we understand each other it will be easier to work as a unity or as a whole, and as a result we will accomplish more and have more power and strength to get things done. Even though we are all different we are connected some how whether it may be through our ancestors or characteristics we may have in common. Those things will connect and help us even more to understand one another and participate with the things that are going on.
ReplyDeleteAt the MYC I see that every person there plays an important part in making this program such a success. Everyone gets along and without that understanding and bond, the MYC would not be as effective in helping out students. Thanks to the good communication, and the strong relationships that are present at the MYC more things are accomplished and the students have more support to excel in their studies.
Once again I choose to focus on the idea that people can more easily agree on what is wrong than what is right. Appiah confirms this in the writing "Disagreements of this fundamental sort [referring to the Tormentor who thinks cruelty good] are actually quite unusual" (pg. 27). When I keep this in mind and touch back to the idea that values "guide our acts, our thoughts, and our feelings." (pg. 25) it suddenly becomes apparent that there is no true good and bad as mentioned in the poem.
ReplyDeleteTake the anecdote about the British officer and the person who said it was custom to burn the widow on the husband's funeral pyre. The British officer must then, by his judgment and customs, execute the Indian who burned the widow (There's probably more to it, but bear with me). The Indian is probably, again, excuse my lack of knowledge about Indian culture, burning the widow for the same reason Pharaohs included their pets and servants in their tombs: they want someone to accompany them in the afterlife. Why would they want company in the afterlife? Personally I find life after death a scary place, so I'm sure I would appreciate the company. Whereas, the British officer values rectification and must hold the Indian accountable for what he deems is murder.
Another way to illustrate the idea of values as springboards for actions and emotions is the infamous Taliban stonings of women who were convicted of committing adultery in Afghanistan. The Taliban put value on fidelity. When someone was convicted of infidelity, they were punished. In our society, spouses and couples will divorce and split over infidelity. Granted, the cost of a lawyer is a more acceptable cost than a brutal stoning. One could even suppose that our way of dealing with infidelity is more civil. It follows that both we and the Taliban value fidelity, the disconnect is in another value, respect for women.
I suppose the only way to evaluate or judge values from other cultures is to compare it against applicability to a host of values. For us, respect for women and the value of infidelity make the stoning seem barbaric and "wrong." For the Taliban, respect for women is a much more conditional value. I'm thinking in order for cosmopolitanism to work is to have a multitude of universal and instrinsically "true" values.
Daniel
Upon reading Sarah’s post and reflecting upon Kwame Appiah’s thoughts around the Duhem thesis in chapter 3, I present an idea contrary to Sarah’s, that instead of embracing and celebrating our differences, we should celebrate our sameness with others and the values that we share that can not be broken by cultural boundaries. “The Positivist holds that with facts, when we disagree, one of us has the truth, one of us is underwritten by the way things are, whereas with values, there is nothing to underwrite our claims. But even if we granted this picture, what would entitle us to think that the universe’s being determinately one way or another guarantees that we can reach agreement as to which way it is? We enter every conversation—whether with neighbors or with strangers—without a promise of final agreement” (Appiah 44). Therefore, values prove to be the common cultural ground. Values cannot be underwritten and can be agreed upon between anyone, whereas facts cannot. This common ground or foundation that values lay, paves the way for cosmopolitanism.
ReplyDeleteWhile values can be agreed upon, their application cannot. I believe this is how difference can be accepted or celebrated as Sarah mentions, because the underlying values are shared between the individuals. Contrary to Sarah’s claim that we are connected to people that are different than us through serving them, again I believe that the connection is really through shared underlying values. The service that we perform with many community members in this class is more of a coming together on the basis of value, rather than difference. The idea of difference uniting people across culture implies to me the Positivist outlook that lies on a factual level where one person has the truth (or correct application of value) and the other is “underwritten by the way things are.”
--Coleman
What truly stood out for me in Appiah's Cosmopolitanism was a topic that both Han and Daisy discussed--diversity and the acceptance of it. Although it is easy to say that we can accept people for who they are and what they do, it is a task that is far more difficult than it may seem. For example, living in a state like California, we expect individuals to have more liberals views yet we still see struggle and conflict between different political and socioeconomic groups on topics such as marijuana, healthcare, and same-sex marriage. The presence of such a conflict in opinions presents a problem? How can we stand up for our own opinions yet respect the opinions that complete go against our own ideas and morals?
ReplyDeleteIn Cosmopolitanism, Appiah declares that we are all citizens of the world. In Moral Relativism, Lukes notes how our perceptions of "right" and "wrong" are based on the culture that we were raised or accustomed to. Both Appiah and Lukes are addressing diversity, its implications, and how we are all inter-connnected.
Today's world is a crazy one. People come from all different walks of life. People all have different religions, different cultural backgrounds, different economic statuses--diferent everything! Something that I noticed while volunteering at MCCS was that each student was different. The students were not just ethnically different, but they had different interests and family backgrounds. They had similar problems, but each was different and unique to his or her own lifestyle. Yet, these kids were all at MCCS. They were all talking to each other, being disruptive in class together, poking fun at each other--they were so different yet found something to share. I find that acknowledging and celebrating what makes a person unique provides a great service to him or her. It makes that person feel "special" and although it may sound cheesy, it truly does uplift the spirit in some way or another. My students ask me about my life sometimes, and I share. I ask them about their lives, and they share. We are all so different, but truly, in the end, we have something very human and enduring to share with each other.
Deronda once said “loyalties and local allegiances determine more than what we want’ they determine who we are.” (Appiah xviii) In the first chapter of Cosmopolitanism, the metaphor of a person’s cultural identity as shattered mirror is presented. A person can be raised in one culture and within his or her lifetime be exposed to other cultures too. The person can learn the other cultures’ languages, eat their exotic foods, practice their customs and learn about their religions. A person can even adopt their ways of life and become, in a sense, a part of that other culture. However, no matter how hard someone tries to become a citizen of another culture, they will never be able to lose their culture’s influence over them. Everything that we, as humans, experience and all the ideas we are exposed to, shape our lives. This can be likened to a tattoo. No matter how hard you try to remove the tattoo on your arm, whether it be through surgery or watnot, a part of it will still be left under your skin or it will leave some lasting impression in your skin. You can get a tattoo done over the place where the old one was, but the old one will never be totally gone. Once exposed to other cultures, one can be aware of another way of life and, in periods of conflict, one can be able to see the situation from the other’s perspective. However, one’s background (which is composed of their culture and experiences) will ultimately influence which side one agrees with because that is what will determine their set of values or what they deem important and ‘good’ in life. If the idea of relativism is “true, then, at the end of many discussions, we would each have to end up saying, “From where I stand, I am right. From where you stand, you are right.”… Relativism [then] isn’t a way to encourage conversation’ it’s just a reason to fall silent.” (Appiah 30-31)
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ReplyDeleteAppiah writes, "People are different, the cosmopolitan knows, and there is much to learn from our differences. Because there are so many human possibilities worth exploring, we neither expect nor desire that every person or every society should converge on a single mode of life." This quote especially resonated with me. It is through personal individual experiences and interactions with others with different insights than us that we learn most about ourselves and how we fit into the world as a whole. This is why it is important to not solely commit to a particular group but rather to live as a citizen of the world. By experiencing things and people outside of our expected social realms, we can learn so much more about morality and ourselves as individuals. It is through differences and often disagreements and confrontation that truth is discovered.
ReplyDeleteThis directly relates to the work we are doing in our service. Service learning allows one to be outside of his or her "normal" or everyday worlds. It branches out and connects people who may not have ever connected who have so much to offer one another. In serving the community, we are teaching or helping others, while in turn, they are teaching us something about ourselves.
In this week’s reading of cosmopolitanism, Kwame Appoah discusses the many issues that occur when people judge different cultures. He discusses problem with placing one’s own beliefs on the customs of foreign cultures. He explains that right and wrong are terms that cannot be used to label the beliefs of other cultures. “And many of them are inclined to think that words like “right” and “wrong” make sense only relative to particular customs, conventions, cultures (Appiah 15).” I thought this idea was very interesting. It has always bothered me when I see culture arguing about who is correct.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first chapter, I was reminded of something that happened to me in high school. I would say that this experience changed my outlook on religious beliefs. I attended a private Christian school for my four years of high school. After one chapel class, I met with one of the church leaders to discuss that day’s lesson. The speaker spoke about how all other religions were incorrect and that they were destine for punishment in the afterlife. Then someone asked about other religions which are similar to Christianity and he said they too are wrong. I met with the church speaker because I was very troubled with this lesson. What was more troubling was that I seemed to be the only one disgusted by this. First, in the meeting I gave my position on the argument. I asked why only Christians were the only one to go to heaven. I told him even if people believe in different gods; it doesn’t mean that they were not good people. “Don’t they deserve happiness in the afterlife”, I asked. He kept saying that it was how this truth was said in the Bible. I ask why he was so ignorant to accept other religions. After an hour of being ran in circle I left his office confused and slightly angry. The worst part was later that day I asked a fellow student what they thought about the subject and she surprisingly took the church’s position on the matter. Since then I have never like judging other peoples cultures. I always try to first get educated and understand the beliefs of others. I have always practiced tolerance. I never want to be so ignorant that reject all other cultures when instead I could use it as an opportunity to learn.