Nov 8 2011: I wonder how life affects depression and anxiety.
Some of the contributors so far have spoken of death. Anxiety and depression are a normal and healthy response to the surreal horror of losing a loved one. Sometimes feelings we don't like need to be respected and experienced before we can move on with our lives.
I wonder how much of the depression and anxiety people experience is a natural reaction to the world we live in. There is a TedTalk called "how economic inequity harms societies" and in this talk statistics are provided to show a correlation between mental well-being and economic equality within countries.
Maybe a lot of the depression and anxiety we experience is a normal reaction to things that are not right in our countries. I feel anxious about the future, and I think with good reason. Australia now has working poor, dishonesty and greed are becoming more prevalent in our country, and todays teenagers will not have the opportunities I had.
I see news of the "Occupy" movement and I think these people are heroes. Our world is changing to favour the dishonest and concentrate even more power and wealth into the hands of a minority at the expense of the well-being of the majority. Consequently, more people have legitimate concerns for themselves and for others, but are often powerless to do anything about it. I believe there is a significant degree of depression and anxiety in our society that could be relieved simply by restoring fairness and equity.
Maybe anxiety and depression are the symptoms of a sick society rather than a sick individual.
Maybe one way to deal with anxiety and depression is to acknowledge the legitimate concerns in your life or the events that led to your anxiety and depression and see your response as being a normal and healthy response to an adverse situation. Respect it, give it the time it needs and when ready, make a decision about how you personally will deal with it so you can move on with your life.
Nov 8 2011: Graphics....used in entertainment, advertising..... It wouldn't surprise me if graphics had actually grown given how influential advertising is and how much demand there is for advertising anywhere it can possibly fit.
I think visuals not only have the capacity to communicate, I think visuals influence our beliefs and decision making.
Nov 8 2011: Neither ethics nor morals are written in DNA. Morality is relative to one's neurology, culture, peer-groups, and countless other influential circumstances - well said Sam.
Nov 5 2011: I should have clarified my statement about enforcing my view of right and wrong on others. I am not suggesting you are trying to enforce your view of right and wrong on anyone else. That was a reference to the idea of teaching children about absolute rights and wrongs. Who decides what is "right" and what is "wrong"? It is a well accepted tenet in psychology that generally people do what they think is "right", even though their logic will be confusing to others. A man who beats his wife generally has the belief that she deserved it and that he was right to do so. Rapists have many reasons for believing they are entitled. Hitler believed firmly in the rightness of his actions.
There is what is called a "Background of Obviousness" and this varies incredibly between cultures and this is where a lot of "right" and "wrong" comes from. It also varies between groups within societies. So while one group will have one set of absolutes regarding what is right and what is wrong, another group will see things differently. For most people, their beliefs about right and wrong appear to be obvious, and they find it baffling that others can't see it. I don't know that there are any universally accepted "rights" and "wrongs". You may call it "perversion" when someone does not see it the same way as you, but that does not change the reality that there are whole societies on our planet that believe there are instances where rape is not only justified, but appropriate.
When it comes to ethics, I think we should encourage children to think, discuss and evaluate, so that when new ethical dilemmas arise, they have a toolkit they have practiced and can apply to the same situation.
There is a Ted Talk on oxytocin (sp?) and how it impacts ethical behavior. Worth a watch.
Nov 5 2011: No, I don't mean that we shouldn't study it. In fact, I think the opposite. I think we should constantly be evaluating our actions and how they define us. But we can't say "killing is wrong" or "informing people is right". We must always do our best to be conscious of the context.
The last line of my previous post - that "I am grateful the education I received help me to evaluate the reasons I consider something to be right or wrong" is about that. I don't think it is possible to define every single context completely - which is much of the reason our legal system has so many failures - so people must be responsible for evaluating each situation as they find it. At school I spent six months studying aborigines and slavery, and rather than being specifically about history, our teacher took us through discussions to help us evaluate how we felt about the ethics of slavery and how people are treated.
With the free range eggs conversation, my objection to battery hens is in the treatment of the animals and nothing to do with environment. So again, we have a difference as to the perception of what is right and wrong. Some people believe it is economically responsible to do what is best for the economy and that delivers the greater good, while others believe there is no excuse for the cruelty of battery hen farming or harming the environment.
I would love to enforce my view of right and wrong on everybody because, of course, I feel my morals are correct and right. But so does everybody else, including those who disagree with me.
I agree kids shouldn't bully but I think it should go deeper than that. I think there should be discussion around why it isn't right to bully. What are the consequences? How would you feel if you were bullied? And while you and I might think it is wrong to bully, there are fathers out there who like to see their sons "being a man". It is known that psychopaths are very successful in the work place - success through bullying.
Nov 4 2011: We don't know that it is wrong to kill. It happens all the time. People do it for sport. We do it as part of business - for example the pharmaceutical and asbestos industries.
Right and wrong is always context specific. While we can have ideals about how the world should be and how everyone should behave, evaluating what is right or wrong is not always straight forward. In many cases, the best you can hope for is that your actions have not harmed or contributed to harm based on the information you have at hand.
For instance, I only buy free range eggs. I would never knowingly support a battery hen operation. After buying a particular brand for 12 months I saw a documentary on TV that reported the brand I used were deceptive and had been labeling battery hen eggs as free range eggs. So all the time I thought I had been doing the right thing, I was unknowingly supporting something I am opposed to.
In my mind there is no doubt that buying battery hen eggs is wrong. But the majority of people in Australia seem to not share my view. Even my sister doesn't share my view. She always buys battery hen eggs and the majority of the eggs on the supermarket shelves are battery hen eggs. Yet I "know" buying battery hen eggs is "wrong".
Taking it a step further. If someone picks some eggs from the supermarket shelf that are labelled as free range, but they are one of the ones that the documentary showed as not being free range, is it right or wrong to let that person know? I am grateful that I know so that I can now avoid these brands masquerading as free range. But this doesn't mean that others want to know. Some people actually get upset when advised the eggs they are putting in their trolley are not free range eggs. They would prefer to think they are buying free range than know they are not so they can choose an alternative.
I am grateful the education I received helped me to evaluate the reasons I consider something to be right or wrong.
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A comment on Conversation: How have depression and anxiety affected your life?
Some of the contributors so far have spoken of death. Anxiety and depression are a normal and healthy response to the surreal horror of losing a loved one. Sometimes feelings we don't like need to be respected and experienced before we can move on with our lives.
I wonder how much of the depression and anxiety people experience is a natural reaction to the world we live in. There is a TedTalk called "how economic inequity harms societies" and in this talk statistics are provided to show a correlation between mental well-being and economic equality within countries.
Maybe a lot of the depression and anxiety we experience is a normal reaction to things that are not right in our countries. I feel anxious about the future, and I think with good reason. Australia now has working poor, dishonesty and greed are becoming more prevalent in our country, and todays teenagers will not have the opportunities I had.
I see news of the "Occupy" movement and I think these people are heroes. Our world is changing to favour the dishonest and concentrate even more power and wealth into the hands of a minority at the expense of the well-being of the majority. Consequently, more people have legitimate concerns for themselves and for others, but are often powerless to do anything about it. I believe there is a significant degree of depression and anxiety in our society that could be relieved simply by restoring fairness and equity.
Maybe anxiety and depression are the symptoms of a sick society rather than a sick individual.
Maybe one way to deal with anxiety and depression is to acknowledge the legitimate concerns in your life or the events that led to your anxiety and depression and see your response as being a normal and healthy response to an adverse situation. Respect it, give it the time it needs and when ready, make a decision about how you personally will deal with it so you can move on with your life.
A reply on Conversation: Why is visual literacy discouraged in most cultures & WHAT CAN WE DO to change that?
I think visuals not only have the capacity to communicate, I think visuals influence our beliefs and decision making.
A reply on Conversation: What's one thing you wish you had learned in school?
A reply on Conversation: What's one thing you wish you had learned in school?
There is what is called a "Background of Obviousness" and this varies incredibly between cultures and this is where a lot of "right" and "wrong" comes from. It also varies between groups within societies. So while one group will have one set of absolutes regarding what is right and what is wrong, another group will see things differently. For most people, their beliefs about right and wrong appear to be obvious, and they find it baffling that others can't see it. I don't know that there are any universally accepted "rights" and "wrongs". You may call it "perversion" when someone does not see it the same way as you, but that does not change the reality that there are whole societies on our planet that believe there are instances where rape is not only justified, but appropriate.
When it comes to ethics, I think we should encourage children to think, discuss and evaluate, so that when new ethical dilemmas arise, they have a toolkit they have practiced and can apply to the same situation.
There is a Ted Talk on oxytocin (sp?) and how it impacts ethical behavior. Worth a watch.
A reply on Conversation: What's one thing you wish you had learned in school?
The last line of my previous post - that "I am grateful the education I received help me to evaluate the reasons I consider something to be right or wrong" is about that. I don't think it is possible to define every single context completely - which is much of the reason our legal system has so many failures - so people must be responsible for evaluating each situation as they find it. At school I spent six months studying aborigines and slavery, and rather than being specifically about history, our teacher took us through discussions to help us evaluate how we felt about the ethics of slavery and how people are treated.
With the free range eggs conversation, my objection to battery hens is in the treatment of the animals and nothing to do with environment. So again, we have a difference as to the perception of what is right and wrong. Some people believe it is economically responsible to do what is best for the economy and that delivers the greater good, while others believe there is no excuse for the cruelty of battery hen farming or harming the environment.
I would love to enforce my view of right and wrong on everybody because, of course, I feel my morals are correct and right. But so does everybody else, including those who disagree with me.
I agree kids shouldn't bully but I think it should go deeper than that. I think there should be discussion around why it isn't right to bully. What are the consequences? How would you feel if you were bullied? And while you and I might think it is wrong to bully, there are fathers out there who like to see their sons "being a man". It is known that psychopaths are very successful in the work place - success through bullying.
A reply on Conversation: What's one thing you wish you had learned in school?
Right and wrong is always context specific. While we can have ideals about how the world should be and how everyone should behave, evaluating what is right or wrong is not always straight forward. In many cases, the best you can hope for is that your actions have not harmed or contributed to harm based on the information you have at hand.
For instance, I only buy free range eggs. I would never knowingly support a battery hen operation. After buying a particular brand for 12 months I saw a documentary on TV that reported the brand I used were deceptive and had been labeling battery hen eggs as free range eggs. So all the time I thought I had been doing the right thing, I was unknowingly supporting something I am opposed to.
In my mind there is no doubt that buying battery hen eggs is wrong. But the majority of people in Australia seem to not share my view. Even my sister doesn't share my view. She always buys battery hen eggs and the majority of the eggs on the supermarket shelves are battery hen eggs. Yet I "know" buying battery hen eggs is "wrong".
Taking it a step further. If someone picks some eggs from the supermarket shelf that are labelled as free range, but they are one of the ones that the documentary showed as not being free range, is it right or wrong to let that person know? I am grateful that I know so that I can now avoid these brands masquerading as free range. But this doesn't mean that others want to know. Some people actually get upset when advised the eggs they are putting in their trolley are not free range eggs. They would prefer to think they are buying free range than know they are not so they can choose an alternative.
I am grateful the education I received helped me to evaluate the reasons I consider something to be right or wrong.