Sam, Your essay describes anything but "ethics" as I understand the term. I will in the future write an essay in which I may refer to the so-called "age of disbelief"-- a sense that nihilism rules. In some sense, what you are describing is your struggle to deal with questions of loyalty and what you faced in the workplace when your co-wo…
Sam, Your essay describes anything but "ethics" as I understand the term. I will in the future write an essay in which I may refer to the so-called "age of disbelief"-- a sense that nihilism rules. In some sense, what you are describing is your struggle to deal with questions of loyalty and what you faced in the workplace when your co-worker was not motivated by doubt--instead by "effectiveness theory."
When we don't admit to the struggle to do the right thing--and Trump has demonstrated a serious lack of struggle about the nature of "loyalty" and the tightrope one can be on when trying to do the right thing in the face of potential "disloyalty." I view Trump's view of the world as a nihilistic view.
I'm inclined here to go a bit philosophical and hope I'm not off topic. But here I go: Kierkegaard says in _Fear and Trembling_, “[I]t is not faith but the most remote possibility of faith that faintly sees its object on the most distant horizon but is separated from it by a chasmal abyss in which doubt plays its tricks.” In my view it is "this doubt" as we face the chasm that holds our humanity.
I add that your essay is not only a tribute to your gentle father and his moral view of loyalty but also advice that occupied the territory of ethical loyalty—anything but nihilism, anything but what Trump's view of the world clearly has been shown to be. xo ~ Mary
I tend to feel that there are several different ethical paradigms. There's an ethics that's based on loyalty and the esprit de corps of a tribe; and then an ethics that's based on living one's life according to an absolute; and then maybe an ethics that's based around finding some sort of internal harmony within oneself (recognizing 'one's path'). The tribal loyalty paradigm can be a bit crude - and has real limits to the extent of its empathy - but it does have the merit of being closely connected to human biology. I worry that there's a different, and really terrible, ethical paradigm that's coming into focus, which is about participation in the collective, no matter what the collective has to contribute. Trump is appealing to a lot of people because he seems to offer the observe of that - but which is, unfortunately, as you say, utter selfishness, pure nihilism.
Sam, Your essay describes anything but "ethics" as I understand the term. I will in the future write an essay in which I may refer to the so-called "age of disbelief"-- a sense that nihilism rules. In some sense, what you are describing is your struggle to deal with questions of loyalty and what you faced in the workplace when your co-worker was not motivated by doubt--instead by "effectiveness theory."
When we don't admit to the struggle to do the right thing--and Trump has demonstrated a serious lack of struggle about the nature of "loyalty" and the tightrope one can be on when trying to do the right thing in the face of potential "disloyalty." I view Trump's view of the world as a nihilistic view.
I'm inclined here to go a bit philosophical and hope I'm not off topic. But here I go: Kierkegaard says in _Fear and Trembling_, “[I]t is not faith but the most remote possibility of faith that faintly sees its object on the most distant horizon but is separated from it by a chasmal abyss in which doubt plays its tricks.” In my view it is "this doubt" as we face the chasm that holds our humanity.
I add that your essay is not only a tribute to your gentle father and his moral view of loyalty but also advice that occupied the territory of ethical loyalty—anything but nihilism, anything but what Trump's view of the world clearly has been shown to be. xo ~ Mary
Hi Mary!
I tend to feel that there are several different ethical paradigms. There's an ethics that's based on loyalty and the esprit de corps of a tribe; and then an ethics that's based on living one's life according to an absolute; and then maybe an ethics that's based around finding some sort of internal harmony within oneself (recognizing 'one's path'). The tribal loyalty paradigm can be a bit crude - and has real limits to the extent of its empathy - but it does have the merit of being closely connected to human biology. I worry that there's a different, and really terrible, ethical paradigm that's coming into focus, which is about participation in the collective, no matter what the collective has to contribute. Trump is appealing to a lot of people because he seems to offer the observe of that - but which is, unfortunately, as you say, utter selfishness, pure nihilism.
Lots to talk about on this! Chat more.
- Sam