Practical Philosophy, Friday
"A friend of mine walked into a fight last weekend," Ender began. They were lucky - none of the storms had set in yet, and going by the available evidence, he was willing to bet they wouldn't until class was over. "My friend didn't walk out completely intact - though don't worry, they'll be fine."
He stretched his legs out. "Our species - perhaps all sentient species, I don't know and I don't wish to speak for anyone else - has a peculiar knack for the fight. Our differences drive us to conflict. Our greater causes drive us to conflict. Presumed theft or threat or even an insult could drive us easily into conflict. Why do we fight? For any reason, really."
"Why doesn't society collapse in the face of such an onslaught of violence?" he continued. "Most often, we do so by trying to make our differences that much smaller. We incorporate our greater causes into one, so we all fight for the same, and as a group we decide which crimes are unacceptable, to greatly decrease their prevalence. We make communities, and, in theory, the larger our community, the less people there are to come into conflict with. Of course, this is a very narrow thought - for the bigger a community becomes, the more opposing voices it might also breed. But there's the hope our similarities will surmount our differences."
He sat forward. "None of which explains the behavior of my friend," he added. "Many of us here live, or have lived, on the fringes of our communities. Because we have powers, or because we have roles, in our homes that are out of the ordinary. Even if that wasn't the case before, it will certainly be when you leave, because Fandom is in no way an experience your average community is familiar with."
"Anyway, my friend lives on that fringe," he continued. "My friend went into battle against something they considered evil. Was it a matter of sacrifice, perhaps? Our little theory of community would frown upon the loss of a member, but applaud any action done in its favor - removing a violent, unlawful threat would certainly fall under that banner."
He smiled wryly. "Of course, taking that route might be trying to weave it into too logical a narrative," he said. "We're creatures of emotions, by and large. Is it still ethical, and in service of the community, if we lash out and sacrifice ourselves in a beneficial way, not for that community, but to satisfy our own anger? You could in fact argue that vigilante justice is detrimental to the community, because it passes by all those constructs we've set up to keep each other from beating someone's brains in with a rock. If it becomes okay to exact violent retribution on someone for an act against the community without following the rules of that community, don't we break open the patterns that weave us all together?"
His eyes flicked over the group - especially to Britta if she was there. "Or maybe those kind of structures - like the police, for example - are inherently corrupt," he said. "Maybe they enforce an order that is ultimately detrimental to our community, and it is the moral connections at the heart of the community, not the ones that are writ down and enforced from above, that keep us together. Maybe by striking out alone, my friend has done what his community would like to have seen done. It's a question, isn't it?"
He stretched his legs out. "Our species - perhaps all sentient species, I don't know and I don't wish to speak for anyone else - has a peculiar knack for the fight. Our differences drive us to conflict. Our greater causes drive us to conflict. Presumed theft or threat or even an insult could drive us easily into conflict. Why do we fight? For any reason, really."
"Why doesn't society collapse in the face of such an onslaught of violence?" he continued. "Most often, we do so by trying to make our differences that much smaller. We incorporate our greater causes into one, so we all fight for the same, and as a group we decide which crimes are unacceptable, to greatly decrease their prevalence. We make communities, and, in theory, the larger our community, the less people there are to come into conflict with. Of course, this is a very narrow thought - for the bigger a community becomes, the more opposing voices it might also breed. But there's the hope our similarities will surmount our differences."
He sat forward. "None of which explains the behavior of my friend," he added. "Many of us here live, or have lived, on the fringes of our communities. Because we have powers, or because we have roles, in our homes that are out of the ordinary. Even if that wasn't the case before, it will certainly be when you leave, because Fandom is in no way an experience your average community is familiar with."
"Anyway, my friend lives on that fringe," he continued. "My friend went into battle against something they considered evil. Was it a matter of sacrifice, perhaps? Our little theory of community would frown upon the loss of a member, but applaud any action done in its favor - removing a violent, unlawful threat would certainly fall under that banner."
He smiled wryly. "Of course, taking that route might be trying to weave it into too logical a narrative," he said. "We're creatures of emotions, by and large. Is it still ethical, and in service of the community, if we lash out and sacrifice ourselves in a beneficial way, not for that community, but to satisfy our own anger? You could in fact argue that vigilante justice is detrimental to the community, because it passes by all those constructs we've set up to keep each other from beating someone's brains in with a rock. If it becomes okay to exact violent retribution on someone for an act against the community without following the rules of that community, don't we break open the patterns that weave us all together?"
His eyes flicked over the group - especially to Britta if she was there. "Or maybe those kind of structures - like the police, for example - are inherently corrupt," he said. "Maybe they enforce an order that is ultimately detrimental to our community, and it is the moral connections at the heart of the community, not the ones that are writ down and enforced from above, that keep us together. Maybe by striking out alone, my friend has done what his community would like to have seen done. It's a question, isn't it?"