Cyril Nadar - Week 6 - "My Ideas are Better Than Yours"
Are cultures and ideas superior to others? Western ideas of liberty, individualism, and democracy have been widespread throughout the globe. Core ideas such as the condemning of racism and slavery have been the cornerstone for the growth of many countries. A few days ago I had a simple thought experiment. What if a country that has existed for about 10,000 years allows racism and slavery. In our eyes who have been the Western philosophies to all our lives would say this country is a horrible place and they need to stop slavery. However the problem is aroused, do we even have the right to say that?
10,000 years they have lived in that culture and they have not changed at all. 10,000 years of culture has been cultivated and yet according to our Western culture(that hasn't existed even 3000 years) we should condemn them to evil. In the 10000 years they have existed, slavery has been justified. There is no universal, objective “good” and “evil”. In this scenario wouldn't that mean that the country that utilizes slavery has more of a right to mock our ideas than we can theirs?
If we take a more grounded example,Russia has been known to be very anti-Western and often I hear people call Russian ideas foolish and broken. If people have the idea that some other philosophy is foolish compared to Western philosophy, then wouldn't that mean they think Western philosophy is better than Russia’s?
I do agree that if a group has been doing things in a certain way for a long period of time they are entitled to judge others for the way they do things. However, I feel society, as a whole, has evolved to be more considerate of all types of people. America was built off the back of slaves and controlling people against their will, and it continued to function like that until those who were being exploited no longer wanted to be treated that way. If other societies still continue slavery it is likely because the people in that society find no issues in the way they work. The ideology that one culture can be “superior” to another has stemmed from years of suppression and the trend of Western powers taking over certain areas and changing them to better fit their ideologies. You utilize lots of rhetorical questions in your writing which I find very interesting. I think through these questions you are helping your reader get a better understanding of your perspective, as well as other perspectives, on otherwise controversial topics. For topics such as what society should deem “good” or “evil", I find importance in your tendency to ask questions. Questions are a great way of understanding other’s views on a certain topic. With more questions there are more discussions that can lead society to a place where we can establish equity for all.
ReplyDeleteHello Cyril! Your title, “My Ideas are Better Than Yours” is super catchy and evokes the audience’s emotions of annoyance because of how inconsiderate that idea is (I know you are a great person though). I agree with your thought experiment about how if there was a country who had “racism and slavery” for “10,000 years,” Western countries would definitely consider this as a horrible place to live. However, I as long as with the people here, would 100% say that slavery and racism is unjustified and should not be a thing. I disagree with your idea of how if “10,000 years of culture” are cultivated, “we should condemn them to evil.” When slavery was legal, it was called a peculiar institution and is a part of society. Even if it is a part of society, for the people who are enslaved, are they having a high quality of life? No, no they are not. These people are struggling and the amount of time passed does not simply justify the culture. The thought experiment really helped me reflect on current events, and I thank you for that!
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