If suggests, regarding values, that we can either identify and build
social values sets that enable the values we want in a society, or we can
let "...values and all the rest of the linguistic/ paradigmatic meaning
pattern slug it out." By the the latter I think he means "Que sera,
sera."
I suspect -- and wish to test this hypothesis with all of you -- that if
we take the viewpoint that values do not really exist, then we have no
alternative to the "slug it out" approach, letting the results fall
wherever they will, willy-nilly, and to be surprised by the outcomes.
Thus, for example, if I take the position that values do not really exist,
and therefore, my actions do not need to be driven by them, then I am
considerably freed in my dealings with other people. I can, for example,
take the bottom-line perspective as the only one I need consder. I may
take a long-term, bottom-line perspective, or a short-term one, but I can
stop worrying about a host of other issues, and I can stop trying to be an
example to anyone who may be looking for someone to emulate.
If we all do this, then it appears that we are doomed to have the values
of slugs or possibly bobcats or hyenas. While someone may well respond
that too often our behavior does not even measure up to that of bobcats or
hyenas, nevertheless, my question to all of you is do we want to set that
as the standard, or do we have a vision of something better?
Furthermore, if we accept that our values -- our self-evident truths --
are just part of the western-European culture, and perhaps artifacts of
the way we were brought up, and there is no higher value worth struggling
to attain, then it appears to me that a whole raft of totally
reprehensible behavior will no longer be condemnable.
The more I write about the consequences of the idea that there may be no
values, the more worked up I am getting. If there are no values, then I
will opt out of the human race. I think the existence of values is the
only fundamentally new concept and reality that humans have to offer to
the Earth.
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>