Julie:
Thank you very much for your summary on the values discussion. It was a
very useful compilation. A lot of people gave us many wonderful thoughts.
(Wonder how they keep up with it, though!..I can only reply to these
numerous postings on the weekends or when travelling.) I have also thought
long and hard about many of these discussions.
It troubles me though to think -- or at least it appears to be the
consensus-- that there are no universal values. I like to think there are.
For example, I believe that all cultures value wisdom, honesty, loyalty,
spirituallity, having a body of rules/laws by which the community is
governed. If people in any large group are asked: would they rather be
surrounded by honest people or by deceitful liars, I am sure you will
ALWAYS get a majority preference for being surrounded by honest people. We
could also pose similar questions that would solicit universal values from
cultures/communities.
I recognize that the problem arises when we get down to the details. That
is where the problems always surface -it is in the application of values;
are they absolute? Or are they relative? If you believe in the value of
honesty would you still tell a white lie when you are a guest at dinner
and are asked how did you like the food, which you thought was awful? At
that particular moment you may value more keeping a friend that telling
the truth...
The application of values is always difficult, but let's not discard a
priori any notion that universal values do exist.
--Roy Lyford-Pike SCM Chemicals Baltimore, MD 71075.2421@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>