People have expressed concern with what consequences may flow from
acceptance of the notion of some -- even one, perhaps -- universal value.
> I'm concerned that we stand on our lofty and politically correct
> pedistals (what ever form those pedistals might take) and look down
> on "those poor, dumb savages" and commit the same blunders our
> forbearers did when they "went missionarying".
This is the risk involved in postulating universal values. I have talked
to Native Canadians who, in their thirties, have horrific stories to tell
about how well meaning religious folks set out to inclulcate children with
the universal, culturo-centric values that, to them were self-evident. In
practice, the actions were culturally genocidal. This occured in very
recent history.
== end quotes ==
Let's be clear that postulating or even proving the existence of universal
values does not lead necessarily, inexorably, or even with likelihood to
any specific set of outcomes. To say that "Well-meaning religious folks"
have done what they did based on their own need to promulgate their own
values is not the same as saying that their bahavior was a necessary or
sufficient outcome of that belief. We are all too smart to buy that.
If we are going to be open to ideas we can allow them to live or die of
their own value, and not try to kill them with this kind of
catastrophisizing.
--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/>