If we are free to lead our life the way we want, shouldn´t there be any restrictions? I believe there are. Certain things we should or shouldn´t do just because they would condition other people´s choices, preventing them from living the way THEY desire. At understanding our rights end where other people´s start, we are ALL free when choosing what we think is better for us.
If we come to think we are not free to choose the course of our actions, we are totally wrong. I guarantee there´s no magical formula we can apply to a very same situation. Picture yourself, for instance, in a classroom with a mate, doing a final test in order to graduate as doctors. Would you let him copy from your sheet even if you knew his lack of knowledge could affect someone´s life in an emergency room? Would you turn a blind eye? Would you help him and then take the trouble to have a talk to him? Would you tell the teacher? The options are unlimited…
In the end it´s nobody but us who decide what path to take. In this way we will be accepting the consequences of our actions, and if we later find out we´ve made a mistake, we can always learn from them. Never fear free will!
If we come to think we are not free to choose the course of our actions, we are totally wrong. I guarantee there´s no magical formula we can apply to a very same situation. Picture yourself, for instance, in a classroom with a mate, doing a final test in order to graduate as doctors. Would you let him copy from your sheet even if you knew his lack of knowledge could affect someone´s life in an emergency room? Would you turn a blind eye? Would you help him and then take the trouble to have a talk to him? Would you tell the teacher? The options are unlimited…
In the end it´s nobody but us who decide what path to take. In this way we will be accepting the consequences of our actions, and if we later find out we´ve made a mistake, we can always learn from them. Never fear free will!
By Miriam Rodriguez
(chapter 1)
3 comments:
Great to read you getting started, Miriam!
As I read this, your first entry, I wondered if you've ever heard of the Sophist Thrasymachus : "might is right" was his motto... How do you feel about such a statement?
By the way, I certainly your "dilemma" about the soon-to-be doctor... I also wondered... is that final exam the instance which actually makes a difference? Aren't we perhaps looking at the sad end of a very long story as if it'd just started there and then?
"A teacher never knows where their influence ends," I read one day... Perhaps the same can be said of most human acts?
Way to go,
Gladys
“Might is right” sounds absolutely appalling to me. I cannot conceive a fair world unless democratic. “Might is right” not only approves of deceptive measures but also encourages violence in all its forms.
As for the dilemma, I meant to take it to extremes for the reader to see my point. Of course it started much earlier. I agree with you.
On the one hand, I do think most human acts influence other people, but on the other, it’s people by themselves who decide. We cannot be responsible for other people’s choices, can we?
Miriam
Your last question is definitely a tough one, Miri, especially for educators... Have you watched "Pay it Forward", for instance? To what extent can we defend the idea that the teacher had no responsibility at all in the student's actions?
Anyway, we'll keep mulling over this question for many months, so take it easy.... and keep blogging!
Regards,
Gladys
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