McConnell on Dilemmas - by Emily Cooper
It is known that almost all genuine moral dilemmas spark questions in our mind surrounding what the more morally right decision is. Rationalizing these choices makes sense to us, we decide what would morally be better so when we follow through with our decision, because in doing so we have less reason to regret our choice.
However, when we begin to reason in our minds, at times we tend to doubt our own logic and reasoning and ask someone for advice. As McConnell discusses this point, he states this as a fact. “His asking for advice indicates that he believes that there is some one thing that he ought to do and he is trying to find out what that is” (164). However, it is possible that its natural for the human mind to always question itself through genuine moral dilemma. It is not that we do not trust in our own decision making skills, it is that we are in constant need of reiteration and trust that even if the consequences turn out wrong, there is someone out there who too, has the same reasoning as you, and in turn, you are not the only one to blame.
Human nature assumes a constant need of reiteration and approval. Though not always through other people, this “advice” can come from nearly anything: law, society, thoughts, experience. I think that it is inappropriate to assume that just because someone seeks advice from another, they must not trust in their own mind. I believe it to be human nature that we seek reiteration and the need not be wrong in out own minds. If someone else believes in same as we do, then we must not be all that off.
However, when we begin to reason in our minds, at times we tend to doubt our own logic and reasoning and ask someone for advice. As McConnell discusses this point, he states this as a fact. “His asking for advice indicates that he believes that there is some one thing that he ought to do and he is trying to find out what that is” (164). However, it is possible that its natural for the human mind to always question itself through genuine moral dilemma. It is not that we do not trust in our own decision making skills, it is that we are in constant need of reiteration and trust that even if the consequences turn out wrong, there is someone out there who too, has the same reasoning as you, and in turn, you are not the only one to blame.
Human nature assumes a constant need of reiteration and approval. Though not always through other people, this “advice” can come from nearly anything: law, society, thoughts, experience. I think that it is inappropriate to assume that just because someone seeks advice from another, they must not trust in their own mind. I believe it to be human nature that we seek reiteration and the need not be wrong in out own minds. If someone else believes in same as we do, then we must not be all that off.
posted by Kelly Sorensen at 6:08 AM
1 Comments:
So, just for clarification, it seems you would argue for the maxim: "not all who wander are lost". In that it does not necessarily follow from the fact that someone is seeking advice and guidance, that they think there is a right answer, or that they had strayed from some “morally good path” which they were trying to get back to. Instead, it is, on your view, human nature to wander about and question everything. Because we have this nature, we may be disappointed from time to time when we find out there isn’t an answer, which is a concern of McConnel’s, however, you would say that to imply that this means we think there is one thing we ought to do is to ignore that questioning nature. Eg. because a child is asking about cookies, It does not follow that he truly expects that there are cookies to be had. He may be disappointed by the fact that there aren’t any, but would you say it was more his inquisitive nature that brought him to ask than it was his hope that thee were cookies? Now, that may be changing the example too much. But on some level it at least helps bring out the intuitive thrust of McConnel’s argument. He would say that there seems to be at least SOME level of expectation for a right answer (or expectation for the fact that there are cookies) that is at stake when we ask about things...more so than just our inquisitive nature. I think McConell could concede that there are indeed cases where we seek moral advice due to just our inquisitive natures. However, more often than not, when someone asks about cookies...they expect there to be cookies of which to inquire about...what do you think?
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