Are we wrong to question society "norms"?

Answer 1

No. In fact we have to continuously question everything, otherwise others will define our lives for us!
Thomas Jefferson made the statement, that we should have a revolution every 19 years, so the new generation wouldn't be burdened by the previous generation's laws and norms. I agree 100%

Answer 2

We are wrong only if we think we are wrong , iresponsible , or incompetent , or crazy , or rebel ,or anarchist ,to question society ''norms'' and others like the ''truths'' of the multitude but unconfirmed , unancknowledged by God.

The only ''norms'' that cannot be questioned are the laws of God , the 10 commandements , and the other words of God.Evry word of God is a truth and a law to us.


Besides , the so- called ''norms of the society , a society that counts 5-6 000 000 000 people , are in fact the norms of 300 persons or so , who have been in a position , sometimes undeserved ...see the communism . Actually any opinion imposed to others , that is not accepted by some it is a dictatorship to those that cannot accept it . Because they cannot accept it for a moral cause , not for pride...Pride cannaccept anything , morality cannot , because , morality comes from God. We are moral because God is moral ..e.g.

Answer 3

Not at all. Norms, in my opinion, are the result of too many followers and not enough independent thinking. I would rather live my life exploring, seeking, and trying different things than to be a sheep and stick with the crowd, never testing the waters. No progress will ever stem from the same things, over and over, and our society is definitely in need of progress!

Answer 4

Not at all. Society isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. While much of it has been based on morality and Biblical teachings in the past, society itself as a whole seems to change its mind a lot as to what is right or wrong. What is normal anymore? What is sacred? "Society" has a way of deceiving people into thinking that what is popular is the same thing as what is right...

Answer 5

It's important when studying behaviors and values to see them in context. Richard Dawkins talks about how certain genes have an advantage in a certain environment, and that environmemnt includes the other genes it co-exists with. Similarly memes (i.e. ideas and behaviors) might proliferate better in a certain environment and that environment includes the other memes with which it co-exists.

Put another way while we might not like some of the details of a system we need to see those details in the context of that system. We might not like seeing cheetahs killing antelope but we have to realize that (collectively) both the predator species and the prey species benefit from this. Predators are more likely to kill individuals that are slow, weak, mentally impaired, etc. which keeps the prey gene pool strong. Many prey species would reproduce so quickly if not hunted that there would be mass starvations among them as they depleted their food supply.

In human societies we might not like that some people are extremely poor but that risk of poverty might serve as an incentive to the majority of the population to participate in the economy. Eliminating that poverty while demanding nothing of those in poverty might destry that incentive.

Where a system has negative side effects we might not be able to eliminate the side effects without also giving up the advantages of the system itself. Within the context of a system we have to consider whether certain values make sense from the perspective of the various individuals who are trying to "win" given the rules at work in that system.

But we should also be aware that current values and behaviors that might have made sense in the past might be blindly passed to future generations where changes (in demographics, in technology, in political and economic systems) might have invalidated the justification for those values and behaviors.

Answer 6

No.

I grew up in a family that assumed what social "norms" were and expected me to conform to them. I was supposed to be a certain kind of person in school. I was supposed to dress in a certain way. I was supposed to talk only about certain subjects, and avoid others. When I got married, I was supposed to be a certain type of bride. I was supposed to raise my children in a certain kind of way. It is no small wonder I tend to withdraw from that part of my family now, as their standards are sometimes impossible for me to meet.

I follow some, but not others. I CHOOSE. I am still alive and progressing, so what difference does it make?

Answer 7

Was it wrong for the colonists to question the British?
Was it wrong for abolitionist to question the practice of slavery?
Was it wrong of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to question the Nazis?
Was it wrong of Martin Luther King Jr. to question the Southern way of life?
Was it wrong of Mother Theresa to touch the untouchables?
Was it wrong of Jesus Christ to question the Pharisees?

When we know what is right in our heart, it is our responsibility to question the norm and affect change.

Answer 8

If anyone is looked into deeply, then nobody would be considered 'normal'. We all have our idiosyncrasies.
How many families do you know are just like the Brady Bunch? I dont think its right for anyone to dictate to me how I should be. What may be ok for one may not be for another.

Answer 9

no the thing is we are ruled by the religion even the ones who are not religius and that is not right the religions are contriling all the world goverments its time the world left the fairy tales behind in the past

Answer 10

Not at all. In life as in Y!A, asking questions is the only way find answers.