That we keep talking about these lofty values which we can not really follow in-toto, indicates our greatest weakness.... hypocrisy!! Do you agree or disagree and why so?
2007-03-04 22:42:04 · 7 answers · asked by small 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I think they can be a part of your everyday life and it can happen one person at a time....but we are a lazy, self-centered people that as a whole does not even understand that we have become morally bankrupt as a society and we are destroying ourselves and our planet......
2007-03-04 22:53:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Practical or worthy?
Ideals such as truth, justice, freedom, honesty, and equanimity are just that - ideals; a standard of perfection; a principle to be aimed at.
And what - may I ask - would be the alternative? Not to make any attempt whatsoever to temper our emotions and actions? Nothing means anything?
No, I'm sorry...ideals exist so that we may have a "light amongst the darkness;" a direction in which to head.
Is there hypocrisy in the world? Absolutely. But that does not mean that I should just not give a $hit about anything that I do.
Obviously, each person must construct their own individual value system.
Society has things like traffic laws to keep things moving smoothly and safely. Man is still an animal and requires a certain amount of regulation. Beyond that, he has to decide how upstanding he wants to be.
The fact that we have difficulty living up to ideals does not translate into "hypocrisy."
2007-03-05 07:30:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you think?
You know for sure that is practicable, and can't only be done due to hypocrisy. You have have brilliantly answered your question, marvelous!
But on the second thought, I would like to add that hypocrisy is not the greatest weakness of man nor the only reason why these ideals can't sometimes be put to practice. The greatest weaknesses of man I believe come in multitude of 7. The seven deadly sins.
2007-03-05 07:16:33 · answer #3 · answered by oscar c 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hypocrisy is a great weakness. It is even a great sin. But it is not our greatest weakness. I believe our greatest weakness is that we will not come to God, and do not want to come to God, the God who created us and and the God who promises to save us (to make us whole again and give us back our lost integrity--unity of heart) so that we fear him and love him and want to follow him and so fulfill the law of love.
Ideals are not necessarily good things in themselves. They often lack balance or they may even be evil (like the KuKluxKlan or Hitler's Aryan supremacy myth). Even good ideals can be productive of much evil, because we are we become blind to other things. Hypocrisy is a great sin because the hypocrite knows he doesn't mean what he says.
But I believe that even if we fulfill one ideal perfectly, we will find that we have failed even in that ideal. A judge may follow the law perfectly and let evil men loose on society as a result. Or in judging we may forget mercy, or in mercy, the necessity of discernment, in freedom the corollary of personal responsibility towards others, in truth we may forget love and so crush others.
I am a Christian and I see how imperfectly I follow Christ and yet I desire to follow him more closely. I think we can only begin to live out the ideals that at least show forth God's light in the world when we learn to think God's thoughts after him and exercise ourselves towards obedience and love for him and for our fellow man.
I think our greatest weakness is our contrariness towards God.
We would rather make up anything--religion, tyrannical government, fables, myths, anything--rather than come to God and confess our sin and our inability and our need of him to make us whole.
2007-03-05 07:16:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think they are concepts that are nearly impossible to achieve but they are necessary because we have to try to live up to them or what they mean.
Full justice is probably impossible, but the road to trying to fulfill it is as important as the end result.
We try our best to achieve honesty, justice, etc. because if we just admit upfront that its impossible and not worth trying, we automatically shift into the opposite- dishonesty, injustice, etc.
2007-03-05 07:00:03 · answer #5 · answered by kia78 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Too bad it can't be reality but we are flawed people.
2007-03-05 06:50:07 · answer #6 · answered by Mary G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone is a sinner,,,,, but God forgives,,,
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2007-03-05 07:28:50 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋