What is this concept called?

Question

I'm not expecting many answers on this but...

Lets say you have a classroom of children who's behaviour differs from very bad to angelic. You get rid of the very bad kids. Then the teacher's view changes. Out of the kids that are still left, the bad become the new very bad. so you get rid of them. But you will always have very bad kids however many you get rid of as its dependant on what is there.

Another example is you get rid of all the evil in the world then the next generation will see things that we don't think are that bad as evil and will want to see that got rid of.

Answer 1

This concept is unnamed, as far as I know.

It is a combination of processes, both from logic and social science research. It combines reduction ad absurdum with the slippery lope (from logic), and both the law of rising expectations and the law of diminishing returns (from the social sciences). And probably some others, as well.

This form of reasoning (rather, supposition, since no process has ever been shown to follow the pattern), is often used as a teaching tool to show that certain things cannot occur. I was first exposed to it in sociology, when the professor was explaining why there could never be a Utopian society.

His argument ran to crime and punishment. If things like murder were eliminated, and lesser crimes one by one were eliminated, then people would be executed for mere social blunders. Imagine capital punishment for taking 12 items through the 10-item express check-out lane.

Note that as a logical construct, the process you describe is fallacious on many different levels; but as a teaching tool, it is valid. But even then, the student must be aware that the process is fictional, and he must willingly suspend his disbelief in it.

Answer 2

Well, I know what you are suggesting, but I simply disagree with the premise, because you are implying that people will automatically change their whole perception of what is "bad" or "evil" If we took your concept to its logical conclusion, a time would come when the most honest, decent, right-living, upstanding and virtuous person would be considered "evil" alongside another person who, by the opinion of some, was slightly more of all those qualities. I don't believe there will ever come a time when society will decend to that level of illogicality where character and behaviour are reduced to some kind of "moral beauty contest" and people have to pick a winner. Besides, even in the beauty contest analogy, when they decide which girl gets the crown, they don't suddenly declare all the other contestants Ugly lololol.

Answer 3

I think the concept is that

'All things are relative'

The minute you remove the very bad, relatively speaking the bad must become the new very bad etc.

In the end you will have one child left who has got to be what the others in fact always were, a child who can either behave very well, well, poorly or very poorly.

Answer 4

for the first example I personally would say you have a bad original class teacher and that it is the teacher and their teaching methods that have to be 'got rid of'

for the second example sadly there is very little inocence left in comparison to the evils of mankind on this planet, there is far too much greed and competition throughout the world ........ there are however true examples of mankind that would sacrifice all for peace and harmony amongst all.


I think the concept for your examples is ...........

power and ignorance of personal impact

Answer 5

evil is there so people can recognize the good.
if there was no evil in this world nobody would recognize and apreciate the good .
the evil however can be used to make people good .
but the good cant be used to make people bad.
and isolating bad people doesnt solve the problem it makes them more evil and theyll start to search and communicate with people like them and eventually breading a new and more dangerous generation of evil.
how to slove this problem?
by the roots, we separate evil children and we merge them with the good people so the evil in them will be affected by the good of the others and eventually the evil will be cured and good will replace it.

Answer 6

i think i would call it 'the process of illumination'

its a very dangerous game and the instigator of such a process could find themselves 'the last man standing'

good and bad is difficult enough as it is - the ' one terrorist is another mans freedom fighter ' springs to mind but who decides is the clincher

some things are obvious like causing no harm to others = not stealing etc --- but it wasn't so long ago when some unmarried mothers were put into mental hospitals!!!!!

an interesting theory that should not be put to the test.

Answer 7

If I had a bowl of apples and threw out the bad ones.
Then I get a bowl of good apples.
Theres got to be a cut off point where things are acceptable but not perfect.
Otherwise it might be quicker just to throw all the apples out.
And the kids.
Having said that I prefer apples to screaming kids.
Throw the little sh*ts out.

Answer 8

Human nature...specifically the tendancy to compare. What is "bad" or "good." If there was no bad, what would good mean? They exist because of each other.

There is a thing called literarary deconstructionism which argues that you cannot establish a definite meaning using words because there are multiple meanings given to words based on the fact that they do not have definitions, but are only comparions. bad is lack of good. good is lack of bad. but if one changes the other does too. It argues that concrete experience to define personal standards of comparison is the only real way to define anything and that definitions vary person to person and generation to generation.

Answer 9

Most of our chief moral standards have been passed down to us from the stone-age. Right and wrong have been understood from the very beginning of time.Some things change, but the real basic morals are permanent.

Answer 10

I haven't come across the "concept" as you wrote it. However, it seems to be the notion of helplessness and hopelessness in action.

In psychology, you could view this as a concept known as "learned helplessness" in the study of human behaviour and "motivation".