What's the value of tradition?

Question

I have to say I'm with you, Sips.

Answer 1

Familiarity.

Of course, ALL progress whatsoever represents a break with tradition.

It's a neat little catch-22 that we judge a given idea based on whether it jibes with the main content of our knowledge of the universe - with our "traditional" view - but every truly new idea must fundamentally alter that content.

Answer 2

"Tradition is the ultimate democracy:
It means giving your ancestors the vote".

(as I had cause to write a few minutes ago, elsewhere)

There have been cases where tradition, the reason lost, has ossified into meaningless and even harmful ritual
(the case of the truncated turkey)
In other cases it has been the tradition neglected ,since it had underlying sense behind it, that caused disaster.
(don't hunt sick marmots...)

As an aide-memoire to society, tradition can be valuable.
but. as so often, a good servant makes a bad master.

During the disaster on Crete in WW2, it was put to Admiral Cunningham that the risk of heavy losses was too great to commit the British Navy to evacuate the Army.
He commented: "It takes the navy three years to build a new ship. It will take three hundred to build a new tradition. The evacuation continues."
(from the memoirs of Winston Churchill)

Answer 3

Think about it in terms of evolution.

Different cultures will develop different traditions. Those with "good" traditions will survive, and those that are not so good will die off.

Read the Bible - you see beneficial traditions that caused the culture to survive and flourish (like avoiding certain "unclean" things, etc)

In Africa, their traditions kind of got out of hand, they are now dying as a result. In many tribes, when someone gets married, the whole tribe rapes the bride. Hence rampant HIV.

Of course this is just one perspective. If you're looking for a more cozy soft warm response... well... they're fun =D

Answer 4

Depends on the specific tradition. But in general, they give us a feeling of connection with the past. Of stability and continuity and meaning.

Answer 5

i guess it depends on how old you are.

for example when I was little, i used to really hate the family christmas party get togethers with the whole family.... I would complain about having to put up my grandmothers tree, and then after christmas put it back down

now that I am older, i really cherish all the quality time i can spend with my grandmother cause I know that time is limited.

Answer 6

Depends on the tradition in question, its purpose, and whether you value the culture and history surrounding it or not.

Answer 7

Tradition gives you a foundation to build on, a sense of where you came from, what your heritage was & in many cases something to be proud of.

Answer 8

It gives you a feeling of connectedness with generations past -- with friends and family long gone.

There's also something to be said for drawing upon the accumulated collective wisdom of those past generations, rather than having to re-invent the wheel with every new generation.

Answer 9

It's a two-edged sword: it can bind members of communities in time and space, and it can lead to inflexible, dogmatic behavior in changing environments. Evolution suggests the latter is a bad idea.

Answer 10

It gives you a tie to your ancestors. Tradition is a way of knowing where you came from.