General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "I need feminism because..." [View all]Zorra
(27,670 posts)else to be raped.
I suppose it is possible that some people are born with an intuitive ability to distinguish and understand right from wrong, if that is what "gut knowing" is, without ever have been taught anything about what is right or wrong; but I suspect this is pretty rare, and that basic "gut knowing" is actually a product of enculturation, or socialization ~ the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture.
I believe that ethics are primarily learned principles, and that the evolution of conscience in the self begins at a very early age, and is developed through understanding.
Some people grow and evolve to the point where they self-actualize, and don't deliberately cause harm, because their consciousness/conscience understands that it is wrong to deliberately cause harm. In other words, they would not steal a billion dollars from someone even if they knew for sure that they would definitely never get caught or punished for doing so.
In contrast, some people may not deliberately harm simply because of fear that they will be punished for doing so. In other words they would happily steal $10 from someone if they knew they would never be caught or punished.
(I'm sorry, part of the work that I do part time nowadays is applied behavioral analysis and therapy. It is my job to figure out the motivations behind people's behavior, and how to help them have a better quality of life by showing them pathways to more socially appropriate, self rewarding behaviors, most often by using positive reinforcement, so I get a bit wordy sometimes when discussing human behavior. OK, wordy most of the time when I discuss human behavior. OK...all the time.)
Anyway, I believe that educating people from a very early age to help them understand ethics so that as many people as possible can more easily evolve a genuine sense of ethics, develop a self-actualized conscience, and therefore become happy individuals with a sense that they have a satisfying quality of life, is just as important, actually much more important, than teaching them basic math.
In other words, actually helping little Suzy realistically understand and process why something is right or wrong, rather than just telling her that something is right or wrong, or telling her that something is right or wrong simply because "God" says so, and that she is going to go to hell if she does not do what "God" wants her to do.