Some 40
years ago, when the youngest councillor on my council, I was furious
that my comrades chose to ban Last Tango in Paris, and I sat down
with the Ten Commandments in from of me and despite ignoring much of
them, came out with four principles. They were:
i)
maximise human potential subject to the limitations of both present
and future environments, (person+environment: ‘Green’)
ii) when
two or more people are involved in an activity, provide relevant
knowledge, (group: Rights, often civil)
iii)
share equally the burdens imposed by the limitations of the natural
environment, (group+environment: here Socialism)
iv) be
free to do as one wishes, as long as others are not affected.
(person: here ‘Social Liberalism’)
The last
seemed to me to be crucial, and the other principles stated the
relations with both other humans and the environment required to
achieve this. Banning Last Tango in Paris was clearly a
violation of (iv).
Now I have
shown how ethical principles might be built up from key concepts,
here individuals, groups and the present and future environment,
though I have the most difficulty with (ii). But how far are such
principles in-built to nature? My view is that (i) and (iv) are
in-built, at least for the present environment, and when that person
is oneself. A principle about person+environment is a key feature of
bringing up the young and indeed caring for the old, who still have a
role to play. It is Rule (iv) is all about wishes and will, and it is
custom that ensures that people learn how their actions affect other
people.
In other
respects we have what might be considered ‘original sin’,
including violation of the future environment, withholding crucial
knowledge and greed. Custom leads communities acting more ethically
towards each other to a greater or lesser extent, for the survival of
the community, but that does not imply they will respect the rights
of other communities. In effect the group mentioned above is not
wider than the community.
And not
everyone would agree with my principles. An economic liberal might
say:
i)
socialism is theft,
ii)
socialism goes completely against human nature, and
iii)
theft is every bit part of human nature.
Martin
Prior
Philosophy
Takeaway Newsletter 36 – Human Nature
