Different moral standards (was : On the other hand)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 93247

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, bufo_viridis at i... wrote:
> Since Del covered most of the other points, I'd like to stress just 

Viridis:
You may think that there is an absolute moral code - but the problem 
starts when you try impose it on other person who doesn't agree. 

Geoff:
I have never said that there is an absolute moral code. I have said 
that there are moral absolutes such as not killing and not stealing, 
but moral structures go beyond those which are absolute... Within 
different cultures, there are different ethnic and moral requirements 
such as the treatment of women and children in some cases. Many 
cultures have dietary rules which verge on a moral strcuture; the 
Jews consider pork to be unclean for example. It is that which 
creates the diversity of beliefs and attitudes but I still hold that, 
at base, there are certain moral absolutes which are often part of 
conscience. I think it may have been Del (if not, my apologies to the 
real poster) who pointed out that if a person decides to ignore these 
basic instincts, after a while they become desensitised to them.  
Also, the situation obtains where a culture will impose this on its 
members. We see the cases of soldiers involved in atrocities in, say 
Bosnia or Iraq, who appear to be oblivious to the moral dimension. A 
classic case of this is in Northern Ireland where generations of 
Loyalist and Republican children were brainwashed by their parents 
and so the spiral of violence remained as they became adult; it has 
taken tragedies such as Omagh where both communities were caught up 
in events before the morla values of this attitude are questioned.

The fact that someone does not accept or follow basic moral issues 
does not mean that the absolutes do not exist. I believe that they 
exist to make our world work in the same way that there are physical 
absoluted without which the universe would not exist. We have free 
will and can exercise that to accept thee absolutes or to spurn them 
and accept any comeback that may result. 

Coming to the Wizarding world, I believe that the Dursleys did know 
that they were being, at the very least, unfair to Harry. I get the 
impression, when reading Philosopher's Stone, that Vernon takes a 
particular delight in being nasty to Harry; he does it with malice 
aforethought. I think that he, like Dudley, is a bully, not 
physically but verbally and mentally. I would be interested to find 
out how he treats any staff under him at work.....