In his work Questions of Value, the philosopher Patrick Grim poses this challenge:
An old adage says, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
From your own experience, draw some examples of when that might be good advice and when it might not.
Respond to Grim's prompt and also ask what your examples suggest about ethics and ethical behavior. Can any ethical insights be gained from your examples?
4 comments:
The quote “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” can both be good and poor advice. Although I don’t have much personal experience with this I can see this quote as both good and bad advice. This is because something ethically wrong to you could be accepted in another place so following the advice would be bad while not doing something could be an insult to the people so following the locals would be a good time to follow the quote. In some middle eastern countries, treating women like your maid or forcing them to do whatever you want is deemed acceptable and expected. If your from the US and go to these places, following the quote would be bad advice because it goes against your ideology on how to treat women and also would force you to make a decision you would regret. In some Asian countries, it is also acceptable to treat workers and to force kids to work in a factory. Treating these workers and kids like crap would also conflict with your ideology and therefore following this advice would be harmful. This quote can also be good advice when you go to a country that is big on religion. If you follow and respect their religion it would make you seem respectful and they wouldn’t treat you negatively and differently. These examples suggest that ethical behavior depends on how you were raised and how your surrounding is like because both impact your ethics. If you were raised with a certain ideology you will go to places with that type of mindset which might cause you to see things differently in other cultures.
The saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do” means when one is a visitor, they should follow the traditions and customs of those who live there, and respect the beliefs and practices of the local culture. This advice may be good or bad depending on the situation one is in since people are obligated to follow the law of the land, not the culture, however some rather show their respect by observing the culture as well. Personally I have not had an experience where this advice would not be valid but can understand where the quote is coming from. Even in this day and age, there are people of certain backgrounds that have their own morals and values that may contradict with one's own morals to the point where they have no choice but to be different. To add on, similarly to what Matt said, different places have different ethics that may be wrong to some but normal for others. For example, racism is found in almost every nation and is becoming more common every day, to the extent that joining in on the racism may make someone feel more welcome, but in this situation it would be best to not try and fit in. However on the other hand, its important for everyone to have a common sense of social courtesy and not talk badly about another country that may potentially be taken as rude. It is important for everyone to remember that no one is more right than another just because they disagree, and one can still maintain their own culture without partaking in another culture. This shows how depending on how the society and environment one was born in impacts what they believe is right and wrong.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is a saying used by many in order to attempt the justification of certain behaviors. In Roman times, people would drink, attend violent shows, and party for days on end. By using this quote, people are able to justify their behaviors by saying that they are simply doing as the Romans use to do. While this can be good in some aspects, it also had a lot of negatives. It can be good by allowing an outsider to experience first hand some of the common practices of a certain group. By drinking and partying all night as the Romans did, it allows one to understand what it meant to live in Roman times. Experiencing another culture is great but when it clashed with the individual's morals, it gets to be not so good. For example, if I am against drinking but I go to Rome and follow this saying, then I end up going against some of my own morals. This can benefit me by giving a different perspective but it can also hurt me by bringing down my belief to an older belief, even though my belif may be closer to an absolute. It may also end up hurting someone else. If a way of life was changed from its past, its usually for a pretty good reason. Most of the time the reason is to insure the safety of other people who might get affected by the action. By going back to the old way, then one can be putting others at risk. All in all, the actions resulting from this motto can be positive but usually end up being negative.
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