Law in Contemporary Society

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DoingWrongByNotDoing 11 - 04 Apr 2010 - Main.FranciscoGuzman
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 I keep thinking back to something Eben brought up in class last week (Tuesday)- namely, the idea that if you see a problem, or something that you don’t think is OK, you should be doing something about it. I think Eben’s comments resonated with me because they struck a chord with a sort of guilty feeling I’ve often had. The guilt doesn’t come from actively doing anything wrong, but from not actively doing anything that seems particularly right. I’ve often felt uncomfortable with the idea that my life could be considered a moral life when I don’t really think I do anything to correct problems that I see around me. I think the issue boils down to a question of inaction as a morally culpable offense. I do think there is a moral imperative to act when we see something that we think is wrong. I think this idea leads to guilt because I don’t think that I do enough to act, and it’s something that I hope to change if I can figure out how. It made me start thinking about ideas that I’ve struggled with before- for instance, what difference is there between letting someone die before your eyes and not giving them (for example’s sake) the five dollars in your pocket that could save them by buying them food, and not sending food or support somewhere when you can spare it and where it could have a similar lifesaving impact? When does not doing something become as wrong as doing something positively wrong? It’s hard for me to figure out the difference- maybe this is because there isn’t a meaningful one.

I’m wondering what other people think about this. If a person sees something wrong in the world and doesn’t do anything about it, is he or she more culpable than someone who simply doesn’t see the wrong, by choice or by chance? It sort of reminds me also of the philosophical question- is a person brave who isn’t scared in the face of danger, or is a person truly brave who is scared and proceeds anyway? I can’t really articulate how these are connected, but I think it has something to do with making active choices and being aware of situations and choosing to overcome them (as opposed to not facing those choices whatsoever).

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 Any thoughts?

-- ConradCoutinho - 1 April 2010

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>		I believe that it is very wrong to live a life without helping others. I agree with Eben when he says that the moment is now. The more than we wait, the less than we do.

It would be great to actually change the system, but as David pointed out, helping particular individuals is equally important. It is useless to try to save a country if we cannot help people who we see everyday and sometimes we actually know.

I like to believe that life actually means something. That the most important things are not just material. I don’t wont to be old and realize that I didn’t do anything that changed another person’s life.

-- FranciscoGuzman - 4 April 2010


Revision 11r11 - 04 Apr 2010 - 02:53:47 - FranciscoGuzman
Revision 10r10 - 02 Apr 2010 - 02:18:07 - ConradCoutinho
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