Opportunity is merely an effect of social structure. Options
and choices claimed to be made are predetermined by the development of the
environment in which they are provided. There is no doubt that an environment
or society is constructed by the people in which it inhabits, but the role we
as individuals play in society does not begin to match the role society plays
in the life of every individual it shelters. An example of how society shaped
an aspect of my life is easily denoted by my outlook on the environment around
me juxtaposed to the outlook of my parents. As vague as this may come off,
everyday I live I butt heads with any and almost every concept my parents think,
and I know it is because of the different societies we grew up in. On the other
hand, the culture of the society they grew up in has been instilled in me,
partially through my upbringing, but more so through my entire acceptance of
what the Hispanic culture is. I believe that the majority of who I am is
determined through the concepts and ideals that resulted from my social
environment because the way in which I react to the world around me is a
product of what society has instilled in me.
Social
Identity in relationship to moral responsibilities we share for those around us
is an interesting question presented to me. The reason I make this statement is
because I have a theory that we as human beings should always have a moral
responsibility to one another regardless of whom the person is, as long as the
action or courses taken are rational. My theory stems from the concept that
every person on this planet plays a role in who and how we are in the world.
The world is the way it is because of the way people have made, and that
includes everyone. Our obligation of moral responsibility should extend to
anyone and anything that has a place in this world today.
I agree that we are much more greatly defined by our social environment then any individual factors. Our parents especially play an important part in shaping that environment. I admire your optimistic outlook in extending moral responsibility to everybody but have to disagree. While every person might play a role, a good proportion of those roles are undermining and unethical and are not worthy of any moral responsibility, or are so far flung and removed from our lives that any responsibility to should be non-existent.
ReplyDeleteI respect your views on moral responsibility because I have the same mind set. However, I think this idea of altruism is more admirable than realistic. To expect everyone to assume moral responsibility for strangers is just something that our world has not been capable of. The best we can get is people looking out for their own, and occasional random acts of kindness.
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