In his 1895 book The Rules of the Sociological Method, the sociologist Emile Durkheim suggested that communities have a standard allotment of punishment they mete out for deviant behavior.
There seems to be a law of moral conservation. When societies relax their moral attitudes about some transgressions, people fill the void with new ones.
In other words, we keep the level of moral condemnation the same by redefining what is considered immoral. (Rob Henderson, newsletter)
I have read this thought before, but I do find this version to be well-put. It is similar to some comments in Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind, describing how diverse individuals and subcultures can find themselves moral and their opponents immoral by each talking past the other. I grew up in am era in which one's personal behavior was more the measure of morality than one's political beliefs.
"When societies relax their moral attitudes about some transgressions, people fill the void with new ones.In other words, we keep the level of moral condemnation the same by redefining what is considered immoral"...very interesting thought. Reminds me: some Russian writer referred to "the law of the conservation of violence," though I can't find a reference online.
ReplyDelete