What people do is a compromise between what society wants them to do, and what they would otherwise do. Theres a sense in which that’s doing what they value,since they disvalue societal punishments. So there is a sense in which they are always doing what they already want, but it misses an important point .. it’s a misleading bit of cleverness.
Without getting into moral realism, following all your own values is likely to get you into trouble with society.
I agree, except that I don’t think it’s especially misleading. If I live on the 10th floor and someone is dangling a tasty cake two meters outside of my window (and suppose for the sake of the argument that it’s offered free of charge), I won’t just walk out of the window and fall to my death. This doesn’t mean I’m not following my values, it just means I’m actually thinking through the consequences rather than reacting impulsively to every value-laden thing.
What people do is a compromise between what society wants them to do, and what they would otherwise do. Theres a sense in which that’s doing what they value,since they disvalue societal punishments. So there is a sense in which they are always doing what they already want, but it misses an important point .. it’s a misleading bit of cleverness.
Without getting into moral realism, following all your own values is likely to get you into trouble with society.
I agree, except that I don’t think it’s especially misleading. If I live on the 10th floor and someone is dangling a tasty cake two meters outside of my window (and suppose for the sake of the argument that it’s offered free of charge), I won’t just walk out of the window and fall to my death. This doesn’t mean I’m not following my values, it just means I’m actually thinking through the consequences rather than reacting impulsively to every value-laden thing.