I’m not sure “proximity” is the best word to describe the Good Samaritan’s message. I think “ability to help” would more centrally describe what it’s getting at, though of course prior to the creation of modern telecommunications, globalized financial systems, etc. “proximity” and “ability to help” were very strongly correlated.
One element of the Good Samaritan message is about moral foundations. Jesus is telling his people, “The kind of ‘goodness’ I’m interested in is more about concretely helping than it is about purity or authority or group loyalty. There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit to pick up on the care/harm axis around here. You can get a long way towards building a higher-trust society by focusing more attention on care/harm. We’re way oversupplied on authority and purity around here anyway.”
(Oh no, I’m doing Bible study on Less Wrong; multiple of my past selves are screaming right now.)
I’m not sure “proximity” is the best word to describe the Good Samaritan’s message. I think “ability to help” would more centrally describe what it’s getting at, though of course prior to the creation of modern telecommunications, globalized financial systems, etc. “proximity” and “ability to help” were very strongly correlated.
One element of the Good Samaritan message is about moral foundations. Jesus is telling his people, “The kind of ‘goodness’ I’m interested in is more about concretely helping than it is about purity or authority or group loyalty. There’s plenty of low-hanging fruit to pick up on the care/harm axis around here. You can get a long way towards building a higher-trust society by focusing more attention on care/harm. We’re way oversupplied on authority and purity around here anyway.”
(Oh no, I’m doing Bible study on Less Wrong; multiple of my past selves are screaming right now.)