This strikes me as a fully general argument against making any form of moral progress. Some examples:
An average guy in the 1950s notices that the main argument against permitting homosexuality seems to be “God disapproves of it”. But he doesn’t believe in God. Should he note that there is a strong cultural guardrail against “sexual deviancy” according to the local cultural definition, and oppose the gay rights movement anyway?
Does the answer to this question change by the 1990s when the cultural environment is shifting? Or by the 2020s? If so, is it right that the answer to an ethical question should change based on other people’s attitudes? (Obviously the answer to the pragmatic question of “how much trouble will I get into for speaking out?” changes, but that’s not what we’re debating.)
A mother from a culture where coercive arranged marriages are normal notices that the culturally-endorsed reason for this practice is that young adults are immature and parents are better at understanding what is good for them, so parents should arrange marriages to secure their offspring’s happiness. She notices that many parents actually make marriage decisions based on what is economically best for the parents, and that even those trying to ensure the young person’s happiness often get it wrong. Should the mother think “this is a guardrail preventing breakdown of family structure, or filial respect, or something important, I will arrange marriages for my own sons and daughters anyway?”
NB: I’m trying to be clear I’m talking about arranged marriage of adults, not child marriage, although that is also a practice that has been endorsed by many cultures, who would presumably be able to name “guardrails” that banning child marriage would cross.
I get that you said “respect” not “obey” guardrails presumably for reasons like these, but without more discussion about when you “respect” the guardrail but bypass it anyway, this seems roughly equivalent to saying that there is always a very heavy burden of proof to change moral norms, even where the existing norms seem to be hurting people. (In the two examples above, gay people, and everyone who gets married to someone they don’t like).
An average guy in the 1950s notices that the main argument against permitting homosexuality seems to be “God disapproves of it”. But he doesn’t believe in God. Should he note that there is a strong cultural guardrail against “sexual deviancy” according to the local cultural definition, and oppose the gay rights movement anyway?
Gender equality, contraception/sexual revolution, gay rights, etc., all seem to be part of a pattern if society switching from treating the purpose of sex as being building families to treating the purpose of sex as being pleasure and expressing relationships.
This leads to several questions he could philosophize about:
Is having children good or bad? Is pleasure good? Is equality good? Is freedom good?
How big of an effect will the cultural changes have on families and pleasure and equality and freedom?
Are there any cultural elements that are good or bad for reasons other than their consequences? If so, what are those reasons?
This strikes me as a fully general argument against making any form of moral progress. Some examples:
An average guy in the 1950s notices that the main argument against permitting homosexuality seems to be “God disapproves of it”. But he doesn’t believe in God. Should he note that there is a strong cultural guardrail against “sexual deviancy” according to the local cultural definition, and oppose the gay rights movement anyway?
Does the answer to this question change by the 1990s when the cultural environment is shifting? Or by the 2020s? If so, is it right that the answer to an ethical question should change based on other people’s attitudes? (Obviously the answer to the pragmatic question of “how much trouble will I get into for speaking out?” changes, but that’s not what we’re debating.)
A mother from a culture where coercive arranged marriages are normal notices that the culturally-endorsed reason for this practice is that young adults are immature and parents are better at understanding what is good for them, so parents should arrange marriages to secure their offspring’s happiness. She notices that many parents actually make marriage decisions based on what is economically best for the parents, and that even those trying to ensure the young person’s happiness often get it wrong. Should the mother think “this is a guardrail preventing breakdown of family structure, or filial respect, or something important, I will arrange marriages for my own sons and daughters anyway?”
NB: I’m trying to be clear I’m talking about arranged marriage of adults, not child marriage, although that is also a practice that has been endorsed by many cultures, who would presumably be able to name “guardrails” that banning child marriage would cross.
I get that you said “respect” not “obey” guardrails presumably for reasons like these, but without more discussion about when you “respect” the guardrail but bypass it anyway, this seems roughly equivalent to saying that there is always a very heavy burden of proof to change moral norms, even where the existing norms seem to be hurting people. (In the two examples above, gay people, and everyone who gets married to someone they don’t like).
Gender equality, contraception/sexual revolution, gay rights, etc., all seem to be part of a pattern if society switching from treating the purpose of sex as being building families to treating the purpose of sex as being pleasure and expressing relationships.
This leads to several questions he could philosophize about:
Is having children good or bad? Is pleasure good? Is equality good? Is freedom good?
How big of an effect will the cultural changes have on families and pleasure and equality and freedom?
Are there any cultural elements that are good or bad for reasons other than their consequences? If so, what are those reasons?