Chapter 3: Values and Morals:Guidelines for living - Psychological ...
Chapter 3: Values and Morals:Guidelines for living - Psychological ...
Chapter 3: Values and Morals:Guidelines for living - Psychological ...
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One doesn't discover new l<strong>and</strong>s without consenting to<br />
lose sight of the shore <strong>for</strong> a very long time.<br />
-Andre Gide<br />
Emerson <strong>and</strong> Thoreau, offered us the idea that societies progress,<br />
not so much by the will <strong>and</strong> ideas of the masses or rulers, but by the<br />
power of the independent, self-reliant thinker, who discovers new<br />
inventions, knowledge, solutions, <strong>and</strong> ways of <strong>living</strong>. That idea lived<br />
100 years <strong>and</strong> influenced Mahatma G<strong>and</strong>hi, Martin Luther King, Jr., the<br />
resistance to the Vietnam war, the Women's Movement, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Nuclear Freeze Movement. Maybe Eisenhower will eventually be right,<br />
perhaps it will be independent, thinking, caring persons all over the<br />
world who drag their governments into peace.<br />
Cynicism <strong>and</strong> pessimism abound today. Nihilistic intellectuals tell<br />
us that we have lost our way because religion no longer tells us what<br />
is good, that our "minimal self" can't find meaning <strong>and</strong>, there<strong>for</strong>e, has<br />
lost hope, that our "saturated self" is overwhelmed by in<strong>for</strong>mation,<br />
ideas, <strong>and</strong> choices, that we can't really ever know the "truth" because<br />
every view has some basis in reality, that science only creates myths<br />
in the same category as religious or political dogmas, that ultimately<br />
life is meaningless. Against this gloomy view are calls <strong>for</strong><br />
"remoralization," the development of values <strong>and</strong> goals that provide<br />
meaning <strong>and</strong> hope to every life (Bellah, et al., 1985; Etzione, 1993;<br />
Prilleltensky, 1994; Wallach & Wallach, 1990; Smith, 1994). The use<br />
of psychological knowledge in the caring <strong>for</strong> others is central to all<br />
these views. If your life plan ignores morals, scientific truths, <strong>and</strong><br />
reality, it will probably not serve you well.<br />
As with the intellectuals, there is a tendency everywhere--workers,<br />
students, poor, affluent--to pessimistically ask, "What can I do?" or<br />
say, "You can't do anything about it." We all have excuses: "I'm too<br />
busy," "it's not my fault," "Somebody should do something; they will."<br />
And, thus, we do nothing. Yet, some people, acting on their<br />
conscience, have done a lot <strong>for</strong> the rest of us. It takes thought,<br />
courage, <strong>and</strong> commitment to an ideal bigger than oneself. If your<br />
cause is self-serving, you will not persuade many. If your cause is<br />
others-serving, almost everyone respects that.<br />
We all need a cause, a dream, a hope <strong>for</strong> something better. We<br />
need a plan. There is a thrill, a satisfaction, a feeling of fulfillment<br />
when we struggle to achieve our dream, if it hurts no one <strong>and</strong> helps<br />
others. Many of us cry with joy <strong>and</strong> feel pride in being human when we<br />
see someone struggle <strong>for</strong> a great cause <strong>and</strong>/or overcome adversity or<br />
mis<strong>for</strong>tune. Don Quixote faced overwhelming odds; Lincoln <strong>and</strong> 529,<br />
272 others died in the struggle to free the slaves <strong>and</strong> save the union;<br />
President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do <strong>for</strong> you..."<br />
<strong>and</strong> we joined the Peace Corps by the thous<strong>and</strong>s; Jill Kinmont, a<br />
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