So this makes me wonder how many other behaviors are genetically based. I hate to go there, because I don’t want to think of people as meat. Perhaps they are there to be overcome. Still, there are some things that are absolutely inexplicable, and I hit brick walls when I run up against them.

Anyway, where is the line drawn between “instinct” and training/upbringing?

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@ Kelly: So, if I understand you correctly, it’s some combination of intention, action, and past behavior. Just curious – is it all three, or does one suffice? Intuitively, it sounds right – the person who in the past has had a particular vice and overcomes it in a new case seems to be more praiseworthy than someone who has never had that vice.

But then, isn’t the person who never had the pull to do the vicious act being somewhat penalized, as far as praise goes. Reminds me of the Prodigal Son story – think from the perspective of the good son who always tended to his duties. Doesn’t it suck for him when the father welcomes the return of the wayward son?

@ Amy (aka QRW): One of the more frustrating things about the human conditions is that we, on the one hand, are capable of supreme excellence, yet, on the other, we are capable of utter depravity. But what makes us unique is that mental capability – the depravity, and the excellence, are both attributable to the same feature. Therein lies the rub…

@ Michelle (aka Bloggrrl): I’ve been reading your blog for years and never remember reading that you had agoraphobia – that’s cool to know. Some ethicist are troubled about what to do with phobias – are they a reflexive character trait that doesn’t count against someone’s excellence, are is it a trait on par with courage? It’s a hard question.

Consider this: we often don’t hold people’s cleptomania against them. Sure, we may remove our valuables when we know they’ll be around, but we don’t think they’re bad people. So shouldn’t we think that people who have phobias aren’t cowardly?

The hard question really begins with people who have sexual or homicidal urges that seem to be beyond their control. If they really can’t help it – like the klepto can’t help it – then why do they get different moral ascriptions?

Being afraid of the answer to difficult questions is understandable. But sometimes the answer is not as scary as we think…

@ Vered: Hmm, good insight. We may be talking past each other on the notion of thinking. I don’t consider the action that’s the result of having one’s knee hit with the mallet-thing in the doctor’s office causally related with a thought. Indeed, braindead people still have reflexive actions.

Consider Michelle, from above. Are the physical responses to the thought of going to another town, or mixing with a crowd of unknown people, the result of a thought?

@ everyone: Thanks for your wonderful comments. I’d love to keep this one going for a while.

I’m not sure you can separate action from intention. The human brain is complex, and we never really act without some kind of thinking – even if it is done on a subconscious level.

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This post is interesting, and has my brain all twisted in a loop. I put myself in the path of a big raging kid a couple of weeks ago and got myself punched for the trouble. My instinct was to keep everyone safe. I didn’t even consider backing off, and I’d do it again.

However.

I’m agoraphobic. Meaning, I’m terrified to drive to the next town. For me, courage would be facing the horrible feelings and doing it anyway. My instinct is to avoid the panic attacks that come as a result. Does that make me cowardly? Who knows. Crazy, yes.

Sometimes I can’t even think about this question because I’m too afraid of the answer.

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You continually tackle the tough subjects here – and that in and of itself is courageous. Keep on keepin’ on.

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In your examples, you didn’t think about getting out of the truck, you just did it but your whole motivation was to do good while doing the least amount of harm. This makes you an honorable man.The same cannot be said for the man who can’t keep his dick in his pants. He’s not necessarily bad, but he’s immature with poor impulse control and not a “good catch” for a woman who values herself.

Maybe you think this is a simplistic argument, but I tend to believe the basic tenements of life are simple. The person who does not think to pull a stranger from a burning car wreck may say they acted on instinct. But the person who didn’t help and just stood there also acted on instinct. What separates them is courage and sense of morality or ethics.

Making me think as always Charlie. I like it.
Kelly

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