The second book I'm using is called The Crooked Timber of Humanity, by Isaiah Berlin. The title is inspired by something that Immanuel Kant said: "Out of timber so crooked as that from which man is made, nothing entirely straight can be built." The premise of the book is that there is no way to achieve universal goodness, especially in terms of an ideal society.
Berlin is obviously extremely well-read. He discusses theories of other philosophers, as well as his own observations and theories. He also applies his discussion to modern times and events, which helps to contextualize his beliefs. Using this broad perspective on time and history, Berlin asks if human progress is real. He cites the fear of being purposeless and the reason for the development of many different philosophies and religious beliefs regarding death and human purpose.
What Berlin talks about that really made me think about the shape of my paper was his view on cultural relativism and the relationship between humans. I had already read about cultural relativism in my last research book, in which the author said that it was an invalid ideology because, rather than allowing for relative morals, it unrealistically attempts to erase morality from the mind of the viewer. Berlin, however, discredit cultural relativism in a different way. He says that, when people are discussing cultural relativism, they actually are discussing what he calls "pluralism." Instead of expecting the viewer to shed his/her own morals when observing another culture, pluralism acknowledges the fact that different people can have different morals from each other; one can understand another's ideas without taking them as his/her own or shedding his/her own. What makes us human, Berlin says, is our ability to communicate ideas to each other and discuss them. This may include conversion or may include a solidification of one's own views, but it is nevertheless a discussion meant to provide deeper insight into the mind of another person.
This book has shaped my idea for my paper. I think I want to write about cultural relativism and the relationship between differing morals. I would read more about universal ethics, as well as cultural relativism itself, and use the two books that I've already read to flesh out my research. This is a subject that really interests me, especially since a lot of my classes this year have talked about the relationships between cultures. It still aligns with my original plans for my paper, which were to write about universal ethics; I'll just be approaching the topic from a different perspective.
Olivia, this is quite an interesting topic because it really pushes us to dig deeper into what we believe, and how we approach differing view points and beliefs. The idea of "pluralism" is incredibly eye opening in the sense it respects both opinions but it does not belittle either one at the same time. granted, it depends upon the people involved, but the general idea of it is quite unique. Do you find that you lean more toward Berlin's view of cultural relativism, or that of the other author?
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