[lit-ideas] Re: Honor: A History
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 19:48:02 -0700
Explain that. How is doing the honorable thing not doing something that
will permit you to retain your good reputation?
I have studied logic. That isn't to say that I'm not capable of making
mistakes but don't think I have made one in this case.
Lawrence
-----Original Message-----
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Ursula Stange
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 7:29 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Honor: A History
You should study logic, too, Lawrence. You're using the word 'honour'
equivocally. Surely it doesn't mean the same thing in your dictionary
definition that it does in that later sentence about doing the
'honourable' thing.
Ursula
Lawrence Helm wrote:
> Irene,
>
> You really should study logic. It is mind-numbing to try and follow
> your line of reason. In fact "reason" isn't the right word to apply to
> what you do.
>
> "Honor" has several definitions. I take Bowman to mean the first
> definition in my Webster's New World College Dictionary, especially
> "good reputation and credit."
>
> Logically if you oppose Honor then you prefer dishonor, for that is
> it's opposite. You don't want a good reputation. A bad one will serve
> you quite well. The fact that honor is understood by children doesn't
> mean that is childish and something adults should avoid. It means it
> is in our nature. We don't grow out of childish honor into adult
> dishonor. We grow, in fact we used to grow, to have a more
> sophisticated or adult sense of honor. We don't worry about a good
> reputation in regard to being the first to eat our porridge, but we
> value our reputation at work and we want to be considered honest and
> trustworthy.
>
> We and the Islamists have a different sense of honor. Just because
> they kill daughters who they feel have dishonored them doesn't mean
> that we should eschew honor and choose dishonor in its stead. "Doing
> the honorable thing" in Western society, as Bowman writes used to be
> considered a virtue. In fact if someone were to stop and think about
> it logically, it still is.
>
> Lawrence
>
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