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Post by Mr. Daniel on Apr 9, 2013 9:55:01 GMT -5
How helpful and/or accurate are the concepts of the "culture of death" and the "culture of life" for thinking through applied ethics issues?
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Post by Claire Pandaleon on Apr 14, 2013 13:56:19 GMT -5
I think the idea of "The Culture of Death" is a great way to put our society into perspective. When applying any ethical issue to a time, it is extremely important to understand that particular society. I do believe that whether or not media and people of our culture are aware of it, there are constant unconscious messages being sent out that disrespect the sacredness of human life. Because these messages are somewhat under the radar, no one person can be blamed it's simply what our society promotes unknowingly.
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Post by clairep on Apr 14, 2013 14:06:53 GMT -5
Sorry, I wasn't signed in before so it shows me as a guest.
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ellez
New Member
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Post by ellez on Apr 14, 2013 20:46:32 GMT -5
I completely agree that, "there are constant unconscious messages being sent out that disrespect the sacredness of human life." Acknowledging the culture of death helps us identify these usually hidden controversies. My question is what steps can an individual take to promote a culture of life? I think that media plays a huge role in life, especially television. It seems that shows including a culture of death sell and producers continue this to gain money. So maybe it all comes down to people's greed for money.
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Post by isabellar on Apr 14, 2013 21:33:28 GMT -5
I think that Elle is absolutely right when she says media has played a large part in creating a culture of death. That being said, I'm wondering if media is responsible for creating a culture of death and our societal greed responsible for normalizing it? visa versa? a mixture of both? I'm also going to respond to Elle's question of what steps can an individual take to promote a culture of life with another question. Can we really unring that bell? Especially now that it has become a whole culture, I think that while we can try and combat the culture of death in our own lives, it will take a lot more than our individual actions to take down the whole culture.
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johnr
New Member
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Post by johnr on Apr 15, 2013 9:00:37 GMT -5
The media, in my opinion, does reflect the darkest pars of our society. Often, when people see violence on TV, it lowers their rejection to it, and makes it seem as if murder and violence are not grave subjects. After the Sandy Hook shooting, a police search of the killer's home revealed that he had several violent videogames in his home. Other than mental instability, these popular video games probably softened him to the idea of violence. However, overexposure to death often has the opposite effect, such as in the JP2 video. The pope experienced so much death and suffering that he devoted the rest of his life to bringing the message of life and hope to the world.
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Post by peterm on Apr 15, 2013 18:46:27 GMT -5
In the big picture, "The Culture of Death" is a very fitting title for the current era and the latter half of the 20th century. However, I think Claire, Elle, and Isabella are taking this generalization too far. When we look at "Lake of Fire" we see that no ethical issue is ever black and white, it always several shades of grey. I agree with John that our culture has seen an massive overexposure to violence and destruction of our world and the sad part is that is only a small segment that we are allowed to see. But, as John said about JP2, we sometime forget about the people who actually live these horrors. So, i don't believe that the greatest task for our generation is to pass the laws that somehow will end the disrespect of life, but instead we must find a way to fix our culture as a whole to once again remember how preious life truly is.
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Post by karinad on Apr 15, 2013 20:52:47 GMT -5
I was a bit disturbed by how Pope John Paul II tried to draw a relationship between say, the suffering of starving children in sub-Saharan Africa, and something like euthanasia, which is meant to alleviate suffering. The problem is that he thinks suffering is not always bad - I would argue that not only is suffering always bad (unless it is necessary to bring about some greater happiness in the future), but that it is the only bad. Pope makes some good points in referring to our culture as one of death, but let me point out that it is possible for a person to play violent video games, and not go out and murder people, especially as long as he/she doesn't have a gun.
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