rwh@aesat.UUCP (Russell Herman) (08/15/84)
> Sorry, you can consistently > argue either that I have an obligation to teach my son beliefs, or that > I don't (moral behavior such as honesty or independence is, at its > root, a moral belief). You can't claim a distinction between beliefs I > can teach and beliefs I can't. > > -Joe P. Yes, precisely the problem in teaching your son, or mine, a set of beliefs. But why should we teach our children our beliefs at all? Why not teach them adaptive behavior instead? My son isn't learning that lying is wrong; he's learning that you can't fool daddy (and if he persists, daddy gets mad). My son isn't learning that independence is good; he's being allowed to pursue his "Joel do it myself" as much as is safe and practical for a not-quite-three-year-old. He's also learning the basic notions of property, as well as that people like it when he shares (he knows he enjoys being shared with). My parents did their fair bit to inculcate their beliefs in me. Fortunately they didn't succeed too well, and most of them weren't harmful. Some of their beliefs, however, have become some of my outstanding neuroses! What I am trying to teach is the formation of working hypotheses, subject to revision with experience. I really expect that my beliefs, even those based on personal experience, will have as little relevance for my son as my parents' had for me. If he grows up with the twin capacities for careful thought and accurate empathy, I will consider myself to have succeeded as a father. -- ______ Russ Herman / \ {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!aesat!rwh @( ? ? )@ ( || ) The opinions above are strictly personal, and ( \__/ ) do not reflect those of my employer (or even \____/ possibly myself an hour from now.)