If one has a set of ethics and one discovers that they are not suited to the world one lives in, or are not accpeted by the people around us, should one
If 2), should one worry or be upset about it? Or feel guilty?
(I’m talking about rules of behaviour, really.)
And what is good, Phædrus,
And what is not good…
Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?
Phaedrus asks a question, Noel replies.
Let us assume two codes of ethics: A and B.
In the same field of application, Behaviour a is good in ethics A, and b is good in Ethics B.
I live by A, and therefore behave in way a.
I see that Behaviour b has a better result in the world around me (or is more successful).
Should I adopt behaviour b?
I proposed a mystery, cloaked in a question, wrapped in an enigma. Unwrap it it you’re ready.
Nietzsche commented that it’s not what is good or bad, but what is useful and useless. If one finds their ethics are useless in a given enviroment, are they not in question?
Sagesound,
Exactly my point, in a nutshell!
That is a really weird question. I can’t think of an example where certain ethics can be ‘bad’ or not useful. Whether we like it or not, we adopt the appropriate and acceptable ethics from our upbringing and society - sure we later may get more rebelious variations, but it’s not usually so drastic that it causes problems in society… for example, i think there is nothing wrong with a teacher hugging a student, but teacher/education ethics prohibits it. Yet, i’m sure i’ll get over it and resist from hugging students.
However, if someone thinks it’s ethically right to kill for whatever reason, then they’re said to be insane and SHOULD adopt “better” ethics.
But what would happen if someone moves to a different country where people have slightly different ethics? Well i say keep your own - and if that’s not working, then get out of there. Unless you’re from some undiscovered tribe of canibals…? I give up. Hey…i’m 18 
QueenMab,
I see we have the same interests! You and I are also exchanging messages on Darwinism - hey, nice to have met you.
I find that hard to believe. Imagine you move to an environment where it is considered OK to lie (white lie maybe) to get a young lady in your bed. And she knows that you are lying, but is not upset or unduly troubled by it.
If everyone plays by those rules, then all is fine. [I’m reading ‘I am Charlotte Simmons’, Tom Wolfe, at the moment, so I’m learning about the ethics of American campuses!]
If, however, you are from an environment where such behaviour is ‘not done’, or unknown, or frowned upon. I think that is easily imagined, no?
The question is then: should you adopt that mode of behaviour, or not?
(The answers to this question are, for once, quite practical!)
Maybe it depends on where your original set of ethics come from.
If you just adopted them to fit into your original situation, rather than some deep felt belief then hey, when in rome 
If they are deep seated beliefs do you really have the option to change them anyway?
Hi noel!
I don’t know, that’s difficult. In that particular case, you should be vary of WHO you lie to, if you possibly can. It varies with the actual ethic …
I really am speechless hahaha
I’d wager that one does not simply make a choice to change what they do and do not consider appropriate behavior. Were it that simple, we wouldn’t still be dealing with the backlash from Brown v. Board of Education.
If you are worried that telling the truth (vs the aformentioned white lies) will have an advese effect on the quantity of nookie you can get at college, that sounds much more like an individual values choice than a quandary between two possibly incompatible systems of ethics.
In other words, what matters more? Sex or honesty? (I can tell you this much: total honesty 100% of the time will bring the annual rate of sexual encounters to very near zero in western cultures, which I’d assume you’re a part of if you’re reading “I am Charlotte Simmons”. You have been warned.)
I know!