Is it wrong to judge how people behaved in the past based on today's morals?

Is it wrong to judge how people behaved in the past based on today's morals? Jul 6, 2018 11:13:21 GMT

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Post by FilmFlaneur on Jul 6, 2018 11:13:21 GMT

Jul 6, 2018 11:07:13 GMT CoolJGS☺ said:

Jul 6, 2018 11:02:33 GMT FilmFlaneur said:

Another consideration is the way that writers of the past are used to judge those of us today, for which the same arguments, pro- and anti would seem to apply. Like when today's modern societies are held to account based on the proscriptions of ancient writings, and the inspirations drawn from gods of way back. Or supposing us all us 'guilty' of crimes perceived long before we were born.

The "judgement", which again is largely an opinion anyway, is a current moral standard people choose to adhere to rather than a past one.

I was thinking specifically of those religious types characteristically judging modern society - and normally finding it lacking - by the standards of previous ages, through their various scriptures. In fact the sight of contemporary faithists railing against the different manifestations of modern living is quite a trope. The argument can be made that, if it is unwise to judge the past through the lens of the present, then the reverse ought also to be the case.

I suppose some think that creating a new morality every fifty years for freshness' sake is a god [sic] idea, although that seems kinda stupid to me.

I don't think it requires a conscious act, although one can identify notable sea-changes down the years, such as the civil rights movement. And when considering slower changes, the genealogy of morals is a well-established observation.

Nopw if you want to waste time arguing the notion of God's existence, that seems to be a different topic.

It would be indeed.