Traditionally, the honor code of the mafia. It is said as follows:
Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool, or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, 'If I live, I will kill you, if I die, you are forgiven.' such is the rule of honor.
No, we as a society cannot consider ourselves civilized if we allow the indiscriminate killing of our fellow man. Should we allow this, than what gives us the right to claim that we are above animals, it was our sense of morals and ethics that gave rise to our society. Are we prepared to be reduced to the level of thoughtless barbarians once again?
The law was existed to protect those who could not protect themselves, it should not be dishonorable to ask for help...
No, we as a society cannot consider ourselves civilized if we allow the indiscriminate killing of our fellow man. Should we allow this, than what gives us the right to claim that we are above animals
Funny you say this because I think we are animals and very un civilized. Animals kill their own as do we. I think it's human nature sadly. Even ants hold warfare.
it was our sense of morals and ethics that gave rise to our society.
Actually this is most likely the other way around. The need of a society to form in order to benefit the species demands a code of interaction, which is all morals are. We would have had no need for these ideals prior to the formation of social groups (societies).
To address the code of Omerta, I do agree with it in many respects actually. Firstly it is stating that if you go to the authorities to handle an issue then you either are a coward for not taking care of the issue yourself, or you are a fool for underestimating your ability to take care of it. It states that if you MUST rely on authority for protection and problem solving then you are both a fool AND a coward.
While I recognize authority as necessary in many instances, it is through the dominion of that selfsame authority that they are necessary. Many decades ago if a man threatened me with physical harm I could retaliate in kind, removing the threat. Now if I do that then I am arrested, jailed, and leave my family without me there to provide. Even though I am capable of defending myself and my family I am forced to rely on authority to defend me instead if I wish to remain with my loved ones.
The other part of the code is forgiveness and justice. If a man bests me then I must forgive him. If he doesn't best me then I must retaliate and get the best of him. While I disagree with the 'eye for an eye' philosophy here, I do see the merits of justice, forgiveness, and a sense of duty. These are great qualities to demand of soldiers (which is basically what the Mafiosos were at that time) and they lend a sense of honor and integrity to those who are seemingly without them.
it was our sense of morals and ethics that gave rise to our society.
I thought it was our lack of morals and ethics that gave rise to our society. I mean if we had morals and ethics to begin with, why would we need a society in the first place?
I thought it was our lack of morals and ethics that gave rise to our society. I mean if we had morals and ethics to begin with, why would we need a society in the first place?
Morals and ethics are simply standards of interaction between members of the society. If we have no morals then society would fall apart. If we never formed societies then we would have no need for rules governing our social interactions. Morals are just the result of cooperation between members of the group, and can be seen in all social animals. Also, the more complex the social grouping in animals, the more complex the morals become.
Actually this is most likely the other way around.
Altruism arises because helping to ensure the survival of a group enables the altruistic individual's genes to be passed on. I don't think one causes the other. Rather, they have a common ancestor.
Altruism arises because helping to ensure the survival of a group enables the altruistic individual's genes to be passed on. I don't think one causes the other. Rather, they have a common ancestor.
Altruistic behavior arises from ethics within a society. In order to affect the survivability of group the group must already be established. Certainly there is a coevolution of societies and ethics, however we see no evolutionary pressure on solitary individuals to develop a 'moral code'. We do, however see that a 'moral code' is necessary for group cohesion and survival.
