In his work Questions of Value, the philosopher Patrick Grim poses this challenge:
An old adage says, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
From your own experience, draw some examples of when that might be good advice and when it might not.
Respond to Grim's prompt and also ask what your examples suggest about ethics and ethical behavior. Can any ethical insights be gained from your examples?
7 comments:
This quote is a very well known and common used one. I believe that this saying is not always appropriate for every situation, however. This quote means that when you are somewhere, you should do what the people of that place do so you can fit in and feel welcomed and accepted in that culture. For example, when in Paris, eat delicious French food, go shopping, wear nice clothing. Fiji was once known as the 'Cannibal Isles.' However, if I were there at the time of this name, I would not be induced into partaking in this action. This statement is proving that the quote “when in Rome, do what the Romans do” is not always relative to the place or society you have been placed in. There are times when you can use this and relate it to yourself but other times this can be unethical. It is not ethical to partake in cannibalism in the United States, however it is normal to partake in this action in other countries. You have to know the difference between right and wrong and question this, question what is ethical and not ethical to your beliefs.
It is often very dangerous to “do as the Romans do.” The peer pressure of adolescence often forces teenagers to act in ways that defy their own personal morals. As a young teen, I was often made uncomfortable by my peers because I did not participate in the same questionable behaviors they did. I remained a “good kid.” Had I succumbed to peer pressure when I was younger, I would probably be disappointed with myself at this point in my life. The things I refused to participate in would probably not have changed my life considerably for the worst; however, they made me feel uneasy, they were wrong.
Sometimes, however, it is a good idea to follow the crowd. This situation often occurs when what is being practiced is innocent. There are some instances in which it is pointless to object. For example, my leadership board is often very enthusiastic about an event we are planning. While I may object to their ideas, there is nothing wrong about them, nor will their implementation be at all negative. At this point, similar to when one is apathetic to a situation, I take on the smile-and-nod mentality. I go along for the sake of avoiding unnecessary argument.
In my own personal experience, I traveled to Malaysia for a church missions trip. Being in a completely different and foreign country, I was amused by the cultural settings of Malaysia. Before I went, my pastor told the group to never announce him as “Pastor” or a Christian, because this was mainly an Islamic country. His advice helped us to “blend” in with the Malaysians by pretending to be pro-Islamic. Without this advice, we would be susceptible into going to jail or harassment. “When is Malaysia, do as the Malaysian government wants you to do.” The quote above is good advice when your life or your emotions are on the line. I think during situations where you need to step forward and be more creative, is when the quote should not pertain to us. Ethically, if you “do as the Romans do,” you set aside your own standards of morality. If you do exactly as another country does, you disregard all your bases of morality and might be doing wrong based upon your own country’s standards.
This quote is probably one of the more widely and more commonly used ones in todays average conversation. There are a lot of situations that this applies too. One of these situations that stick out the most to me is when traveling to Europe. When you mention traveling to Europe you should learn about the culture and try to blend in because you will not be treated with respect if you do not. There have been many stories I have heard about how when people went to a country in Europe and they were harassed to just treated badly because they were visiting that country. One situation where this doesn't apply is when you need to be different. There are many different situations that there needs to be individuality and not conforming in situations. At an art fair you would not want to be conforming to others, it would almost be plagiarizing.
The quote "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."(Grim) basically says that when you are visiting a country or place with a different culture than your own you must respect their culture and do as they do. When I went to Italy with my friend's family to visit her grandparents I found that their way of life is much different than mine. For instance, it is in insult to stop eating the food that is given to you at the dinner table because it is an insult to the person that cooked the food. So I ate and ate and ate, even when i was so full I thought I was going to explode I still had to keep eating because I did not want to insult my friend's grandmother. Is there some way I could have told her politly that i was full and not hurt her feelings?(if I were able to speak Italian that is.) If I were in another country or went to another place with a different culture and they made human sacrifices, I do not think it is a good idea to take part in that culture, even if the people did get offended. Also, I remember from the movie "Dances With Wolves" when the American soldier goes on a buffalo hunt with the Native American and at the end they cut the heart of the biggest buffalo out and took a bite out of it and then handed it to the soldier to eat. At first he was hesitant but then, remembering that it was their land, their culture, and their way of life he took a bite out of the buffalo heart as a respect to their culture and way of living. So, one really should do as the others do when on is in a different country, or place with a different culture.
"When in rome..." is a very simple way of saying accepting peer pressure is the right thing to do. Am I right or is it just me that thinks that it is a little bit of an overwhelming request. I suppose in some occassions that may be good advice. For example, when you are surrounded by a group of people who aren't familar with and they are partaking in safe actvities such as thumb wrestling or baking cookies, you should join in and participate. But what if they aren't baking cookies, what if they are playing chicken on their bicycles in the middle of a busy rode? Times like these in fact disprove the statement "When in Rome" because sometimes when you are "in rome" the best advice may be to warn a parent or trusted adult. I am not saying the person who began this phrase was talking out of his ears, all I am saying is that times have changed and following the group can be dangerous. Trust me, I have been in Rome, not speaking a single word of Italian and I survived just fine.
Good job! This post is now closed. Get ready for Liberty Vallance on Monday!
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