Are We Born Moral?

Are We Born Moral?

The article Are We Born Moral really made me think about morals in general. Each culture has differing morals, which leads me to believe that we are not born moral. It seems as though we are born into society and basically shaped by our family and surroundings. Looking back in my life I know that I was taught my values and morals by the people I looked up to; such as my family and teachers. If we were born with our morals wouldn’t every society/culture have the same values? Differing families and people share different morals and values so it seems to me we are taught them. I had seen a documentary focusing on children who had been neglected. A young girl was thrown out of her house at 3 years old to live with the animals in a barn behind her house. The child was given food but had very little human interaction. When she was found she was living like a dog; barking, growling, and couldn’t speak like a normal human being. Now she is in a mental hospital being rehabilitated to speak and live a more normal life. This documentary made me believe that what we are put into after we are born shapes not only our actions but our whole perception on living. In all I definitely take the side that we are born a clean slate and our taught our morals.

Courtney Timms

Metaphors We Live By/ Lakoff

Living by metaphors is an idea expressed by this author. I believe it is merely an opinion that has enough evidence to support it. Therefore, stating that the way we think, what we experience and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor, isn't out of the ball park.

Argument is War
It is amazing that when speaking of these two subjects, similar phrases and words can be used to describe the process or situation of them. At war, physically, in combat, it can be easy to describe the weaker link, as indefensible and caught off guard. When arguing one can also say, that when confronting the other individual, they caught them off guard and in turn caused them to be defenseless. You can describe an argument as a war. There are similarities in how these two topics are approached. You are opposing the person you are in disagreement with. And thus it can be stated you are also opposing another country for several reasons I will purposely omit for the sake of time. There are many other instances, in life in general, were we also use analogies to describe a situation so that we can convey it more effectively. Maybe it can be said too , we live by poetry.
Metaphors are concepts. The way a person conveys their thoughts is parallel to how they perceive their environment. I would say it is likely that a person is more linguistic and articulate depending on their environment. How can we explain things without linking it to something else that makes more sense? If I am having a hard time explaining a math problem to a student, I find one of the best ways to explain it is to link it to something happening in real life so that they can associate it better and implement that same process in order to get their answer.
Interesting topic.