Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tl00215)

In a previous post I made reference to C.S. Lewis and the concept of moral
law as an innate tendency in humans.  I used Lewis as an example because his
book is the most easily accessible and readable work on the subject.  And
like I said in that post, he did not live long enough to see events refute
all of his examples.

As I have said before, there are any number of ways of looking at things and
ethics is no exception.  So, in good theosophical fashion, let me define the
term.

Ethics is a system, any system, by which an individual or group makes a
judgement as to the propriety of a given action or set of actions.

Now that means that a person may be acting perfectly ethically within his own
framework while simultaneously violating every precept of somebody else's.
 This will, of course, cause great trauma in the psyche of the other person
if he finds out about it, but unless there is a significant personal
connection to the first person, that individual will not be bothered at all.

Case in point.  I am heavily into S/M, as everyone who knows me knows because
I'm something of an activist in that area.  If my grandparents were alive, it
would cause them great distress, so while they lived I hid my interests from
them.  But it is of no importance to me that the person down the block does
not approve because that person has no vital connection to me that I do not
wish severed.  On the contrary, I may enjoy rubbing his face in the fact
merely to annoy him, because, as Oswald Spengler once said, "When one has an
opportunity to annoy people, one should do so."

Now that statement will actually cause a great number of my S/M comrades
great upsetness because they do not believe that one should be that open.
 And at that point an impasse occurs because they cannot stop me and I don't
care if they approve or not, so they have the choice of shutting up or
venting their impotent fury.

The situation is likewise true in the TS.

The TS, for lots of weird, historic reasons, objects officially to people
learning to do psychic stuff, but I write books specficially teaching that.
 The powers that be are not happy, but do I stop writing because of that?  Of
course not.

The fact is that the ethical system of one individual or group is never
binding on any other unless the first has the power to enforce their will.
 Lacking that power, all that is left is the force of persuasion and that
only works on those who are willing to be so persuaded.

Chuck the Heretic