tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post4703927851330627399..comments2024-03-28T05:47:54.177+00:00Comments on Philosophical Disquisitions: Surveillance and Moral Character: Kantian and Hobbesian CitizensJohn Danaherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-36462279530569388472010-08-20T23:38:00.968+01:002010-08-20T23:38:00.968+01:00I too like the marriage idea. I am not at all conv...I too like the marriage idea. I am not at all convinced that "excessive" surveillance will not lead to a greater development of "Kantian" citizens; people have a tendency to rationalize, and they will rationalize away their compliance with the norms as stemming from their own moral convictions and habits, and will stick with this "lie" so that it will become truth.<br /><br />This is an empirical question in education. Does surveillance have bad effects on the moral growth of the delinquent? What about his peers? I doubt if a single universal answer will be correct, but overall I tend to think more surveillance will do better, not worse, for the relevant parties at large.<br /><br />My great concern with surveillance lies elsewhere - in the effects on adults. I fear a Totalitarian State, and the Tyranny of the Majority. I can see a direct line between the abolition of privacy and strict enforcement of norms to the rise of populist totalitarian states. <br /><br />Yairיאיר רזקhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15798134654972572485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-9962990771010293552010-08-07T18:22:31.691+01:002010-08-07T18:22:31.691+01:00Oh, interesting example of Wordsworth's boat. ...Oh, interesting example of Wordsworth's boat. I was assuming that surveillance needn't be contradictory with allowing kids to break rules, but I guess that's not the propper philosophical way to look at it.<br /><br />I vividly remember my first several times lying, and could easily report the development of this skill. And I deliberately allowed my kids to lie to me without me "catching" them, under controlled circumstances. In fact, I recall being somewhat disappointed when the eldest took 5 years longer than I did to acquire the skill :-PJSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00681934865643964687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-86441313424072422792010-08-06T21:32:09.465+01:002010-08-06T21:32:09.465+01:00Re: Surveillance in the Parent-Child relationship
...Re: Surveillance in the Parent-Child relationship<br /><br />Westacott uses an example from Wordsworth's poem "The Prelude" to suggest that adolescents (if not small children) need to learn how it feels to break the rules. Hence, surveillance and enforcement does not always aid their moral development. So Wordsworth, apparently, linked the onset of his moral awareness to his theft of a rowing boat one summer's evening.<br /><br />As for untrustworthiness, I guess you are right. Excessive surveillance can send a bad signals. But going back to the Kantian concern, I'm not convinced that stringent enforcement and surveillance is psychologically harmful. <br /><br />I know from personal experience that I never worried about the surveillance and detection of cheating because the thought of cheating never entered my mind. But perhaps that's because I had already imbibed the Kantian ideal of doing things for the right reason (in this case, I thought cheating at an exam would be akin to cheating myself).John Danaherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761686258507859309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1780806945960886534.post-64549753782636881652010-08-06T20:34:41.462+01:002010-08-06T20:34:41.462+01:00That's fascinating. I'm surprised at the ...That's fascinating. I'm surprised at the priorities given in section 5; I would assume that surveillance is mandatory in raising small children, but is less ideal in state-citizen relationship.<br /><br />Good point about signalling of school quality, but note that surveillance is often seen as a signal of the untrustworthiness of the population being surveilled.JSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00681934865643964687noreply@blogger.com