This is qwaszxter - I had a mixup with usernames - which I've explained in an email to Chris. Jales4 is the username I wish to use.
For instance, would you give the Abu Ghraib defendants a pass if, instead of arguing that their context convinced them that it wouldn't be immoral to torture and humiliate inmates, the argued that in that particular context it simply was moral, and no change in context could invalidate that it was, in that particular time and place, okay to do what they did?
I do not believe that what the guards did IS moral, but I do believe that as humans, we could be easily convinced that it is. (I haven't read far enough into the book to reach the Abu Ghraib section - but I wonder, did the guards think what they were doing was moral at the time? And if so, do they still think their actions were moral now that they are out of that situation?)
As for their defense, I do believe that the situation HAS to be taken into consideration both in finding where guilt lies, and also in considering the sentence.
Someone who randomly goes out and tortures someone should receive a harsher sentence than someone who tortures in a situation like in Abu Ghraib.
Or would you say that there is no such thing as morality apart from the circumstances that prevail in a given time and place? And if so, then are we justified in judging other people's behavior from the assumptions of our own time and place?
Hmmmm, that is something that I really don't know - but I would definetly like to hear some thoughts from both sides. I have very little knowledge about how morality comes about. I know a bit about the nature/nurture debate, and a bit about society's influence on morality, but not enough to respond to your question. Please tell me what you think, and if you can, a bit of what the opposing argument would look like.
I believe in two popular sentiments: "you should walk a mile in a man's moccasins before you judge him" and "there but by the grace of God go I".
I guess by believing these sentiments to be true, I have somewhat of a belief that morality is situational.
As an aside - is there a non-religious variant of the 'there but by the grace of God go I" quote?