{"id":99,"date":"2021-08-02T12:56:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T16:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iterudio.com\/?p=99"},"modified":"2021-08-02T12:56:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T16:56:47","slug":"fidelity-wisdom-and-virtue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/?p=99","title":{"rendered":"fidelity, wisdom, and virtue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First principles:<\/strong>
As a first principle we can say that “conscious thought” always precedes “intentional action.” <\/p>\n\n\n

Volumes have been written on that concept – and it makes for an interesting “two drink discussion” – i.e. what exactly is “consciousness?” is a “reflex” action “thought?” <\/p>\n\n\n

We then wander into the concept of “mind vs body” – i.e. if a small child puts their hand on a hot stove, they will automatically pull their hand back illustrating a “reflex” action (the autonomic nervous system). BUT “reflexes” can be controlled by “higher brain” functions in humans (completely irrelevant tangent from Ancient Rome here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n

Sure in “animals” it is possible to condition\/desensitize<\/a> individuals to certain stimuli – but that is “learned helplessness” not “conscious thought.”<\/p>\n\n\n

The fidelity thing …<\/strong>
Fidelity<\/a> comes into the English language via the Latin fidere<\/em> (“to trust”). What is slightly interesting is that “fidelity” always seems to have been in short supply, and therefore is always highly valued as a concept if not in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n

Working from the idea that “conscious thought proceeds intentional action” – then I will point out another truism: the “unexamined life” is not worth living.

I usually trot that one out when people are asking for “career advice” (e.g. Q. “What should I do for a career?” A. “I have no idea what you should do – what do you enjoy doing? can you make a living doing that?” etc).<\/p>\n\n\n

As a clarifier for “the unexamined life isn’t worth living” I’ll point out that we will “react” to situations how we have been “trained” to react.<\/p>\n\n\n

Which is the whole idea of “military training exercises” – i.e. the extreme example: “How will soldiers react in combat?” well, no one really knows for sure how individuals will act – but we do know with 100% certainty that “untrained troops” tend to panic and run – i.e. the “natural response” is some form of “run away.” So “you will react as you have been trained” becomes truism 2a.

Meanwhile back at the ranch …<\/strong>
Now we run into the idea that “infidelity” might be the “natural response.” <\/p>\n\n\n

Ok, calling someone an “old dog” might be a complement – of course context matters. The “old dog” might not easily learn “new tricks” but has been tested and remained faithful<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

However, saying that someone has the “morals of a dog” is most certainly NOT a complement – it implies that someone acts on impulse for pleasure.<\/p>\n\n\n

The (hopefully) obvious example is that “thou shalt not commit adultery” is one of the 10 commandments because infidelity has always been a problem AND we react the way we have been trained.<\/p>\n\n\n

SO (in general) if you have been trained that “infidelity is wrong” then you are much less likely to engage in “faithless behavior” of any kind. <\/p>\n\n\n

But (just as obvious) if you have been trained that “if it feels good do it” then “cheating” is going to appear natural\/ok\/acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n

Final thoughts\/Wisdom\/Virtue\/I’m rambling again …<\/strong>
Umm, all of which means that “infidelity” might be “natural” but has never been “acceptable.” Obviously “great societies” tend to suffer from an internal moral decay before they “fall” – but that is probably like saying that if you pile rocks on top of each (without any mortar to keep them together) they will eventually topple.<\/p>\n\n\n

Remove the “moral mortar” from any society and it is in danger of collapse. Just for fun – I’ll point out the Augustus Caesar was worried about the state of the “Roman family” way back when<\/a> – so this is a “human nature” type of thing …<\/p>\n\n\n

ANYWAY – the issue becomes that “societal norms” will be “taught” from one generation to the next MOST EFFECTIVELY by what the “little ones” see at home – which is another post some other time …<\/p>\n\n\n

There is a difference between “knowing things” (maybe call that “knowledge”), “knowing what is ‘right\/good\/correct\/moral'” (maybe call that “wisdom”), and “the practice of doing what is ‘right'” (maybe that is “virtue”).<\/p>\n\n\n

SO “virtue” must be taught\/learned – which brings a quote to mind<\/p>\n\n\n

Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.<\/p>Oscar Wilde.<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First principles:As a first principle we can say that “conscious thought” always precedes “intentional action.” Volumes have been written on that concept – and it makes for an interesting “two drink discussion” – i.e. what exactly is “consciousness?” is a “reflex” action “thought?” We then wander into the concept of “mind vs body” – i.e. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-leadership","category-philosophy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}