Reclaiming Moral Knowledge in a Changing World
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Sermon Summary
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Dallas Willard observed that moral knowledge is now Elusive and rarely publicly recognized in the West. He was at least partially correct an earlier broadly judeo-christian public morality was and is lost however this former public moral knowledge has been largely replaced by a new one variously called neoliberalism and meritocratic culture. [00:47:34]
Urbanization, pluralism, and liberalism interact to constantly refocus our attention on utility and power and away from genuine or at least traditionally geo-christian moral bases. The result is that fundamental goods and duties become harder to notice while merely instrumentally valuable phenomena appear more salient. [00:49:22]
The parable of the island survivors illustrates how instrumental values can overshadow fundamental goals. Over time, the production of fish hooks became more important than the original rescue mission, symbolizing how society often prioritizes material gain over deeper values. [00:57:00]
The Elders of each Camp explain to their children that the point of the daily activities on the island, collecting Fish Hooks Gathering water repairing bashing on the Huts was to keep them alive so they could continue their projects of escape and Rescue. [01:04:29]
The result is an undesigned divide and conquer Dynamic where anyone with deep particular values is systematically cold from their home flock and deprogrammed that's how it seems to work. The upshot of all this is that disembedding whether due to urbanization or the social effects of the internet shrinks the leads of our Cloverleaf model. [00:15:21]
What makes LCD culture different from most other cultures from the Petals of the daisy is that it takes vital human needs and instrumental power to be the most important values. Human needs and instrumental power of course have utility in every culture but for many perhaps all other cultures the most important things lie elsewhere. [00:17:46]
Traditional cultures overlap with everyone else on the utility of instrumental values but LCD culture puts disproportionate emphasis on them. Oversimplifying a little bit for the sake of clarity we might say that what makes LCD culture distinctive is that it treats instrumental values as fundamental values. [00:18:25]
A successful education for an open Future is actually an education for this particular kind of professional feature. Crucially a member of LCD culture enjoys this greater latitude in life and Life Choices because he prioritizes LCD values over those of any traditional culture. [00:23:54]
A fundamental Choice point is a situation in which someone must choose between a fundamental value according to their traditional culture on the one hand or on the other hand pursuing an instrumental value instead. So for instance does one choose a job or career that will enable them to live near their extended family or does one choose the job or career that maximizes income or career opportunity. [00:27:05]
The phenomenology of lowest common denominator culture poses a similar problem, presents us with a distracting and illusory world. As with any culture the power of LCD culture is strengthened to the extent that it's not recognized as culture but is instead taken for granted as the nature of reality. [00:34:31]
If we can come to realize that the denuda duracinated world of fundamentalized instrumental value is illusory, then perhaps we can try to walk in gnash his shoes we can begin to consciously effortfully discount the illusions of LCD culture and bring back into focus our obligations to family and neighbor and the true value of human and divine love. [00:34:31]
In all likelihood our children first encounter the engines of the zeitgeiston school, where they are exposed to life worlds different from their own and dialogue with children and teachers from these other life worlds childhood is the most influential time in the development of a person's moral perspective so it stands to reason that this would be an especially critical time to form our children away from these influences. [00:30:17]
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Urbanization, pluralism, and liberalism interact to constantly refocus our attention on utility and power and away from genuine or at least traditionally geo-christian moral bases. The result is that fundamental goods and duties become harder to notice while merely instrumentally valuable phenomena appear more salient. [00:49:22]
The parable of the island survivors illustrates how instrumental values can overshadow fundamental goals. Over time, the production of fish hooks became more important than the original rescue mission, symbolizing how society often prioritizes material gain over deeper values. [00:57:00]
The Elders of each Camp explain to their children that the point of the daily activities on the island, collecting Fish Hooks Gathering water repairing bashing on the Huts was to keep them alive so they could continue their projects of escape and Rescue. [01:04:29]
The result is an undesigned divide and conquer Dynamic where anyone with deep particular values is systematically cold from their home flock and deprogrammed that's how it seems to work. The upshot of all this is that disembedding whether due to urbanization or the social effects of the internet shrinks the leads of our Cloverleaf model. [00:15:21]
What makes LCD culture different from most other cultures from the Petals of the daisy is that it takes vital human needs and instrumental power to be the most important values. Human needs and instrumental power of course have utility in every culture but for many perhaps all other cultures the most important things lie elsewhere. [00:17:46]
Traditional cultures overlap with everyone else on the utility of instrumental values but LCD culture puts disproportionate emphasis on them. Oversimplifying a little bit for the sake of clarity we might say that what makes LCD culture distinctive is that it treats instrumental values as fundamental values. [00:18:25]
A successful education for an open Future is actually an education for this particular kind of professional feature. Crucially a member of LCD culture enjoys this greater latitude in life and Life Choices because he prioritizes LCD values over those of any traditional culture. [00:23:54]
A fundamental Choice point is a situation in which someone must choose between a fundamental value according to their traditional culture on the one hand or on the other hand pursuing an instrumental value instead. So for instance does one choose a job or career that will enable them to live near their extended family or does one choose the job or career that maximizes income or career opportunity. [00:27:05]
The phenomenology of lowest common denominator culture poses a similar problem, presents us with a distracting and illusory world. As with any culture the power of LCD culture is strengthened to the extent that it's not recognized as culture but is instead taken for granted as the nature of reality. [00:34:31]
If we can come to realize that the denuda duracinated world of fundamentalized instrumental value is illusory, then perhaps we can try to walk in gnash his shoes we can begin to consciously effortfully discount the illusions of LCD culture and bring back into focus our obligations to family and neighbor and the true value of human and divine love. [00:34:31]
In all likelihood our children first encounter the engines of the zeitgeiston school, where they are exposed to life worlds different from their own and dialogue with children and teachers from these other life worlds childhood is the most influential time in the development of a person's moral perspective so it stands to reason that this would be an especially critical time to form our children away from these influences. [00:30:17]
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