Sayre-McCord argues that “There is no doubt that whatever metaethics’s substantive assumptions and practical implications might be, it involves reflecting on the presuppositions and commitments of those engaging in moral thought, talk, and practice and so abstracting away from particular moral judgments. ” For this discussion, I will give a hypothetical example that I would guess is a usual occurrence in many families with teenage children. This is the scenario. I am a teenager and I have a set of friends, four of them to be exact, who are very outgoing and they spend much time camping on weekends.
On weekdays, after classes, we would gather at a particular place where we can meet and talk about where we can spend the time together without minding the time. At other times, we would go party-hopping or simply while away time at some parking lots and talk about just anything. Also, we find time to go to the beach carrying some food to last until it is time to go home, just talking and watching the ripples in the sea. The van that we regularly use is owned by the richest guy in the group.
In it are a laptop, an iPod, a cooler, flashlights, canned goods, bits of snacks items, and many more that we all share together. We enjoy each other’s company that we find delight in calling each other from our blackberries even if we are seated next to each other. There are occasions we have girls with us and with our rock music, we would dance and drink to our fill until we get damn tired. One thing was certain though; we were making passing grades in school. We help each other make time to do our school works and attended classes quite regularly.
We all desire to attain a degree but surely without working so hard. In the beginning as I began joining this group, my mother and dad were furious having learned about me in the company of my friends. Hardly do they see me on the dining table with the family. At night they would check my room and find me not there until the wee hours of the morning. Then, the argument began. My parents said all sorts of offensive comments and insults like I am in a bad company of bad guys, nerds, untidy, and that they are the wrong friends for me.
I think that they have no right to say my friends deserve those descriptions. I cannot be convinced they are bad because they are good to me. Every time I would see my mom, I would kiss her and avoid any confrontation with her or with my dad about my friends. We all have reasons of our own to say that my friends are bad as perceived by my parents and I say they are not from my own perception. This kind of argument does not bring us to a common agreement. Both my dad and mom are employed and both are so ambitious to get to the top of their companies.
So, they were in all company meetings, in all company and friends’ parties, etc. I was alone most of the time at home with the cats only to talk to. Then, I began to feel disgusted. My new friends came to my rescue before I could go nuts or psychopath. Moreover, in the company of my friends, I felt like I belong. I felt like I have some company that I can laugh and sing with and talk to. There was never a dull moment I found with them. I simply felt great being with them.
I disagreed with my parents when they said my friends are “bad” and that they are the “wrong” friends for me. They were only a call away when I needed somebody to talk to. They look like nerds as they are described but they are definitely not untidy. I know because we do take regular baths. The only difference is they do not dress up like the others. Looking at this situation from the argument of Sayre-McCord, my parents’ loyalty is in their adherence to their beliefs of what “bad boys” are as against the “good boys” leading them to demand that I do not mingle with them anymore.
Similarly I am steadfast to my belief that my friends are good boys because I know that. In this sense, using Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2007) inquiry, “good” is more a matter of taste rather than what is the truth about being good. Furthermore, morality or to be moral is also referred to as being “good” or “bad” such as my friends, is a “human creation” and to some degree, a “myth. ” A clash of beliefs between what is good or bad is an exercise ad infinitum. How we perceive people is a product of our own moral firmly held opinions.
True enough, one can hold on to his “understanding of the meaning and justification of his ethical judgments especially in this age when our general thinking about principles and values is said to be in a state of crisis” (Frankena, 1973).
References
Fieser, J. (2006). Metaethics. In Ethics. Retrieved from http://www. iep. utm. edu/e/ethics. htm#H1 Frankena, W. (1973). Meaning and justification. In Ethics. Retrieved from http://www. ditext. com/frankena/e6. html Sayre-McCord, G. (2007). Metaethics. In The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/metaethics/