Is there something wrong with it? Did i spell it right? Am i doing something wrong if i say one thing and i do anouther? Dont get me wrong, i dont believe in ethics so i dont think you can say that i am with objective certainty. But im curious as to all your opinions on it.
so your totally cool if the preisident or someone says KILLING IS WRONG NO MATTER WHAT murders spouse
Hypocrisy is the only sin.
It’s the only human action that is both directly tied to the base fallacy of contradiction and the only sin-like behavior that allows ones personal perspective to come into play.
No matter what you think is wrong or right is, if you don’t obey what you believe to be righteous, you’re committing sin to (at least) yourself.
Hypocrisy, I agree, is one horrible thing we as humans can do.
Since language is our main medium of understanding, to contradict ourselves is to produce profound confusion and disorder in not only other people, but ourselves as well. This is one source of what I call ‘existential angst’ - ie trying to understand who you are. If you espouse something and contradict that, what is your identity as a person if such a thing exists.
Imagine if we all did what we said - that would be a world in which we could actually judge people by their words and not only the actions that we can actually prove (or see/hear that) they did. How nice that would be.
Theoria, that is a major simplification of the complexity of the human character. It is this complexity, and the achknowledgement of it’s existance which is a serious strength to us as humans.
I believe that everything you do, everything you experience, every person you meet can change your opinions in ways you might never have foreseen prior to that event or meeting that person.
The very rigidy, or even stubborness to an ideal that is rooted in your conscious is what would prevent the world from progression. The American Constitution holds its main strength in its ability to change. It was the recognition by its founders that people’s opinions can, and almost definatly, will change, that allowed it to develop at the same rate as people’s opinions.
I have had my opinions changed too many times in too short a time accept that had i not changed my mind it would be better both for myself and those around me.
Hypocrisy is bound to happen in any person and any society, but it is the ability to deal with this in a mature and open manner which can convert it from a weakness to a strength.
I disagree that it is a sin. In fact, i consider that a person, who refuses to contradict what they have said at some stage in the past, is living in denial of the fact that they have been affected by their surroundings.
American History X.
hypocrasy and just changing your mind are two differant things
if you go against what you beleive is right, you are being hypocritical
if you then justify it by whatever method is most convenient at the time, only to change the justifiction to suit a new reality at a later time,
that is where hypcracy becomes a prblem to society at large
its ok to see things differantly, to learn and grow and change
but there will always be right and wrong, there will always be what I call a soul
you lose a bit of it everytime you renew your justifications for your actions
Anonymous,
I agree with you, humans should be able to change and grow. However, like Sowego this is no what I meant by hypocrisy. I only consider an action hypocritical if you act against something that you do believe to be right. This is especially problematic when taliking about politics or law. I do not wish to inhibit what you rightly point out as a fundamental aspect of humanity. I merely wish to suggest that hypocritical people are problematic in society - hypocrisy defined as above.
Of course, one could say that since our conception of what is right changes a lot, we are all bound to be hypocrites even in this more limited sense. And this could be necessary for progressing as a species. Imagine a person who has publicly held that all war is wrong. Then, he is suddenly embroiled in a war not of his making. He must now change his moral precept, though he still clings to the old one. Is this person the type that I described above?
The answer must be no. His position changed due to necessity. Humans can not avoid this. Many people are forced to change their minds from difficult situations such as the one described above. It could be a baby that changes our mind about abortion, or an illness that changes our minds about stem cell research etc. etc. And we may still feel that our old position has validity, but that our situation has changed and along with it our minds.
Yet, this would still not be hypocrisy as I see it. What I mean is people acting out of self-interest while going against held beliefs. This would not, I think, further our progression as a species - nor as individuals. What it does is create a society of mask-wearers, of people who are not what they appear. Saying one thing while doing another is not the same as believing one thing, encountering an epiphany and changing that belief. Nor is it the same as acting against your belief out of a necessity you can not control.
Ok, i accept that hypocrisy is quite a broad term and in the definition of you meant i agree.
I your baby example is the persons opinion not changed in some way, but he accepts that people holding the view previously held by him have a valid point and can fullt understand where they are coming from?
Surely this hypocrisy which you are describing, is not some believing something and doing the opposite, but someone saying he believes one thing, and doing the opposite. The difference is quite large. And yes, I agree that this is a major problem in society. It is what Might be termed as a person being “false.”
As i see it, the solution for this lies throughout all levels of society. A person must feel 100% confident with all those around him, in order to speak his mind openly. It is a change which must be induced (right word?) in society, a change that i feel must be approached as early as possible in a person. ie i’d imagine that most of the people on this website would feel confident in expressing their true views no matter how extreme. I’d think that that confidence was/is due to the experiences that we have had through our lives.
So surely the question is, how do you ensure that everyone feels confident to express their views without abuse or reprecusions?
Back to the 2X4"
But is anyone truly at ease expressing his true feelings.
Arent even the most intelectual afraid to express something they beleive in if it is not an accepted norm?
Do we all, in all levels of society, say things we dont feel to get us through a certain moment?
Do we all act a certain way so as not to feel uncomfortable around a certain person or persons?
Is it ok to teach our children to do as we say and not as we do?
If we are doing something we know is bad the answer would be of course. But is that hypocracy? or just good parenting, and bad living?
At the moment, id imagine the large majority of people are not consistently the same, but is that due to the nature of the human character or the way society is? I don’t know enough physcology to answer that I’m afraid 
Oh, please - what is THAT supposed to mean? What is meant by committing a “sin” to yourself?
And is this to say that if i believe murder is righteous, and then murder as many people as possible, that i am doing righteous work? Do i define what is righteous?
Nos.
If I believe wearing eyeliner is righteous, and then wear as much eyeliner as possible, I am then doing what is righteous?
If I believe helping people overcome hurt is righteous, and then help as many people overcome hurt as possible, I am then doing what is righteous?
It’s all the same to my non-cognitivism.
Yes, you do define what is righteous. You do it everyday.
You failed to see the irony in you feeling compelled to me stating that people define what is righteous.
What, pray tell, compelled you to reply to me? Was it your external moral code, some divine self-righteous behavior (oxymoronic statement). Or was it more that you felt that what I said was wrong and you wanted to prove me wrong?
All righteousness is, in some manner, self righteous. Why? All morals are defined by man, and every man is his own operator. Therefore, all ethics are personal.
As all ethics are personal… the only sin is hypocrisy. So don’t contradict yourself. If you truly believe something, believe it for yourself as much as you believe it for everything else.
Remeber, The Golden Rule is just an elaborate way of saying, “Don’t be a hypocrite”.
End of story.
Is it hypocritical, if you say something but but do another?
I think the word to focus upon here is WHY? Why did I say something but do another. If I am justified then I’m not a hypocrite. However, since we are all humans and bound by emotions, so I might just say something in the heat of the moment but not follow it through, either because it’s not possible or I just don’t want to and it would be alright so long as no one is affected by my acting otherwise, unduly. I know there are people soooooooooo old fashioned that they would rather stick to their word even though not keeping their word would benefit all in the long run, these people are the ones who care less from the heart and have little commonsense and the real hypocrites in my eyes. So, hypocrisy is not onle a matter of acting otherwise to perhaps further your own cause at the expense of another but furthering your own cause by keeping your word and thus hurting others
Hypocritical basically translates to “not critical enough”, meaning that you’re not being as critical of yourself as you are of the outside world. That fact is completely irrelevant, I just thought it was kind of cool.
If you want to be hypocritical then do so, if you don’t then don’t. Neither is intrinsically “evil” (I don’t believe in universal morality either). The main disadvantage of being hypocritical is that it may be detrimental to your ability to reason logically, however being hypocritical can be good for your ego and confidence. It’s up to you which way suits you best.
Personally I try to avoid hypocrisy where I can, but I acknowledge that in small amounts it has its uses.