[ExI] The Rationality of Belief is Relative

[painlord2k at libero.it]

Il 21/05/2009 19.51, Lee Corbin ha scritto:

>>> Slavery seemed perfectly natural to Aristotle
>>> and Cicero. You consider this a rational lapse
>>> on their parts?

>> Yes. (And I would guess that many of the slaves probably didn't think
>> slavery was "perfectly natural.")

> Au contraire. Prior to the last five or six
> hundred years, there were only a few people
> who had much sympathy at all for slaves, (I
> mean beyond the natural human empathy we all
> have for some of those not as well off), and
> vanishly few who looked at it as immoral.
> Instead, people tended to look at slavery the
> way we look at poverty, only the most radical
> of us believing that for the 20th century,
> for example, it was a truly evil and
> malignant "institution".

I would contest that "few people".
Slavery was near completely eradicated by the customs of Europe around 
the XI century. It lasted only around the bleeding borders with another 
civilization that find nothing unnatural with slavery.
It returned in the Americas, away from the social control of the 
Catholic Church.

In other places, it exist until today. Mauritania abolished it a couple 
of years ago, and probably many 100k's people are slaves today, there.
It is not strange that many recent cases of slavery in US have as 
defendant people of not European background that come and bring with 
them a slave maid or two. The slave maids, usually, think of themselves 
"lucky" to be with a wealth man, family that feed them and only ask for 
12-15 hour work every day. It is only when they start to understand the 
world around them (often after the police intervene) that they change 
their mind and understand how wrong was their condition. There is a 
"built in" acceptance of their status, as they think it is the natural 
order of things. When their status is raised and their "owners" status 
is lowered, they start changing their attitude.

Mirco









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