I observed this trend among many of my own students at three
different universities where I taught undergraduate courses in philosophy…The
most common answers that students gave to principled questions concerning the
right and the good were evasive statements like, “That depends on your point of
view,” or “I can see both sides of the argument”, or “That’s just my opinion”,
or “Your mileage may vary.”
One of my most articulate students, when asked what things make
life meaningful, said: “Oh, whatever people want, so long as we’re not harming
or judging anyone.” I understand why my students spoke this way. They do not
wish to create controversy or conflict; they do not wish to appear dogmatic or
closed-minded. Nonetheless, these answers are varieties of deliberate
non-thinking. They are public declarations of an unwillingness to commit to anything,
and an unwillingness to make serious choices about the value and meaning of
their own lives. Indeed I began to doubt whether they believed anything
substantial at all.
From "The Other Side of Virtue" Brendan Myers
He said it better than I could.
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