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From: barry@ames.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: THe Moral Value of Conformity
Message-ID: <1152@ames.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 22-Sep-85 17:24:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1152
Posted: Sun Sep 22 17:24:19 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Sep-85 10:12:04 EDT
References: <1622@pyuxd.UUCP> <1472@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1647@pyuxd.UUCP> <97@l5.uucp> <734@psivax.UUCP>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 34

From Sarima (psivax!friesen):
>In article <97@l5.uucp> laura@l5.UUCP (Laura Creighton) writes:
>>Rich, I don't see how you can say the reason people conform is due to
>>societal pressures and the like. Clearly, that is *a* reason, but there
>>seem to be others. Almost all existing groups profess a set of values.
>>
>	And I can add another very important reason. Humans and our
>immediate ancestors have been socially oriented animals for millions
>of years, living in "packs", "troups", or "tribes" as a rule. We thus
>have all the instincts and emotional desires of a social animal. We
>have emotional "needs" for reassurance, affirmation and so forth. We
>tend to view our own identity from a group perspective, we "know who
>we are" by what group we belong to.

	Good point. Someone (C.G. Jung?) has even suggested that members of
some tribal societies are *literally* not unique individuals in the same sense
that members of our present society are. In a small tribe, individuals can be
identified with their social function ("job") so closely that even *they*
think of themselves as "Pot-maker" more than "Ug the pot maker". Moreover,
individuality in the modern Western sense requires some measure of personal
privacy in order to form, and not all societies make provision for such
privacy. If your every action is subject to the (possibly disapproving)
oversight of your friends, neighbors and relatives, for your entire life, you
are less likely to develop uniquely personal habits and tastes.
	Two disclaimers: I only partially accept the above, myself. Also, the
statements about small tribes applies at *best* only to some tribes with
highly communal lifestyles. Tribal societies are extremely diverse, and
"tribe" makes a poor catchall label in sociological discussions.

-  From the Crow's Nest  -                      Kenn Barry
                                                NASA-Ames Research Center
                                                Moffett Field, CA
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