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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Riddle me this: What do societies gain by hammering on those nail heads that stick out?

Whether tacit or express, the rules of conduct in a society exist for a reason. My guess is that it conserves societal wealth by prevents factionalization / splitting up of societies, which then makes everyone involved less likely to survive.

If factionalization threatens society, then we would react harshly when rules are broken. But then why are some infractions treated differently than others?

Regardless, History shows that the rules of conduct change over time, so if you find reactions unconscionable, you have to choose between trying to change society and trying to change yourself.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Patrick, we do have some ability to predict future trends in moral views. Consider support for gay rights: in addition to being the overwhelming consensus of elites, it is also predominant among the younger generations, so that one can reasonably expect it to become as pervasive as opposition to racial segregation within one's lifetime. The stock of moral opinion reflects a legacy population anchored to old beliefs developed without contact with openly gay people, but the flow is clearly in favor of equal treatment. In such a case, do you try to behave in a way that will not disturb your neighbours today, or your neighbours in 2020?

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