Think, Think and Think

In Japan, culturally, modesty is one of the virtues. We are highly encouraged to be modest in every aspect of our life.

(By the way, Im not saying that I am modest. Haha!!)

Why is modesty important? Is that just a traditional habit that does not have much reasoning?

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Now, I am studying Master's degree in peace studies.

When we talk about peace, we cannot help thinking about two terms: “Diversity” and “Justice”.

The first step towards a peaceful world is accepting the diversity of people. People do not necessarily think in a way we think. Therefore, it is important to accept others' opinions or values so that we can coexist in a harmony on this Spaceship Earth.

However, when we try to accept diverse opinions and values, we inevitably come across a point where accepting diversity contradicts justice.

Let's take a look at an example. When I was working in Nicaragua, I once visited a village where only men can get on the horse. Women are prohibited from riding on the horseback traditionally.

Here comes the question. Should we consider this habit as a part of their traditional culture from the viewpoint of the respect for diversity? Or, should we try to change this situation in terms of gender equality and justice?

This is a dilemma between "Diversity" and "Justice".

The question becomes more contentious when it comes to more extreme cases such as female genital mutilation. Is female genital mutilation part of culture and we should appreciate it? Or is that a violation of women's rights? Most people would consider it as a violation of women's rights. But not everybody.

The question becomes more ambiguous when it comes to more modest cases. For example, I like dancing Salsa. In Salsa dancing, men always guide women. Is that a representation of men dominant society? Or is that a part of culture? Most people would consider it as an authentic culture but not everybody.

There are plenty of examples for this theme ranging from bullfighting in Spain to Dolphin Drive Fishing in Japan.

The point is, where should we draw the line between respecting diversity and imposing justice? Who should draw the line?

“Respect the diversity” sounds beautiful. Nobody says “we do not have to respect diversity”.

However, to make this world a better place, we have to take some concrete actions. And concrete actions require moral judgement.

Should we stop female genital mutilation? Should women also be able to ride on the horse? Should women be able to lead men in Salsa dancing? Is bullfighting against the rights of animals? Is Dolphin Drive Fishing part of culture?

This is ultimately a problem of philosophy. We have to think about philosophy if we want to make this world a better place based on reasonable moral judgement.

Before learning how to conduct actions, we have to think about what philosophy we should conduct those actions based on.

However, as Michael Sandel, a well known philosopher, argued in this talk (http://www.justiceharvard.org/2011/03/episode-01/#watch), philosophical argument sometimes paralyzes us.

If we start talking about the moral aspect of concrete actions, there will never be a consensus and we cannot start actions.

Philosophical argument is fearful because we have to radically rethink about what we have believed in our lives so far.

In other words, we have to doubt ourselves constantly. We have to cast doubt on what we have believed and relied on so far. Sometimes, we have to deny our conventional wisdom.

But we tend not to do that. Doubting ourselves requires energy and it is painful. It takes time and it might even bring about identity crisis if we doubt ourselves to the greater extent.

Sticking to what we have believed so far or what is usually told (conventional wisdom) is easier. Our inner laziness and inertia tell us to do so.

Nevertheless, once again as Sandel said, we cannot stop thinking about philosophy because it is about our daily lives. It is not an abstract and ambiguous theoretical argument about scholars' world. It is all about us.

We have to keep thinking. Think, think and think.

And thinking is, to some extent, doubting what we believe.

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Here comes the argument about modesty.

In Japan, there is a proverb saying “Ears of rice bow as it bears fruit”.

The proverb is warning us about our inherent tendency to stick to our traditional believes and encouraging us to be modest especially when we become old and acquire lots of knowledges and experiences.

In other words, modesty is about having mental space to doubt ourselves. Modesty enables us to think deeply, learn from others and come up with creative and constructive ideas that can contribute to the better world.

Maybe, japanese tradition that respects modesty was indicating that.