Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

An_Old_Big_Tree wrote

One problem with gut feelings is that they also often hide prejudice.

It's no accident that people are more likely to get gut feelings that they're in danger when walking past someone in the street if that person is a black man in a hoodie.

So I think we need to be very careful of how we interpret our gut in light of how it is conditioned by society.

3

dele_ted wrote

That's a good point. It's important to listen to this feeling, but it's also important to be critical towards it. I suppose it's one of those things you just have to learn with time, by experience.

3

RedEmmaSpeaks wrote

That's true. You should never follow any one rule completely; there's a reason absolute morality almost invariably always falls apart. It's just a good chunk of the time, if something inside you is saying, "Wait, there's something wrong here," often there's a good reason. You should investigate this feeling, trying to figure out where it comes from, and why you're feeling it. Even if it turns out to be wrong like, say, born of prejudice like you suggested, there's a reason this feeling exists and that reason warrants being addressed in some fashion.

2