Is watching TV unethical?: Philosophy Forums

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Is watching TV unethical?

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Is watching TV unethical?

Wosret
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Posted 11/02/09 - 01:05 PM:	#11
jsidelko wrote: (4) Watching TV while your TV is broken. How broken?
"If you've got any last words, say 'em now." - Nadie. "I am Horo the Wise." - Horo the Wise.

Cadrache
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Posted 11/02/09 - 03:30 PM:	#12
I like it. It's a great educational tool. I'm still intrigued about the 'new ship' on stargage universe... And then it occassionally bridges the gap between sub-cultures. It definately helps in your understanding of laughter when you are the only one laughing/not laughing with the rest of the people in the room...
"...There was a writer who asked why it was that when we find positive experiences we say that only the physical facts are real, but in negative experiences we believe that reality is subjective. He made an example of those who say that in birth only the pain is real, the joy a subjective point of view, but that in death it is the emotional loss that is the reality." - Tony Ballantyne, Recursion. _____________________________________________ Truth is want. - The internal state of matters. Truth is Need. - The external state of affairs.

baden511
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Posted 11/03/09 - 12:16 AM:	#13
I don't know if anyone else has had this experience but I haven't watched TV (apart from a couple of rare lapses) for about 8 years, and now I find that I'm actually allergic to it. I've heard about vegetarians who've had similar experiences after going off meat for long periods...
"Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Moses (Numbers 31:17-18) "Do not harm little children" - Satanic Bible. Rule no.9 "Send me a cool rut-time, Jove, or who can blame me to piss my tallow?" - Falstaff

mayor of simpleton
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Posted 11/03/09 - 06:29 AM:	#14
Funny... I really enjoy Television. I watch a lot of television. I find quite a few good shows. Then again, I like Sports (not Fussball or Motorsports) and Documentaries. Every now and then I find a few good comedies or thrillers. The downtime does me good. I cannot say that I am a "victim" of the advertisers, nor do I believe everything I see or hear. My health has not had a negative effect as a result of Television. In fact, if something entertaining is on, I am able to ride longer on the ergometer, thus increasing my physical ability. Television is what you make of it. The Internet is the same. Other than news and weather information, quick info location and e-mails, this forum is the only thing I have found of any merit in the Internet. I still live in the real world and not the virtual one. Unethical? Gee bitte! Living is unethical. Meow! GREG
I am not one to attribute that which I cannot understand immediately to be god(s)-perhaps I will never understand, but god(s) are not defined by my lack of understanding-this is the foundation of dogmas, the pressing of connotative values into the realm of dennotative meaning. - MOS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIYJERcdHb0 Jerry Sings!

To Mega Therion
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Posted 11/03/09 - 06:44 AM:	#15
jsidelko wrote: There are times when it is both unethical and unreasonable to watch TV: [...] (2) Watching TV while your neighbor is screaming for help. [..] (6) Watching TV while your girlfriend is choking on a piece of candy. Well, wouldn't that depend on the neighbour and girlfriend in question? What if your neighbor was a rapist, a murderer, or heaven forbid a Kantian? Attempts to decontextualise ehics like this are unethical! I don't watch much TV (though Midsommer Murders remain something of a guilty pleasure), mostly because there's nothing on but garbage, more garbage and televised parliamentary debate, which though a grand absurdist tragicomedy, tends to get boring after a while. But is TV unethical? For God's sake, do you see that remote right next to you? Nobody is forcing you to watch it.

baden511
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Posted 11/03/09 - 08:04 AM:	#16
To Mega Therion wrote: But is TV unethical? For God's sake, do you see that remote right next to you? Nobody is forcing you to watch it. I understand where you're coming from but this argument doesn't hold water. Obviously, not being forced to do something doesn't make it ethical. I don't claim that watching TV is something that can be described as unethical in a purely objective sense. As I mentioned in another post: to me, moralities are strategies that either benefit or damage society or the individual, and may the best strategy win. I will continue to argue that watching TV is a bad strategy both for society and the individual. I'm happy to listen to counterarguments but I'll need something more substantial than that. Edited by baden511 on 11/03/09 - 08:23 AM
"Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Moses (Numbers 31:17-18) "Do not harm little children" - Satanic Bible. Rule no.9 "Send me a cool rut-time, Jove, or who can blame me to piss my tallow?" - Falstaff

Wosret
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Posted 11/03/09 - 12:36 PM:	#17
I don't have the attention span for television. It bores me.
"If you've got any last words, say 'em now." - Nadie. "I am Horo the Wise." - Horo the Wise.

Desidude666
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Posted 11/03/09 - 11:53 PM:	#18
Minyun wrote: If we call TV unethical, then we must also call any thing that has a personal agenda unethical to. Music perhaps? Beethoven et al. wrote their music to sustain themselves, so that's where I am at. I don't speak for these modern-day wannabes. Of course, these new-age musicians are unethical. Minyun wrote: You cannot stop the rain from falling, but you can stop it from affecting you. That is to say, simply because something has a personal agenda does not mean it should be discarded, it should be examined, then according to you it should be decided to be either good/bad. That doesn't make acid rain 'good'. If it's raining spikes, of course you cannot stop it, but you can judge it to be 'bad'. Minyun wrote: TV will teach something more than you have thought about, it will teach you 'personality' and such it will teach you 'creativity', it will teach you who you are, what you like and what you don't like. If you are intelligent enough to see it. It doesn't teach anything other than what is supposed to be 'taught'. It's asymmetrical, how can it teach? Who do you learn from? The tube, or the person in it? So why not see that person yourself? Advertisements are not ethical - you are forced to watch them if you want legitimate information - how ethical is that? Minyun wrote: TV also provides a place where conflicting personal views don't matter. If I see a segment on oprah about something I dissagree with, I do not take the fight to her, I am not in her face causing conflict between us, I simply turn it off and go about my day. This allows me to think about what it was that I dissaggreed with, maybe even finding some resolution. Exactly my point, if she is making an argument affecting all women and yourself, how is it ethical if you are unable to communicate. It is a utility for communication anyway. It's unethical precisely for that reason (you have to switch it off, despite your value in that debate). It's asymmetrical communication. Everything asymmetrical, when communicating, is unethical. Minyun wrote: Bards and courtjesters also had a personal agenda, and sometimes, people didn't quite agree with what they had said, violence would ensue. The box allows the jester to still get his personal ideas across without being beaten up for it. TV allows us understanding, if it weren't we would all be up in arms about our differeing views. Beating him physically; this jester, would be unethical. But to limit communication so that you limit intercourse between the two parties is unethical. Minyun wrote: What is unethical about TV however, is that it is a one way system. This is why the internet will win, but simply because something has a personal agenda does not mean it is unethical. The greatest shaper of nature, is friend. Exactly, it's unethical, as you've pointed out. I hope it is replaced by the Internet for good.
What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven. - Ludwig van Beethoven

Minyun
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Posted 11/04/09 - 01:21 AM:	#19
Desidude666 wrote: Beethoven et al. wrote their music to sustain themselves, so that's where I am at. I don't speak for these modern-day wannabes. Of course, these new-age musicians are unethical. Modern-day wannabes? That is a broad generalisation don't you think? Do you claim to have heard everything that you can say, with certainty, that these new-age musicians are unethical? Whatever the case, this is your personal opinion, this is your agenda, and you are as guilty of unethicality as these new-age musicians, whether you do it to sustain yourself or whether you do it to spread the word, it is still a personal agenda that you subscribe to. Minyun wrote: You cannot stop the rain from falling, but you can stop it from affecting you. That is to say, simply because something has a personal agenda does not mean it should be discarded, it should be examined, then according to you it should be decided to be either good/bad. Desidude666 wrote: That doesn't make acid rain 'good'. If it's raining spikes, of course you cannot stop it, but you can judge it to be 'bad'. So we agree? That you cannot stop the course of nature, but you can stop it from affecting you? If it were raining spikes, or acid, I would make sure I had a strong enough umbrella to withstand such forces (THIS IS A METAPHOR). In another word, it is called will, and if acid rain constructs my will to be sturdy enough to withstand it, then yes I suppose acid rain is good. Desidude666 wrote: It doesn't teach anything other than what is supposed to be 'taught'. It's asymmetrical, how can it teach? Refer above. Desidude666 wrote: Who do you learn from? The tube, or the person in it? So why not see that person yourself? Advertisements are not ethical - you are forced to watch them if you want legitimate information - how ethical is that? How are you forced to watch them? Perhaps your will is weak. Hence will is what it will teach. Some martial artists inject their hands into sand, repeatedly, for hours on end, simply so that they can build up a tolerance. Desidude666 wrote: Beating him physically; this jester, would be unethical. But to limit communication so that you limit intercourse between the two parties is unethical. Limiting physical conflict wherever possible is of the greatest ethical value. Without TV and radio, we are resorted to theatrical performances that are 'in the skin', which result in the throwing of fruit and vegetable. In this respect, TV removes this, thus it is ethical. Desidude666 wrote: Exactly my point, if she is making an argument affecting all women and yourself, how is it ethical if you are unable to communicate. It is a utility for communication anyway. It's unethical precisely for that reason (you have to switch it off, despite your value in that debate). It's asymmetrical communication. Everything asymmetrical, when communicating, is unethical. Exactly, it's unethical, as you've pointed out. I hope it is replaced by the Internet for good. TV is a grey area, it is not so black and white as you think. It has some virtues and some vices. Recognise them both. It turns out that we half agree Edited by Minyun on 11/04/09 - 03:35 AM

Wosret
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Posted 11/04/09 - 09:30 AM:	#20
Well it is rather outdated, don't'cha think? It's one step off from asking if using the telegraph makes us lazy, and robs away the adventure of personal message delivery.
"If you've got any last words, say 'em now." - Nadie. "I am Horo the Wise." - Horo the Wise.

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