By Manuela Mesquita
There’s a lack of ethics in the world currently, especially in regards to young people, who haven’t been raised to talk about ethics in the family or in school. This is the opinion of Yves de La Taille, a psychologist specializing in moral development. He is also a Professor at the Institute of Psychology at USP (University of Sao Paulo.) In an exclusive interview with Talking about generations, he speaks of the lack of ethics, linking it to a culture of boredom, in which quality of life doesn’t exist, and neither does respect for others.
How do you define ethics? Is it a rigid concept or something that varies? Does it intersect or confuse itself with the concept of morals?
It’s perfectly relevant to use the phrase “moral” as a synonym to ethics. It pertains to the dimension of rules, duty, and what needs to be done. When we speak of ethics, we think about rules that politicians should follow, which we could also call morals.
But there’s an important difference, which is the following: the word moral carries the connation of right and wrong, which implies how to act, thus making it normative. The original meaning of ethics was “having a good life.” It signifies reaching a certain quality of life, which of course takes others into consideration, as well as the notions of respect and justice. It implies a life that has meaning and makes sense.
How do you perceive young people’s practice of ethics today?
Preserving the original meaning of the word ethics, if you ask me if young people have a good life, I would say that for most of them the answer is unfortunately, no. Many young people don’t live a life with meaning. They have superficial values, and they confuse the meaning of a good life, with fun and leisure. They partake in activities that aren’t necessarily important. Their use of cell phones or the Internet makes this clear. I’m under the impression that many people use these technologies to try to kill their boredom. I’m always surprised that when a plane lands, even after a 30 min flight, all the passengers, frantically turn on their cell phones. We are currently living a time characterized by high rates of suicides and depression. We live in a culture of boredom. And young people live with this restlessness, in a very superficial manner.
Where do you think this superficiality comes from? Does it have to do with the intense use of technology?
I don’t attribute the causes of a possible culture of boredom to technology. I think that technology can feed this. Through the Internet, for example, in which people have the possibility to communicate with everyone and no one in practice. However simply getting rid of cells phone and the Internet doesn’t fix the problem, it’s much more complex and multifaceted.
I attribute the problem more to the necessity to constantly consume, and the way consumerism becomes extremely linked to identity, and to other aspects of one’s life like politics. Of course, it’s clear that young people are living in a world that we, the adults, have built. I think that adults today, especially because of their own necessity for consumerism and fun, have somewhat given up on values and establishing deeper feelings. We live in a society where celebrities are more important than feelings, deepness, and authority. Without a doubt, the way we raise our kids in this world is the main problem. It isn’t technology.
You talk about this culture of boredom. Can you explain the concept a little more?
Boredom has two meanings, the normal one which occurs when you have to wait in a long line. And the second one, the deeper one, associated with depression and melancholy. To break away from this boredom, you may feel you need to have fun. You aren’t well, and so you try to keep busy every second. Just like with the example of turning on cell phones right after the flight lands, checking your e-mail every second to see if you have received a new e-mail, is also a sign of boredom. The culture of boredom is a metaphor for the contemporary world. This world lacks emotion and feeling. Because of this, values, norms, and principles, are hindered.
In your opinion why, aren’t adults passing on moral values to young people?
I can’t identify a cause. It’s a social process, and it’s hard to identify the veritable roots. Clearly though, adults and schools are failing. School has given itself over to fun and leisure, there’s a lack of criticism, and this doesn’t give students the tools to develop their own critical capacity.
On social networks like Orkut, Facebook, etc, there’s the illusion of freedom of expression. Young people say whatever they want. They may criticize people, businesses, or even co-workers. How do you see this in terms of ethics? Is it ethical to criticize people or institutions without something very concrete, in a virtual environment?
Of course, if you criticize or make a negative judgment, without any proof, or without some sort of respect, even if the criticism is valid, it becomes a moral problem. This applies to criticism on the Internet and off the Internet as well. It’s part of a larger question. If I criticize you, I should do it in a respectful manner, and with some concrete grounding. This is where the question of morals fits in. The second point is that the Internet works in the coward’s favor, in the sense that you become anonymous and distant. You judge and you don’t assume responsibility. Lastly, there’s a sort of unconsciousness that seems derived from the privatizing of public spaces. For example, at the University, young people put up disrespectful things on their Orkut, MSN, or blogs. This eventually becomes public, and creates a lot of drama and controversy. I’ve spoken to these students, and they’ve told me that when they write things on the Internet, they do it in a “relaxed” manner. But how can you write something like this in such a relaxed manner, especially if it is public? What you write on the Internet, is read by people, and never erased completely. If there’s one place where people should think very carefully about what they write, it’s on the Internet. If you write something on the Internet, you really lose control. This is the big paradox.
Currently parents aren’t raising their kids and educating them about how to behave in regards to this sort of communication. Relaxed conversations can happen at a party not on the Internet. This is a moral problem. There’s a heavy use of technology, and very little consciousness in regards to how it should actually be used, and how dangerous it can be.
Recently a business sued a young person who criticized a business on his blog, without any concrete proof. Young people like this are obviously exercising their freedom of speech. Is writing this sort of opinion on your blog immoral?
I don’t see expressing criticism, with concrete foundation, on a blog as immoral. It is however immoral to damage the image or honor of a person or business. This isn’t simply saying that you don’t like a certain product for instance. If you say that a manufacturer lied, this isn’t moral, unless you have concrete proof.
But you phrased your question, with the word “opinion.” An opinion is an opinion. However, I don’t have the right to spread my opinions if they will hurt the honor or dignity of other people.
I can say that I don’t like a certain type of music. But to talk about a person, damaging his or her ethical image, that’s an accusation. One of the current trends of the culture of boredom is that everything becomes an opinion. Again, we are faced with the superficial. Certain themes aren’t a question of opinion. This needs to be understood, and the knowledge of this needs to be deepened, or else we lose our freedom of expression, and this can harm our sense of morals. Freedom isn’t an absolute value. We have the freedom to come and go, yes. But we don’t have the freedom to lie about a certain person, in the same way that we don’t have the freedom to put up signs of fascists or swastikas on the streets.
In your book “Nos Labirintos da Moral” (“The Labyrinth of Morals”) you talk about young people’s sense of urgency. How do you perceive the future of these young people? How do you see the creation of their values?
This is also a dimension of boredom. The difficulty is to have patience, and to wait. It’s something that doesn’t just affect young people, but also affects adults. It’s negative because you become a hostage of technology, and you need to obtain things very quickly. I think that a more contemplative world could compensate for the world of consumerism in which we are currently living. I don’t find this world positive. There’s a lack of calm.
What do you think work, school, and the family, can do to contribute to giving the new generation moral consciousness?
Families and schools can do many things. Firstly, they must present young people with clear values, principles, and moral rules. This should be a theme, along with other things. Secondly, the way to coexist within the family and in school in the best way possible, involves a translation of these moral values. Many times, in school, they say it’s important to respect the other and to establish solidarity. However, they simultaneously put a lot of emphasis on competitiveness and stimulate the “winners.” Therefore, the message of school becomes very conflicted. I feel that morals and ethics should be clearly expressed, and translated through respect, justice, solidarity, and dignity, thus making ethics something that simply makes sense. The material taught in school doesn’t make sense, it’s purely competitive, and doesn’t speak of morals. Through this we are doing young people a disservice.
