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Bilkent Etiquette-VI: A Core of Human Values
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It has already been six weeks that I’ve been sharing some insights with you. I realize, from those who stop me on my way home and give me all the positive feed-back I need to hear, that some of those tidbits are sticking with many of you! I am indeed very happy that you are all ears, or should I say eyes, to what I say.
What I would like to share this week, is a book I’ve been reading. It is entitled “Ways of Knowing” by Michael Woolman. It is basically an introductory book to the theory of knowledge. In that book, the writer talks about “a core of human values, not by all means all human values, but a core, that, and here I make a clear judgmental statement, ought to be held in common all over the world at the beginning of the twentieth century.”
Those core values are:
A respect for truth
Respect for the rights of others
Respect for the individual in society
Mutual responsibility for one’s fellow human beings
The crucial thing among the values above is the definition of truth. According to the same book, what is meant by truth here has three characteristics: “it is public, it is independent and it is eternal.” What is meant by “Truth is public” is that truth is for everybody; truth is independent of anyone's belief, and thus, it is eternal.
“If you have any uncertainty about these values read the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration, arguably one of humanity’s greatest achievements, has been validated by all the member nations of the United Nations. The values that underscore that Declaration, values based on the belief that people are innately deserving, are the values of international knowledge, and values which any global citizen ought to embrace.”
I could not have agreed with him more! The university is the place to develop and internalize that core of human values. Think about it!
Dr. Well Behavior for Everyone
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