Sat, Apr 02, 2016 page8

• [ LETTER ]

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  An ethical perspective

  We have been appalled by international and local news in the past week: First the terror attacks in Brussels and then the decapitation of a four-year-old girl in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) in an apparently random attack.

  The latter stoked public anger in Taiwan and people, understandably, appealed to law and justice to express their anguish. However, what ensues is of no less urgency and importance: the call for an ethical perspective.

  I do not intend to propose judicial solutions, but to suggest a mode of thinking in response to such events, which are indicative of ubiquitous fear, the quandary of contemporary society.

  I want to re-examine how we think of the perpetrators from an ethical perspective and take fear as a departure for discussion.

  Fear stems from not being able to understand what has happened, but people still pretend to have an understanding of the situation. Mass media have gushed out unsettling photographs, surveillance clips and interviews about the attacks.

  With these information people strove to reconstruct the events. In particular, suspects’ backgrounds, possible mental illnesses and religious or political views have been put forward as expedient reasons for the attacks.

  However, beneath the surface lies the idea of seeking a causal relationship to explain the unknown. If there is any sign, for instance, of a suspect’s mental instability, people reassure themselves with the assumption that “there must be something wrong with that person.”

  If this sounds too subjective, there is also the lamentation that “the world and the society is sick.” It does not matter what or who takes the blame. What matters is the belief that a cause must exist somewhere, be it the assailant’s relatives or the education system.

  This mindset functions as a defense mechanism against the fear of no causal relation. The more people focus on the causes which are believed to be palpable, the more they distance themselves from the criminals. It is easy to castigate society, but difficult to admit that we are a part of it.

  This is why ethics, the moral principles that regulate interpersonal relationships, has to be brought up. There is no need to reiterate ethics’ merits.

  However, what people often ignore is that ethics comes with risks as well. Since ethics involves opening a person’s inner self to others, the risk encompasses not being supported, understood or respected. It does not guarantee immediate benign responses — it possibly reveals personal vulnerabilities, shame or guilt.

  Therefore, being ethical is not only demonstrating the capability to love, but also to accept the risk of negative experiences.

  Does cruelty not arise from a sense of isolation from others? Are acts of murder not the most radical gesture to provoke a response from other? Finding a way to deal with negative feelings is as essential as receiving and giving love. In this sense, ethics is not a utopian concept and it is more necessary than ever.

  Chuang Yu-chuan

  Taipei
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