Cavalli
"Tyger, Tyger"
My final assignment for my stage 2B Philosophy and Ethics course of this year was to 'write an essay in which you will identify the moral categories and principles that are needed to create a cultural canon.' I wrote the following essay (roughly a page and a half) identifying the three 'rules' I developed. These were:
(Note that these are obviously relevant to creating an Australian Cultural Canon, as I am Australian so that's what the task was pertaining to).
For anyone that hasn't studied the subject at school/university, the style of writing is a pain in the arse and can be condescending at times.
Essay is in the spoiler.
Feedback, thoughts, any additional guidelines that you would have added in etc. are welcome and appreciated. I think I received about 65% for this essay, which is roughly a B. Criticism from the teacher was basically that it needed to be longer - something I struggled with due to the lack of 'rules' I had.
- It must comply with the non maleficence (do no harm) principle. Anything likely to cause harm to any persons can not be placed within the Cultural Canon
- The Canon must maintain aspects of the Australian Indigenous Culture
- The Canon must contain values that Australians hold dear (e.g. mateship, loyalty)
(Note that these are obviously relevant to creating an Australian Cultural Canon, as I am Australian so that's what the task was pertaining to).
For anyone that hasn't studied the subject at school/university, the style of writing is a pain in the arse and can be condescending at times.
Essay is in the spoiler.
In Western Culture, we believe in striving to reach our potential. In doing the best that we, as individuals can. This is ingrained into us from a young age, throughout our entire schooling and working lives we are taught to always try our best. It is as much a part of our culture as backyard cricket and sausages on the barbecue. Culture is what the majority of the dominant group within society believes to be the right way of living; what activities are classed as leisurely, what art is ‘good’, what values are important. The most important of these are placed in our ‘cultural canon’, the group of values, activities and art that are held dear and often represented in film and literature.
As with any other thing, however, there are certain guidelines that must be followed, ethical principles and moral categories to be met. When creating a cultural canon, there are two distinct, ethical criteria that must be met. The first criterion is that the canon must maintain aspects of Australian Indigenous culture, this could include things like traditional indigenous art (dance, dot paintings, literature). A selection of these things must be placed within the cultural canon, in order to respect the heritage of the country. For example, the prolific works of Jack Davis could be placed within the cultural canon, as these discuss the experience of Australia from an Indigenous perspective. This (partly) satisfies the requirements of the second criterion, and also provides an insight into the Australian way of life from an alternative perspective even though these perspectives may not necessarily show Australian Culture and history in a positive light.
The paintings by the Aboriginal Australians are another example of Indigenous art that could be included within the canon. While many of these works depict moments that may not be the finest in our country’s history, (e.g. the skirmishes between English soldiers and the Indigenous peoples of Australia) they are still essential as ultimately they display the history of Australia, something that’s incredibly important for the nation to preserve as they have contributed to making Australian Culture what it is today.
Consider the traditional dream time stories of the Indigenous people. These were used to teach a huge range of things, ranging from creation to general safety. Dangerous, mythical beasts were created to stop children wandering into places where falling rocks might crush them, stories were told using the animals of Australia to explain how various aspects of the world were created. Kangaroos got their tails when two Kangaroos threw sticks into each other after a vicious fight. These stories are an important part of the Indigenous Australian culture, and thus could also be considered candidates for the canon, provided they meet the requirements of the second criterion; that it must comply with the non maleficence (do no harm) principle. This stipulates that anything placed within the cultural canon can not do harm to any individual. This means that songs, poems or other art forms that include things such as racism, could not be included within the cultural canon.
Take Rolf Harris’ Australian folk song ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport’. While it is a classic Australian song that’s played a huge role in the childhood of most Australian children, it does contains lyrics that reflect cultural mores of the time it was written. These mores would now be considered racist by some groups within society. As a result of this, it does not meet the second criterion and therefore cannot be placed within the cannon, no matter how much it symbolises Australia and it’s culture.
Another example of something that fails to meet the second criterion is any work that contains pornographic material. This is considered harmful to younger people and is actually illegal for anyone under the age of eighteen to view for precisely that reason. As a result of this, it cannot be placed in the cultural canon, where it’s front and center. Binge drinking is a similar example. While many Australians partake in it, and truth be told it probably is a key part of Australian culture, it is harmful to the individual and thus cannot be placed within the canon.
The third and final criterion is that the canon must also contain values. This is to ensure that the characteristics which are universally recognised as unique to the Australian culture are maintained. Examples of such values would be loyalty, mateship and courage. Values such as these are ingrained into every Australian and make up the core of the Australian lifestyle. In addition to this, none of these values contravene the non-maleficence principle, meaning it’s possible for any one of them to be included within the Cultural Canon.
To conclude, there are three guidelines that must be followed. These are that the Canon must maintain aspects of the Australian Indigenous culture, that it must contain values that represent and are important to, the Australian way of life. The final criterion is that everything that goes into the Canon, must comply with the non-maleficence principle. It is important to note that not everything that goes into the Canon has to comply with the first two criteria. As long as a few things fit the first two criteria, the guidelines for the Canon will be met.
As with any other thing, however, there are certain guidelines that must be followed, ethical principles and moral categories to be met. When creating a cultural canon, there are two distinct, ethical criteria that must be met. The first criterion is that the canon must maintain aspects of Australian Indigenous culture, this could include things like traditional indigenous art (dance, dot paintings, literature). A selection of these things must be placed within the cultural canon, in order to respect the heritage of the country. For example, the prolific works of Jack Davis could be placed within the cultural canon, as these discuss the experience of Australia from an Indigenous perspective. This (partly) satisfies the requirements of the second criterion, and also provides an insight into the Australian way of life from an alternative perspective even though these perspectives may not necessarily show Australian Culture and history in a positive light.
The paintings by the Aboriginal Australians are another example of Indigenous art that could be included within the canon. While many of these works depict moments that may not be the finest in our country’s history, (e.g. the skirmishes between English soldiers and the Indigenous peoples of Australia) they are still essential as ultimately they display the history of Australia, something that’s incredibly important for the nation to preserve as they have contributed to making Australian Culture what it is today.
Consider the traditional dream time stories of the Indigenous people. These were used to teach a huge range of things, ranging from creation to general safety. Dangerous, mythical beasts were created to stop children wandering into places where falling rocks might crush them, stories were told using the animals of Australia to explain how various aspects of the world were created. Kangaroos got their tails when two Kangaroos threw sticks into each other after a vicious fight. These stories are an important part of the Indigenous Australian culture, and thus could also be considered candidates for the canon, provided they meet the requirements of the second criterion; that it must comply with the non maleficence (do no harm) principle. This stipulates that anything placed within the cultural canon can not do harm to any individual. This means that songs, poems or other art forms that include things such as racism, could not be included within the cultural canon.
Take Rolf Harris’ Australian folk song ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport’. While it is a classic Australian song that’s played a huge role in the childhood of most Australian children, it does contains lyrics that reflect cultural mores of the time it was written. These mores would now be considered racist by some groups within society. As a result of this, it does not meet the second criterion and therefore cannot be placed within the cannon, no matter how much it symbolises Australia and it’s culture.
Another example of something that fails to meet the second criterion is any work that contains pornographic material. This is considered harmful to younger people and is actually illegal for anyone under the age of eighteen to view for precisely that reason. As a result of this, it cannot be placed in the cultural canon, where it’s front and center. Binge drinking is a similar example. While many Australians partake in it, and truth be told it probably is a key part of Australian culture, it is harmful to the individual and thus cannot be placed within the canon.
The third and final criterion is that the canon must also contain values. This is to ensure that the characteristics which are universally recognised as unique to the Australian culture are maintained. Examples of such values would be loyalty, mateship and courage. Values such as these are ingrained into every Australian and make up the core of the Australian lifestyle. In addition to this, none of these values contravene the non-maleficence principle, meaning it’s possible for any one of them to be included within the Cultural Canon.
To conclude, there are three guidelines that must be followed. These are that the Canon must maintain aspects of the Australian Indigenous culture, that it must contain values that represent and are important to, the Australian way of life. The final criterion is that everything that goes into the Canon, must comply with the non-maleficence principle. It is important to note that not everything that goes into the Canon has to comply with the first two criteria. As long as a few things fit the first two criteria, the guidelines for the Canon will be met.
Feedback, thoughts, any additional guidelines that you would have added in etc. are welcome and appreciated. I think I received about 65% for this essay, which is roughly a B. Criticism from the teacher was basically that it needed to be longer - something I struggled with due to the lack of 'rules' I had.