 2 Mar 2005 @ 01:13
Now heres an interesting piece on honor
from the Wikipedia
Quite informative about this necessary quality:
Wikipedia
honour
Honour (or honor) comprises the reputation, self-perception or moral identity of an individual or of a group.
Honour, sex, and violence
Previously honour figured largely as a guiding principle of society, functioning as part of a code of honour for a gentleman and often coming to expression in the practice of duelling. One's honour, that of one's wife, of one's (blood-)family or of one's beloved formed an all-important issue: the archetypal "man of honour" remained ever alert for any insult, actual or suspected: for either would impugn his honour.
The concept of honour appears to have declined in importance in the modern secular West. Popular stereotypes would have it surviving more definitively in alleged "hot-blooded" Mediterranean cultures (Italian, Arab, Hispanic ...) or in more "gentlemanly" societies (like the "Old South" of Dixie). Feudal or other agrarian societies, focussed upon land use and land ownership, may tend to honour "honour" more than do deracinated industrial societies. Traces of the importance attached to honour linger in the military (officers may conduct a court of honour) and in organisations with military echoes, such as Scouting.
"Honour" in the case of females historically related frequently to sexuality: preservation of "honour" equated primarily to maintenance of virginity, or at least to preservation of exclusive monogamy. One could speculate that feminism may have changed some linguistic usage in this respect.
Cultures of honour and cultures of law
One can contrast cultures of honour with cultures of law. From the viewpoint of anthropology, cultures of honour typically appear among nomadic peoples and herdsmen who carry their most valuable property with them and risk having it stolen, without having recourse to law enforcement or government. In this situation, inspiring fear forms a better strategy than promoting friendship; and cultivating a reputation for swift and disproportionate revenge increases the safety of your person and property. Thinkers ranging from Montesquieu to Steven Pinker have remarked upon the mindset needed for a culture of honour.
Cultures of honour therefore appear amongst Bedouins, Scottish and English herdsmen of the Border country, and many similar peoples, who have little allegiance to a national government; among cowboys, frontiersmen, and ranchers of the American West, where official law-enforcement often remained out of reach, as famously celebrated in Western movies; and among aristocrats, who enjoy hereditary privileges that put them beyond the reach of general laws. Cultures of honour also flourish in criminal underworlds and gangs, whose members carry large amounts of cash and contraband and cannot complain to the law if it is stolen.
Once a culture of honour exists, it is difficult for its members to make the transition to a culture of law; this requires that people become willing to back down and refuse to immediately retaliate, and from the viewpoint of the culture of honour this appears as a weak and unwise act.
Related concepts
In contemporary international relations, the concept of "credibility" resembles that of honour: when the credibility of a state or of an alliance appears at stake, honour-bound politicians may call for drastic measures.
Compare the concepts of integrity, face (social custom) in stereotyped Oriental cultures, or of mana in Polynesian society.
For a similar concept with many connotations opposite to honour, see shame.
Quotation
"... during the time that the aristocracy was dominant, the concepts honour, loyalty, etc. were dominant, during the dominance of the bourgeoisie the concepts freedom, equality, etc." - Marx and Engels, The German Ideology.
"We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." - C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
See also
* Code duello
* Chivalry
* Bushido More >
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