Let’s think about the concept of “honor”…

 I guess that word can be thought of in a couple of different contexts (i.e., noun, verb, adjective).  Rather than loading up this OP with the various meanings, let’s just hone in on “Honor as a quality in one’s life.”  In other words, what it means “to have honor.”

One dictionary (Cambridge) defines honor like this:

As a “quality” honor means:

  • Personal ethics, e.g., 

    • honesty, compassion, valor, and chivalry 

  • The core of who we are and aspire to be 

I’m sure we can all come up with more descriptors, but let’s keep it simple.  I know, I know, things are never really “simple.”  And if you want to expand on the concept of honor beyond the above definition, that’s fine too.  

So, where am I going with this?  Honor seems to still be (let’s call it) “important” to some institutions and some people; at least in theory.  

Let’s think about some of the ways honor can be talked about:

  • The military’s code of honor (honor, courage, commitment).

  • “I give you my word… on my honor as a gentleman.”

  •  Office holder ("I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of…” )

  • “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

  • The students were asked to swear an oath to the honor system, that they wouldn’t cheat.

  • Some/most grocery stores let you checkout your own cart, on the honor system.

  • “An unmonitored cash box sat by the merchandise and customers were trusted to put in the right amount of money for their purchase…”  (btw and fyi, the Mennonite produce stand I go to each summer does that sometimes).

Okay, now that I got you in the right mindset, here come the questions:

  1. Has the concept of “honor” fallen by the wayside in most first world cultures these days?  Is it still revered/held in high regard like it once was, in days of old?  Explain.

  2. If cultural honor falls to some sort of “critical mass low point,” can a democracy survive that?  Does a democracy depend on honor, or does a society break down once honor is mostly lost?

  3. As an individual, do you think/believe you have personal honor?  If yes, quantify it (100%, 75%, 50%?).  Would you ever compromise that honor?  If so, what situations could make that happen (e.g., self-preservation, anger, revenge)?

(by PrimalSoup)


Thanks to one of our regulars for the subject matter here (honor). He preferred to remain anonymous and gave me free rein to formulate the OP any way I wanted to. I hope I did it justice. 😊

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