I watched this
video (above) by Sam Harris on TED the other day.
He was
speaking about how science can be used to answer moral questions.
He believes
that we have the right to judge other cultures.
He assures
us that is not only okay to say that
a nation that doesn't allow women to vote or a culture that keeps its women "in
cloth bags" and cuts out their clitorises is immoral, it is right for us to speak out against such
practices.
And he
teaches us how to justify our stand scientifically.
My first
reaction was one of hope. "Maybe with
a person like Sam Harris in the lead we are
actually moving forward," I thought.
But
something has been bothering me about the video and it grows with each passing
day.
And it is
the fact that he assumes we all have to be convinced of this and that we need to stand behind science.
Only men need
to be convinced that it is right to speak against a
culture that practices something like female genital mutilation.
