historical perspectives and the Ethical Dimension CHW3M HTC British Museum Maya relief of royal bloodletting Nd http wwwbritishmuseumorgexplorehighlightshighlightobjectsaoaymayaroyalbloodlettingaspx ID: 625988
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Maya:" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Maya: historical perspectives and the Ethical Dimension
CHW3MHTC
British Museum, Maya relief of royal bloodletting,
N.d.
,
http://
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/y/maya_royal_blood-letting.aspx
(Oct. 7, 2015)Slide2
Step 1: Recognition of Ethical PositionsHTC Guidepost 1: Authors make implicit or explicit ethical judgments in writing historical narratives.
Group Task: identify any implicit (implied or suggested but not directly) or explicit (directly obvious, up front and clearly stated) ethical/moral judgments
you heard or read about sacrifice/bloodletting.Ethical judgment = a decision about the ethics of an historical actionSlide3
“Extreme bloodletting”“tore out the heart.”Earlier Mayans would think their practices were horrific and wrong.
Rulers expressed their divine heritage and their right to power through this ritual.Slide4
Step 2: How to Make Fair Ethical Judgments
The historical perspective HTC tells you not to use presentism to judge the past.
However, sometimes you don’t want to condone the horrible actions of the past. HTC guidepost #2: Reasoned ethical judgments of past actions are made by taking into account the historical context of the actors in question. Slide5
Looking at the EvidenceHow Maya themselves saw bloodletting (*ethical concerns):
Consensual – people agreed to it (*children, orphans, slaves, not nobles)May children agreed to it because they were brought up in that climateReligiously motivated: Pain was seen as something they give for the gods
*Less pain for noblesThey believed it would lead to good thingsImportant if doom is coming*to keep nobles in powerSlide6
Weighing the Evidence1. an unethical practice (ethical concerns are heaviest, even considering their own culture)
2. on the whole it is okay but there are some more minor ethical concerns
3. an ethical practice (it was accepted in their society and we don’t have major ethical concerns)Slide7
HTC Journal EntryIdentify your position on weighing the evidence and explain it.Evidence
Argument