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Abstract
This paper investigates consistency in applied moral philosophy with regard to the recent controversy over Makah whaling in the state of Washington. The first part presents both sides of the controversy. The second part examines the meaning of ‘tradition’ and distinguishes between ‘new’ and ‘old’ traditions. The third part explores what might constitute moral consistency for the Makah and what might constitute moral consistency for the larger community.
Notes
Lisa Kemmerer, Montana State University, Billings, English/Philosophy Department, 1500 University Avenue, Billings, MT 59101, USA. E‐mail: [email protected]
ACE represents ‘after the common era’ while BCE stands for ‘before the common era’. Both terms are preferable for a diverse audience as they avoid the reference to a time‐frame rooted in Christian theology (BC and AD).
In emergency medicine, ‘triage’ is a means by which a medic determines which injuries take precedence. Critical cases are generally handled first, while lesser problems wait. Similarly, when moral convictions conflict, primary convictions override lesser ones. When the situation of moral conflict resolves, lesser moral commitments are again honored.
Cannibalism is a ‘cultural behavior based on a religious vision of life’, not unlike harvesting tubers, coconuts, or killing fish (Eliade, Citation1969, pp. 102–103). Head‐hunting, cannibalism, and human sacrifice were all rituals intended to ensure the renewal of life. ‘For the vegetable world to continue’ it was thought that people had to ‘kill and be killed’ (Eliade, Citation1969, p. 103). These practices remain illegal wherever Westerners have held sway, though they were once critical cultural traditions, certainly no less important than other forms of hunting, gathering, or animal sacrifice.
