consistency and ethical positions

[Darryl_P]

Further to the gypsy example I'd say a typical conservative chooses a) on impulse in the heat of the moment (on Thursday during rush hour, tired from a long day's work) but given time to reflect he will choose b) (on Sunday after church with time to relax and reflect)

He "knows" b) is the right answer (for him) but his frailties and imperfections (including lack of ability and willingness to use logic) cause him to choose a) sometimes.

Basically he goes through regular cycles of being strong and weak, and his choice varies depending on what phase he's in.

So while I agree that logic certainly helps to get to one's right answer more often, the main ingredient missing is related to inner peace, self-awareness and strength which are best achieved by deliberately letting go of logic sometimes.

[Edit]

But in this example I cannot accept that there is no right answer for a particular person, or that it is impossible to find.

I do accept, however, that the right answers for different people can be different and if these different right answers crop up often enough between the same groups of people, then the natural consequence is conflict (possibly of the messy, ugly type).