Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Such a problematic and also somewhat nasty thought

We cannot assume an iron tradeoff between the inculcation of intellectual virtues and the sustenance of moral virtues

Civilization will need to be frozen if you regard the tradeoff as being unsurmountable

https://twitter.com/ahindu_/status/1217129782648770560

Getting out and seeing the world challenges your priors, and moral assumptions

The challenge is in preserving your moral compass (which is an outcome of centuries of tradition) while at the same time engaging with the world in all its variegated forms

A challenge to both sexes

Retaining one's virtue after witnessing the numerous temptations of modernity is something more admirable than being "virtuous" on account of pure ignorance and lack of availability of choices in a sequestered village

Sure. You can imagine a village idyll, where every family adheres to old time-tested behavioral norms to the letter. E.g. Girls and boys get married before 20. etc. Stay tied to the boy's parents till their death...

Maybe such a world is stable. But the stability one should seek is that of a "Nataraja" (stable despite being in a dancing pose) than that of a Kumbhakarna (stable in sleeping repose)

Deviating from old norms inevitably means that several will fall by the wayside. Lose their religion. Abandon their families. Etc

But eventually if the old culture has some "merits", a new equilibrium will be reached

You cannot assume the point of departure is the *only* equilibrium.

And that any departure from that equilibrium means "perennial instability"

There are multiple equilibriums to settle at