GRADING FOR QUESTION 1 HAS ENDED

SINCE GRADING FOR BLOG QUESTION 1 (WHAT IS BEST?) HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE, PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY MORE REPONSES TO QUESTION 1 OR COMMENTS ON POSTS ON THE BLOG ITSELF.

IF YOU WANT LATE CREDIT, JUST TYPE UP YOUR POSTS AND RESPONSES TO POSTS, PRINT THEM OUT, AND TURN THEM IN DIRECTLY TO ME.

IF YOU POST THEM HERE A THIS POINT, I WILL NOT KNOW TO GIVE YOU LATE CREDIT.

THANKS,

Mr. B

reponse 1

To determine the best of any class one needs to investigate what qualties the product holds that makes it far superior to any product in the same class, the cost of the item, the labor force used to make the product, and the economic and environmental impact of our decisions. It is the responsibility of experts to determine how and where the product comes from and it is our responsibility as consumers to factor in our moral values to also determine whether we would buy the product. Seeing as we live on a resource limited planet and knowing that eventually we WILL run out of resources, I think that it is extremely important to know where the products that aren't used go, and be responsible enough as consumers to reject products that affect the global encomomy and environment.

Post Response #1

There can be no concrete definition of best for anything because its based on opinion. Something that everybody has and is likewise different for each person. To come up with our own criteria for best we should find some combination of options a and b. We should consider what we are getting yes, but we should also consider what went into getting these features, as you cant have one without the other. Ideally, we would value what effect that the product has on the world around us but that is not the case for the entire population. It helps to be thinking more globally because then you can make a difference in the world around you. And maybe that would eventually affect the products you buy.

Response 1

(b) When making a decision as to what is the “best” in a group, it is absolutely necessary to look beyond the finished product. It is commonly accepted in consumer societies to look at a product and determine that it is the best simply because it has the newest innovations, is the fastest, or it offers another feature, therefore making it the most valuable. These characteristics would be adequate if we were living in a simply consumer society with an infinite number of resources and a location to store extraordinary amounts of waste. Because Earth is not such a planet, it is necessary as global citizens living in connected world that we choose the “best” and value products with characteristics that go beyond the mind of a consumer. A product cannot be deemed the “best” if it has not been ethically produced. For example, one company’s beef might taste better, but what if the company’s cattle had been fed by GMOs created by Monsanto, a company that has made it for farmers to independently grow soybeans? Not only does the beef you are eating contain altered food and therefore chemicals, it is also supporting a company that has put dozens of farmers into serious debt. As Americans living a consumer society, it is up to us to be the “best” and most globally responsible consumers possible.

What should be valued is what has been righteously produced with respect to humans, animals, and the environment. I know that as I write this I sound hypocritical, because in our society it is practically impossible to know where one’s food, clothing, furniture, sheets, cars, gasoline, and much more, comes from. I do know that from my personal experience of living in a community where clothing came from the yarn that came from the llamas that lived in the front yard, drinking water came from the stream to the left of the house, and the light in the house came from the llama fat of the llama you raised from birth and later sacrificed…it is possible to live in a world where what is valued and depended on for life comes from sources that are in harmony with other humans, animals, and the environment.

Response 1

It’s impossible to definitively determine what’s “best”, because the title is so subjective in nature. But when judging products, we tend to say a product is the best when it performs its function the fastest and most thoroughly. We usually consider a computer the best when it surfs the Internet seamlessly and quickly, without considering how it was manufactured or its impact on the environment. But as a society we claim to value these ethical issues, so how can we maintain that this computer still be the best without considering these other aspects?

I would argue that this computer is still in fact the best, because it does what a computer is supposed to do in a superlative fashion. But I don’t think we should value it over other products because of its preeminent performance; we must first reflect on how it was made, how it has been priced, and other ethical considerations. A product that is technically the best should not necessarily be what is most valued.

In my opinion, to “value” something denotes a greater, worldlier understanding of the work. A computer may be the best computer on the market because it is the fastest, but it is not important to our society. If slave laborers made this product that American consumers are enjoying, the product probably does not give back to society as much as it takes, and therefore should not be valued.

We should value what has cultural import, what contributes to society, what promotes good ethics and what conserves the environment. We should also realize that products and works that are the “best” may not be most deserving of such value.

Best is almost always a matter of opinion. What one person values is usually different from what another person values, so it stands to reason that there shouldn't be one definition of best that spreads across all categories of products and services. Besides this, most people value the best products for what they are. In other words, a person can absolutely value touch phone that they consider the best because of its apps, physical properties, and uses, but may not value the methods by which it is made. What is best and what is valued, while they often coincide, are not the same thing, and what's more, we can value two things at once. We can value an iPhone's apps and built-in iPod and value humane methods and ethics at the same time. If the question is which should be more valued, I believe that methods, morals and ethics are more important, but that "best" should not be solely made up of either characteristics of the object nor of the values of its producer, and that short of atrocities of the magnitude of, say, the Holocaust, some room should be left in the matter for individual opinion.

Post Responce #1

The term best should be defined through the final product; something is best because it is the fastest, lightest, or most comfortable. The best is based on quality, and the tangible characteristics of a product or event, not what happened in the making of those things. Many people would tell you that the iPhone has the best feautures--it's the quickest, the lightest, has the best apps, even if that isn't the phone they would buy themselves. Many people will say that Beethoven is very good music--even if they would never listen to it. Value is not tied to what is the best. I can say that Hitler had the best military strategy, but it doesn't mean I value him at all. What we value is the balance between what is the best and what has certain characteristics we hold important--like eco friendly and made by well-treated workers. We value the best products that comply with those important characteristics.

Blog response #1

When deciding if something is the best in its category, we must realize that the definition of the best is something of the "highest quality". Not once is the word value used or even implied in the various definitions of best because, though it may not be fair or just, the way we obtain the best does not take away from which one is the best. The item with the best qualities or features is simply the best no matter who created it, its effects on the environment, or whether it will harm humans because we are not attempting to buy an item we are simply assessing which device or item we consider to be the best. On that note no item would be harmful to the extent that it would be endangering lives because we must meet certain guidelines when manufacturing products so i believe that argument is a bit unrealistic.

BLOG POST #1: SHOULD WE VALUE THE BEST?

When judging a product to BEST in its group,

a. should we consider only the characteristics of the finished product (whether it is the fasted, lightest, smartest, most reliable, technologically cutting-edge, sleekest, most aesthetically appealing, most compatible, etc.)

OR

b. should we also look beyond the finished product (whether only the wealthy can afford it, its impact on the environment, the human labor practices of the manufacturer, the country or person supplying the materials needed to make it, the ethical business practices of company CEOs and executives, the producers' other products, etc.)?

Consider the implications of your answer to this question:

Don’t we normally VALUE (respect, hold in high esteem, praise, desire) what is best? Should you value something that is functionally brilliant but also could be harmful to the earth and human rights? Should you value something made by unscrupulous people who care only about making money?

If you believe that something could be the BEST but you don’t have to value it, then what should be valued?

POST DUE: Thursday, September 16 by start of class.
2 RESPONSES TO POSTS DUE: Monday, September 20 by the start of class.