Buddhism in a Value-changing Society

This is an audiobook of Bodhi Leaves No. 148 by P. D. Premasiri, Buddhism in a Value-changing Society narrated by Jayashree Tata Nagaraj. The print edition can be found in the Pariyatti Edition of Collected Bodhi Leaves Vol. 5. The eBook of Bodhi Leaves No. 148 can be downloaded from the BPS website.


Excerpt:


Values can be approached from two different standpoints. Most social scientists prefer to take the standpoint that may be called sociological relativism in dealing with questions of value in relation to different societies. The social scientist’s approach does not involve any absolute standard for judging the goodness or badness of the norms upheld by a particular society. The application of such an approach to examine the existing values of a traditional Buddhist society involves merely a description of the social behaviour of its people and a causal explanation of such behaviour.


The subject under investigation in the present discussion is the question of the relationship between Buddhism and changing values. Where doesBuddhism stand in a value-changing world? Here, we have admitted in some sense that we are living in a world in which values are changing. In this connection it may be questioned whether values themselves are changing or whether it is only our beliefs about values that are changing. I made the point that our beliefs about facts do change. But is there a sense in saying that facts changes?