What Is Fair?

[panpareil]

What is fair?

[Dan56]

I reckon getting what you deserve is fair.... Unfortunately, life ain't always fair.

[Brother Kaman]

All is fair in war but I would approach love with only honesty.

[Rev Douglas Trouten]

Well a fair is a festival. some have a midway with games and rides such as a county fair, others like a Renaissance Fair, have a more historical Knights in shining armor theme with shows such as jousting, and the ever yummy turkey legs. lol

Seriously though what is fair is all based on individual perspective, just because you think something might be fair doesn't mean I will. A prime example would be if you baked a cake and I bought the ingredients, You might say since you baked it you should get 50%, but I could say that's not fair, I paid for the ingredients I should get 75% of the cake. Or if a group of us were treasure hunting and found the treasure, I might say to be fair we split the treasure evenly, even though you may been the one who did the research on the possible location, while the rest of use did the manual labor to retrieve the treasure, Johnny thinks that you since you only did the "book" work it woudl be fair if you got a lesser share of the treasure.

[Seeker]

Light coloured hair?

Good looking?

To attempt a more serious answer to what I think Panpareil was asking: An outcome which corresponds to reasonable expectations given the disclosed starting conditions.

[panpareil]

Well a fair is a festival. some have a midway with games and rides such as a county fair, others like a Renaissance Fair, have a more historical Knights in shining armor theme with shows such as jousting, and the ever yummy turkey legs. lol

Seriously though what is fair is all based on individual perspective, just because you think something might be fair doesn't mean I will. A prime example would be if you baked a cake and I bought the ingredients, You might say since you baked it you should get 50%, but I could say that's not fair, I paid for the ingredients I should get 75% of the cake. Or if a group of us were treasure hunting and found the treasure, I might say to be fair we split the treasure evenly, even though you may been the one who did the research on the possible location, while the rest of use did the manual labor to retrieve the treasure, Johnny thinks that you since you only did the "book" work it woudl be fair if you got a lesser share of the treasure.

So, you seem to be inferring that consensus is a condition for fairness. All parties in a transaction need to agree for a transaction to be fair.

[Gwynn]

Karma is supposed to be fair, but it doesn't always balance out in accordance with our time frames or in the manner we expect.

BTW, weird piece of synchronicity, but my Craft name, Gwynn, is also the Welsh word for "fair" referring to light colored hair and appearance as Seeker mentioned

[panpareil]

Light coloured hair?

Good looking?

To attempt a more serious answer to what I think Panpareil was asking: An outcome which corresponds to reasonable expectations given the disclosed starting conditions.

Is fairness then dependent on ones ability to reason, and degree to which one is informed?

Are the events in life inherently unfair for the ignorant and mentally deficient?

What if an outcome is expected by one with more efficient reasoning but unexpected by the one with a mental deficiency?

Karma is supposed to be fair, but it doesn't always balance out in accordance with our time frames or in the manner we expect.

BTW, weird piece of synchronicity, but my Craft name, Gwynn, is also the Welsh word for "fair" referring to light colored hair and appearance as Seeker mentioned

So, maybe expectations are not relevant to fairness.

[Key]

Fair has many definitions or intents, To me, the one closest to question in relevance is the presumption of an action, or outcome demonstrating equal treatment, standing, or shares in a group of persons or society. Problem with this definition is perspective. Everyone perceives things through their own reasoning,

Either Karma is a bitch, Karma is just, or it is both, if you want to conclude it as fair, others might not.

Sociology would determine fair is based on the norms, or unwritten laws of a society. Yet, even that may differ from one culture to another.

I fear there is no one answer to the question, it would be fair to say.

[Seeker]

Is fairness then dependent on ones ability to reason, and degree to which one is informed?

Are the events in life inherently unfair for the ignorant and mentally deficient?

What if an outcome is expected by one with more efficient reasoning but unexpected by the one with a mental deficiency?

The ignorant or mentally deficient may have expectations which are not reasonable. That doesn't make them unfair.

I think keystrikr is close to the mark. Another way of putting it would be that there is a lack of bias. My definition was slightly broader in that it allows for a rigged game provided it is openly rigged. (There is a different kind of unfairness involved if you are forced to participate in a rigged game.)

Edited November 19, 2014 by Seeker

[Key]

Thank you, Seeker. I do try. LOL

[Atwater Vitki]

Fair? Well in the simplest form, I would surmise Doing that which is Right ...which of course can be a huge order to fill and will not be viewed as "fair" by all. Overall though, I stick with what is Right for each situation fairness becomes an issue.

Blessings of Peace,

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

Context would help. The weather can be "fair" -- meaning "mild."

Hair can also be "fair."

Edited November 19, 2014 by Jonathan H. B. Lobl

[Fawzo]

I would think fair would be an opposite and equal reaction for every action, but then there are instances where this isn't necessarily the case.

If someone accidentally steps on my foot or knocks me down is it fair that I in return stomp on there foot or shove them down to the ground? Methinks not.

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

In Academic terms, the spectrum of grades is:

Excellent -- Good -- Fair -- Fail.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Jonathan H. B. Lobl

[cuchulain]

fair is a made up idea. It doesn't exist independent of people who have ideas about what fair is. What is, is.

[panpareil]

fair is a made up idea. It doesn't exist independent of people who have ideas about what fair is. What is, is.

Fairness is a biological reflex. Even animals understand what is fair. The question could better be posed as how does this reflexive response work, instead of describing an abstract.

Edited November 21, 2014 by panpareil

[Brother Kaman]

We all expect to be treated the way we would like to be treated. When we are not, we cry, "unfair!" I don't understand the concept of fairness being a biological reflex.

[cuchulain]

I have never heard of fairness being a biological reflex, either, but I would be interested in sources for such information. If it is a reflex, do other animals exhibit such behavioral reflexes as well? I like to study human behavior.

[panpareil]

A reflex is an automatic response to stimuli, something done without thought or reason. The emotional agitation of unfairness is such a response. It is due to the expectation that an action performed (work) is rewarded with an expected result. When results for a specific action (work) by an individual do not match the results for other individuals, it produces the emotional agitation of unfairness. The unemphasized component in the studies on this has been the work aspect. Equivalent work is needed to trigger the response. Unfairness in results requires equal work being done.

Monkeys reject unequal pay, Sarah F. Brosnan & Frans B. M. de Waal

It is like the act of pulling a heavy weight to open a door for a reward. If you pull the weight and do not get the reward someone else does you feel it is unfair. But you do not if you do not pull the weight.

In general, I believe envy is conflated with unfairness due to a lack of understanding regarding the work (not effort) involved in obtaining more desirable rewards.