Response: Bias Goes Both Ways

In response to Brandon's post "You Have a Bias and I Do Not" (March 7, 2012):

One other point here is that children who have had good relationships with their parents may also be biased, in the opposite direction from those who had bad relationships.  Because someone who views their parents as friends will quite naturally wish to treat them well, they may find it difficult to conceive of the idea that they could validly choose not to do so - they think that their wish is in fact an obligation.  They may impose their own experience of parent/child relations on everyone else, and as such come to the conclusion that everyone (or most people) are obligated to treat their parents with above-average courtesy and care.

If we accept that this bias is possible, negative bias is also possible, and parental bias is possible, then should we conclude that the only people who can validly take part in the debate over parental obligation are those who have no children and had completely neutral relationships with their parents?  I do not think so.  Instead, those people who have potential bias (which, I think, means the vast majority of people) should be very careful to ensure that their views are not being influenced unduly by their personal experiences.