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Posted

I'm thinking of the statement, "Parents always have the final say on their children's actions, because parents possess a maturity that adults lack." 

 

I don't think the word "maturity" has any philosophical value, because it has no consistently-present traits. 

 

I suspect that I'm wrong here, though.  What are your thoughts? 

Posted

"Government always have the final say on societies actions, because government possess a maturity that the society lacks." 

Posted

I think more context is required. A parent is certainly physically mature contrasted to their child. An expert in a field is more mature with regards to that field than a layman.

 

In terms of parenting, it's nigh on useless. It's paternalizing to say to somebody that they must do something because you know better than they do. While this may be true in any number of parent-child scenarios, the parent has created an obligation to the child to aide them in maturing, which cannot be done by making decisions for them.

Posted

Mature makes some sense as a synonym for qualities like 'rational' and 'patient' etc. But it would be better to use more precise terminology. 

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