Brief and Exploratory Thoughts on the Philosophy of Celebration
Consider this quick argument:
To celebrate something is to honor it. We should honor only that which is objectively honorable. Thus, we should celebrate only what is objectively honorable. Since not everything is honorable, not everything is worthy of celebration.
The argument raises questions about permissible celebration:
Is it morally permissible to celebrate that which is not objectively worthy of celebration? Something that is not objectively worthy of celebration might be (a) objectively neutral with respect to honor, i.e., neither honorable nor ignoble; or (b) objectively ignoble. The question, therefore, can be split into two:
(1) Is it morally permissible to celebrate that which is neutral with respect to honor?
(2) Is it morally permissible to celebrate that which is objectively ignoble?
One might claim that celebration is not always a form of honor. There seem to be two senses of ‘celebrate.’ First, one celebrates that which is worthy of being honored or recognized for its objective value, such as an earned academic degree, a wedding anniversary, a literary career, a soldier who risks life and limb on the battlefield to save a comrade, or — as in the Parable of the Prodigal Son — the return of a wayward son to the path of wisdom. (Note that the father in the story deemed the return worthy of celebration while the brother complained that the celebration was unjustified.)
Second, one celebrates what he likes, regardless of whether or not the liked thing has objective value. In this sense of ‘celebrate,’ one might revel in what has disvalue. One might cheer the objectively reprehensible, such as the slaughtering of a gladiator forced to fight in a Roman stadium merely to entertain a base fan base. Or one might give homage to a miscreant, not because he is worthy of honor, but because he is liked by those whose capacities for appreciation are not functioning properly.
Suppose that someone celebrates what is axiologically neutral, neither good nor bad. Is that morally acceptable?