Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?

Question

A little Doctor Who throwback there....

I think so yes, but just 'cos they don't know it doesn't make it ethical!

Answer 1

It all depends on your level of mentality, spirituality, and most of all self esteem. If you take the task that is being given to you as something that you like to do (even if you dont), you have agood mental capability. If you take the job as something you will have to tackle to help others, then you have good spirituality.  If you dont think about yourself too much, lesser slf-esteem and all that, then you should be able to carry out the task with no sentiments. All these three aspects will help you forget the word "slave", enslaved, or slavery.

Answer 2

Absolutely.  You're still sick even when you're not aware of being sick; slavery is a societal "sickness" (an indicator of unhealthy human relations), ergo a slave is still enslaved.

The creepier question would be, does it ultimately matter if they know or not?  I don't know if I have a proper answer for that one.

Answer 3

Yes and no.

The problem we have with the term 'slave' is that it has all these negative connotations.  We tend to associate slavery with all the atrocities committed in its name.  But it doesn't really have to be so.

Consider a child.  It is pretty much the legal property of its parent.  Anything it does, the parent is legally responsible for and nobody can legally remove the child from the parent unless it can be demonstrated that it is in imminent danger from that parent.  And believe it or not, there have been many slave states with essentially an identical depiction of slavery, up to and including removing a slave from an abusive master.

Of course, in the case of children we have a very good reason for enslaving them - they cannot care for themselves, and even in their teens when they MIGHT, they are not likely to do so as well as an adult.  If they can demonstrate that they can, there are procedures they can go through to be freed.  Aristotle observed that this might be the case for many different creatures... certainly most domestic animals do better with humans to provide food, entertainment, and medical care than they do on their own in the wild.  It is arguably to their BENEFIT if we enslave them.  And many of the social animals (and children) don't even mind it.  They like doing the kinds of things we ask them to do, or do them naturally anyway.

Does a chicken really appreciate that it's a slave?  In the best of chicken farms, I seriously doubt it.  Most of the time it's just doing it's regular chicken thing, albeit vastly more comfortably and safely.  In such a situation, were one bestowed with intelligence and the freedom to choose, I think it is likely it would choose for itself to remain a slave, just as some freed, well-treated slaves in America chose to continue doing the work they had always done, but as a free and paid person.

So yes, you can still be a slave without realizing it, but no, it's not necessarily the atrocious thing we associate with slavery.

Answer 4

yes - and WE ARE ALL SLAVES in one way or another, you just have to step back far enough to see it.

Answer 5

good question.At first I would say yes......however,is a child born with a disability,disabled?If said child has never tried activities the disabilty stops them from doing then technically thats not a disability as they still live life to THIER full as they know it....a slave who does not know they are slave does this also so....hmmmm

Answer 6

Not knowing about his enslavement could be a feature of the total control over the captive. If the captive understands his predicament then there is hope he can free himself, but in ignorance, there is little chance of escape.

For example, in this world most people are under the false belief they are free to do just about anything they set their minds to. We do have a limited degree of freedom, but it is very limited. We are bound up by the laws of nature that decide how long our bodies will live, what families we are born into, what country and what economic status we get, etc.

If we understood the total control we are under, then we would work for real freedom. But as long as we think we are free, then why bother?  Real freedom means being free from the entrapment of illusion, fear and anger that causes us to act in ways that keep us in the prison of the material world.  

Answer 7

yes a slave is a slave even if they don't relies it. they could be in mental slavery in which they think as well as do what ever the enslaver tells them. people that are on the outside of the situation like someone who didn't grow up in mental slavery would be the ones to see this.

Slave - A person who is legal property of another and is forced to obey them.

so a slave owner could tell there slaves that the world is a bad place with much death and sadness. so there slaves are now not only owned by the owner but also don't know that if they left the 'comfort' of there home they might find a better place.

also  for the one in slavery to find out what is going on depends on the situation out side.

i could be that they could become more happy if they left or more happy if they stayed living in ignorance.

i think its true in a way that everyone is a slave in some way...but i don't think thats the right way to say it ...its more like everyone in the world is effected in some way by another i would have never gone to school if someone didn't make that possible, i wouldn't have ever studied philosophy if not for Suz'(friend) i don't know if you can call this slavery tho. its like the muscular system everything pushs and pulls and it causes an effect.

Answer 8

I think so...I added u on acww