Not all honor systems are like that of the states or of the West in general. Nor are the states a true honor culture. You might want to do some reading on Bushido and other such philosophies which base honor based on empathy. An honor culture is not the same as a law based culture. I actually prefer honor cultures to law based cultures. Dying for honor could also be termed "dying for one's reputation or the risk of losing one's reputation." Which makes quite a bit of sense actually. Honor isn't the problem is WHAT do we honor as a culture that's the real question.