Inspired by an old friend's journal, I decided to make a thread on morality. I was really surprised that no one had done one yet.
Morality is clearly an important part of each of our lives. It's what we pretty much base our entire lives on. How we behave always falls back on what we think we know to be right or wrong. I'm interested to see what people have to say about it.
Some questions to get a discussion started:
Is there even a such thing as right and wrong? What is morality really? What does it take to be a moral person? Is it universal? If so how is it governed? Is it relative? If so then how does morality exist in the first place? Does God have anything to do with morality? If so does that mean people who don't believe in a God are immoral?
I'll give my input on it in another post when I have more time.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be flippant, but you just started a thread on an insanely broad and heavily nuanced topic. Your questions do nothing to narrow the discussion down, and your lack of any kind of statement about which position(s) you intend to take/talk about about rubs me the wrong way. You expect us to do all of the intellectual heavy lifting of defining this stuff? Not until we see a little more effort on your part, buddy. If morality is so important and engaging, treat it as such.
I'll give my input on it in another post when I have more time.
Either you can't read that, or you chose not to. Either way the point was that it was 2:00 AM, and I needed sleep.
Anyway, here's my input.
I'll try to explain this best I can, it's a very shaky subject. What's considered "right" in one part of the world is considered "wrong" in another part. Morality seems like it changes from culture to culture. For example many religious organizations today consider abortion to be "wrong" yet the Eskimo's have practiced it for many years. In which case someone might say what's defined as "right" and "wrong" goes by your culture. In that case is "right" and "wrong" up to personal preference? That would mean all this morality stuff is just an illusion, also how is it that one preference is any more right than another? In the case of morality being preference, what you "ought" or "should" do changes to what you "feel" like doing. Considering what you "feel" like doing isn't necessarily what you "ought" or "should" be doing, morality cannot be left to personal preference. It doesn't make any sense. Although all these cultures seems to have different methods to being virtuous they have something in common. That is attaining the goal of being virtuous. The only difference between the cultures are the methods to being virtuous. So if morality does not really change from culture to culture it must be universal. In order for it to be universal it must be grounded in something that is universal, and unchanging. Some may call it "God". But wait, what if I don't believe in God? And, I really don't believe in God, I'm Agnostic. What happens then? What is right and wrong? I don't think anyone can answer that question fully. I think, perhaps morality is just a way of bringing an ordered existence for humans. We humans are rational, and therefore prefer an ordered existence as opposed to a chaotic one. We all innately know how to keep things in order, it's a part of being rational, it's a part of being human. The way or the methods we use to keep things in order is where the dispute occurs, but in the end we're (the human race as a whole) all attempting to attain that same goal.
I think this whole thread is just going to turn into a brawl.
Morals are so different for so many people the only good that comes of tis is everyone says what they think theirs are and then fight over why such and such a belief is right/wrong.
You should reach "God is Not Great," by Hitchens, it talks about the morality versus religion and how the two are almost mutually exclusive.
Maybe right and wrong are just words, justification for our actions. Have you ever noticed how in movies and stuff the bad guys always say: "we're the good guys" and the good guys will say the same. Both sides think that what they are doing is moral, and what the other side is doing is evil.
this thread really will get intense. morals are so deathly subjective. and no matter how hard you try, they are bound to religion. you could make the assumption that people instinctively know right from wrong, so to speak, like not killing someone or lying or being deceitful, but that wouldn't be the case. people who grow up with wolves, both figuratively and literally, lack these and traits.
what's interesting is that people in the general society do have these regardless of religious devotion or lack there of. it's almost like a social evolutionary norm that was instilled over time to progress the productivity and survival of the species
