It unnerves me how rapidly time passes when I have nothing in particular to do. The past few days have consisted of me, seated at the computer, writing and drinking coffee. The high I get from writing itself is on its own, remarkable. Tie that in with twelve strong coffees and I'm flying off the walls.
The last two evenings I've been reading up about philosophy and other topics that interest me, to about five am in the morning each time. Philosophy forums are great ways to get other individuals' ideas and grasp the concepts of philosophy itself. I was recently reading up about morality, which was an incredible forum I must say.
Morality. All right so the first question is this: What is morality? Morality is about principles and ethics that concern differentiation between good and wrong and the behaviour of individuals. The actions and behaviour of human beings is influenced by these principals, depending on whether the person in question holds morals. There has been debate over whether morality does in actual fact exist and that perhaps all that exists is the idea of morality.
It is said that morality is (and I quote) an idea created by man to create a sense of "control."
I regard this statement as being both true and false. It could be that morality is a creation of man, used as a means of self control. Indeed, without morals, we would be living in a world overrun by un-lawful beings (more so than now). Morals do in a way, protect mankind against itself, but if morals do not exist, then is it just the idea of morals that protect us from a world of cataclysmic beings?
I disagree with the statement 'it is but an idea, not a reality.' Morals are a personal choice, and from the beginning of time humans have set expectations of themselves, and to an extent understood what is right, and what is wrong. An example of this: human beings understand that killing another person is wrong. As the human race has advanced and developed, this moral has become more and more significant, and identifies the difference between humans and animals. Animals will not (and this is a piece of information I retrieved from a philosophy web-page) have sex with a dead corpse as human necrophiliacs do. This raises a question. 'Do we as humans need morals because we are smart?'* Our brains are well developed, thus we are capable of carrying out actions that other species are not capable of. Yes, morals are a natural virtue that a majority of individuals possess, but how much of that virtue is taught? And how much of it is instinct. This brings me back to education and parenting. I personally believe that the outcome of a person reflects their childhood and upbringing.
Morality, taught? Or an inherent tendency. Either-or, I do think that morality is more than just an idea. It is also the basis of all religion. Many humans need morals and religion (for a multitude of different reasons) whereas many do not, as animals do not (and yes I am referring to mass murders who feel no guilt for taking another's life, and yes I do consider them animals)
God teaches (and whether you are Christian or not it doesn't matter, because this applies to a majority of people world wide, which adds up to the statistics) that 'thou shall not kill' however support a war where people are shot dead everyday. Moral? Or immoral.
As humans we understand things, parts of life, that are how they are.
-Killing another human is wrong
-Raping another human is wrong
-Humans commit suicide
-Suicide is considered immoral
Suggesting that morality does not exist is suggesting that we as human beings do not care about anything.
Therefore, morality does exist.
* - I really dislike having the words 'smart' and 'human' in the same sentence.
- Joy
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In some cultures ritual suicide has been viewed as honourable. Seppuku (切腹, "stomach-cutting") was a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment for instance.
ReplyDeleteMorality isn't cross cultural, your view is westernised and christian based. Mix morality, politics & personal choice and the issue becomes far more complex!
If you were confronted with a situation where you had to choose between your death or killing another which would you choose? Would you turn the other cheek? If you ran a country which had to choose between survival and eradication what choices do you make, capitulation or war?
Morality is the choices we make. We all have a moral 'compass' we all know right from wrong, or at least we have a perception of right and wrong. The choices we make are about how true we stay to our own values, keeping your moral 'compass' pointing true north is a hard, maybe an impossible desire. Influences in lives, the necessity to react to situations will swing that compass, opportunism, necessity, furtive desire, greed, the list goes on.
The vast majority of people (99.99%?) are not mass murders, it's the little indiscretions in life that make us all, to some extent, immoral.
GOLE
That is incredible, I will happily admit that I am naive and ignorant- so it is fantastic to recieve comments like these.
ReplyDeleteI was stating from a very narrow perception. I would have loved to write this from many other views but unfortunately my knowledge is limited and I do not dare write ignorantly- regrettably this results in ignorant writing all the same.
Morality definitely is not cross cultural, there is proof of this throughout history. Each individual has opinions of what is right and wrong, and because a large majority of the population (33.32%) is Christian, those views naturally are dominant within many societies- like you said, westernised.
Too true Gole, as does any situation where physics and mathematical formulas can not explain how and why (by means of philosophical problems and so on).
It is interesting because although I am a very spiritual person- I do not commit myself to any particular religion. This fascinates me because it is proof that I have been biased towards Christianity without even realising it- whether this is a result of media or people around me I am not sure.
Seppuku, another interesting topic, is a great example of suicide being a moral act. Used as a way of dying with honour rather than loose their lives at the hands of their enemies, the supporting facts surely justify it? A rhetorical question perhaps, but nevertheless the problem is that no matter what question we are asked, the situation and circumstance around them may alter the answer entirely.
A child that is bet for his entire life, caged in a box and starved who commits suicide. Are his actions justified? So exactly, you are absolutely correct in saying that 'Mix morality, politics & personal choice and the issue becomes far more complex!'
Human beings can never be free from immorality. That is a fact of life. Whether you believe that makes you a bad person or not- that can differ between people. The ultimate is just making the correct choices, doing what you think is right and living your life well.