I define morality as a codified set of rules for conduct usually created and enforced by some authority. I do not view ethics and morality as interchangable. Ethics must pre-exist any moral code since ethical thinking is needed to create a set of moral standards.
i would have to go with the something else, but not something that comes from any belief either, rather something that comes from objective observation of probability. simply put; the more harm there is floating arround the more each of us is likely to suffer from it, and the more harm any of us causes, the more there is floating arround. so it really is in our own individual interests, even if the function is statistical rather then linear, to prioritise the avoidance of causing, or perhapse is should say, increasing the ambient levels of, suffering and harm. =^^= .../\...
imagine an invisible sphere which surrounds each person. This represents their freedom to do as they wish. Do something inside anothers sphere which they dislike-immoral. Allow this to occur to another-equally immoral in my opinion. Some philosopher came up with that theory in the 70's. I was really impressed
Morality? A fart in the wind, a red herring, a grand distraction. Yes yes, let us waste our time on coming up with yet another ideal moral code, whoo-hoo! Do we need another one? Do we need to refine our current ones? Of course we do that's always the solution it is. Stuff sucks? I bet we need more moralizing, that'll fix the problem. We have more and better developed moral systems now than ever before, but are we any better off for it? It say we should have less morality, not more cruelty or meanness mind you, just less "morality". It is all over the damn place, we're practically drowning in the shit but, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said "Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink."
i think you choose whether or not to feel the mental reprocussions for your actions if you don't belive in it then you remove the negative guilt that can come with wrong doing. moral code varies from people to people
Morality is grounded in the fact that most people are either too lazy or too timid to rape, murder, steal, cheat etc. And honestly, that is the simple truth. It is easier to BLAME some higher authority for our own weaknesses than it is to face them...thank God.
Morality is, sadly, all to relative to the end user. It is wrong to steal but how many folks will go out of their way to take the change back to the clerk in a convience store when the clerk made the wrong change? It is wrong to kill but how many people cheer when some criminal is put to death in prison? It is wrong to steal but how many feel guiltless when the "borrow" from a large company or similiar "faceless" institution? How many people walk past the homeless or indigent and offer no help? How many folks sing the praises of God on Sunday and lie and cheat the rest of the week? How many people cheat on their wifes, husbands girl friends or boy friends? How many times are we...moral people... moral in name only and somehow miss the spirit of morality and justice?
doing things for the better of mankind, kindness in general, love,joy,happiness,peace on earth. no religion or god or ehaven or hell. john lennons imagine is a good song to think this over on i think.
