Morality are principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Morality defines standards of behaviour which commonly are considered right and beneficial for the common good.
Ethics: Moral philosophy, or ethics, is the branch of philosophy that studies morality, its behaviour, and how people should live.
Morality as a system of values is subjective rather than objective. For this reason, what is morally right or wrong changes throughout time and history.
The Biology of believing in common morals:
As with conformity, believing in the same set of values or morals allows for a social environment, which is easier to predict and navigate. It uses Model Learning as a functional base, where we simply copy ideas, values and programs from each other rather than trying each out by trial and error. Model Learning is a time-economical shortcut to behavioural decision making and problem solving.
Integrity is known as a value descriptor for those who act according to ethical and moral standards. We consider honesty and altruism rather than deceit and selfishness as moral values.
Morality and the Law
Whilst morality and the law go hand in hand, they are not the same. What is ethically/morally wrong is not necessarily against the law (e.g. cheating on your spouse).
Problems with morality
While our moral codes can motivate us to cooperate with others, their uncompromising and absolute nature can also lead to many negative interpersonal consequences; we vilify and dehumanize those that disagree with our moral beliefs and we justify any means to a moral end. (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues – Wiley).
Conflicting morals: The Heinz Dilemma is a hypothetical moral scenario. It presents a situation where a man must decide whether to steal an expensive drug to save his dying wife, after the druggist who created it refuses to sell it for a lower price or allow payment at a later date. The Heinz Dilemma is used to investigate moral reasoning and presents a situation where morality becomes problematic.
Morals change according to environmental, cultural, economic and personal needs and wants. Everybody who has lived more than two or three decades has witnessed these changes.
Philosophers on Morality:
Kant: We know of the Categorial Imperative, which in Kant’s view is a logical, objective principle that all rational agents must follow despite any contrary desires, temptations or consequences. Kant argued that all of our own moral requirements are justified by this principle. If this is correct, all immoral actions are irrational because they violate the Categorial Imperative. Kant also postulated to treat humanity always as an end in itself, and never merely as a means to an end.
Aristotle stated that morality must be taught within our societies and are influenced by individual opinions and beliefs.
Plato: Pursuing of one’s actual self-interest never conflicts with the demands of morality. For Plato, it is more rational to pursue one’s real, rather than one’s apparent self-interest. For him, rationality and morality do not conflict.
Machiavelli: It is not always rational to be moral. He believed leaders must acquire the power to be not good and understand when to use it and when not.
Descartes: In the absence of genuine moral knowledge to guide our practical actions, all we can do is conform to the moral guidelines offered in the laws and customs of one's country, religion, and the moderate and sensible opinions of one's community.
Nietzsche: Human beings are fundamentally a part of nature. This means that he rejects all accounts of morality that are grounded in a conception of human activity as answerable to a supernatural or otherworldly source of value.
Stoics outlined that our own actions, thoughts, and reactions are within our control. These suggest a space that is up to us or within our power. Stoic ethics involves improving the individual's ethical and moral well-being: "Virtue consists in a will that is in agreement with Nature."
Karl Marx: morality is not only historically rooted in the sense that it is a social product that emerged at a specific time in human history, but it will also eventually fade away once the gap between human existence as it is and human existence as it ought to be is closed.
Christianity: Summand up in the 10 Commandments.
Questions:
What and who determines morals and its changes? Who is the gatekeeper for morality? Can we leave it to the individuum? Is tolerance more important than morality? Do morals always change because the old ones are obsolete and no longer adaptive? Are changing morals always a better version of the old ones? Do morals change because of selfish self-interests of some? Are morals applicable to all of us equally? Can we have different sets of morality in one society?
