Morals: What, Where and Why?

[Josh]

Morals? What are they? Where do the come from? Why do we need them?

Presently, I hold nothing but self-contradictory, increasingly vague
statements about morals. Most of the time I say I don't believe they
exist and I end up defaulting to a Jeffersonian view (all people have
right to life liberty and pursuit of happiness). Jeremy had a better
term for it, but I can't remember it right now.

So where do you get your morals and why should anyone else listen to
you? Is mankind capable of finding universal morals? What happens when
we bring in outside cultures?

[Meera]

:P If people can't even agree on a simple stuff, how do you expect
them to have morals that work for everyone? You give people too much
credit...

[Josh]

So where do your morals come from and why are they applicable?

[Laine]

The foundations of my morals are based off my upbringing. I was raised
in a Mormon family thus my morals were molded through interaction with
the Mormon church. Back when I was younger and highly involved in the
church a few years back my morals were simply: be kind to those who
are kind to you, shun the non-believers, convert the rest into God
worshiping hypocrites. I've since left those morals behind and grown
out of that stage, having my own beliefs if you will. I don't think
that mankind is capable of having universal morals, see all the little
things that make people tick? It's too much for mankind to agree on
one thing as a group so morals are out of the question and to bring in
outside cultures would be something new and different. Most people do
not like change and are afraid of what they don't understand and/or
are unfamiliar with. Just my two cents.

[Justin]

There are no such things as morals. Just like there is no such thing as honor or right and wrong. There is only what is beneficial for me and what is harmful to me.

 

Anything else is based on nothing.

[Jeremy Deadslayer]

"There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so" Check out the Lucifer Effect some time. Really illustrates how dependent our morals and personality are on the circumstances. Deep down everyone is a Utilitarian and just isn't aware of it --- On Thu, 8/14/08, Justin <drk...@gmail.com> wrote: