Does Morality Exist?

by Fisherman 92 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Fisherman
    Fisherman

    Some people believe that stealing, lying and killing, is not moral. Some people don't.

    Does morality exist? If so, prove it.

  • flipper
  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    Depends what you mean. Are there absolute moral standards? If there is a God then yes, there may be. If not, then no.

    If there are no absolute moral standards is it worth having moral standards at all? Yes I think so. Why should morality need to be absolute in order to be valuable or desirable?

    It's like making sand castles. Can we make absolutely perfect sand castles? No we can't. Does that mean there's no point making sand castles at all?

    It seems an odd proposition that making sand castles would only be worthwhile if we make absolutely perfect sand castles. Why should building an ethical outlook be any different?

  • cofty
    cofty

    I agree with SBF's sandcastle illustration. There is no such thing as absolute morality.

    Morality is just the name we give to our concerns about how our actions affect other conscious beings. So yes of course it exists.

    I think you need to think through your question a bit more.

  • Fisherman
    Fisherman

    I think that if morality exists, it must be defined. Proving that it does exist will define it. That is what I am looking for.

    What makes conduct immoral? Because it makes you feel bad. Does that make conduct immoral? Also, what makes conduct moral? Feeling?

  • scratchme1010
    scratchme1010

    Some people believe that stealing, lying and killing, is not moral. Some people don't.

    Does morality exist? If so, prove it.

    It exists, not the way you can define an object or even an idea. That's not what a definition of morals is.

  • DesirousOfChange
    DesirousOfChange

    Thanks, Flipper.

    A picture is worth 1000 words.

  • Brokeback Watchtower
    Brokeback Watchtower

    I feel that everyone has made some excellent posts so perhaps at this point I may be preaching to the choir.

    There is no absolute morality "out there" in the universe, to conclude there is, is a projection of our own conscious internal feelings.

    Think about this: "what would a universal absolute moral code be for a baby human being snatched away from it's parents and being devoured by a lion?"

    Now this to propose that this absolute universal code would be morally outraged is merely of human origin. A lion's morals are different than a human's as ant's moral code is different than a grasshopper's. So how can you possibly say there is an absolute when everything is relative. Just like the theory of relativity there are no absolutes.

  • sparrowdown
    sparrowdown

    Morality cannot be applied to animals or nature. Animals have instincts and nature is indifferent, neither are "evil" in the way humans use the word.

    To most humans the concept of morality is relative and complex depending on a hell of a lot of things like education religiousity and upbringing etc etc. Individual morality is plastic, when our circumstances change we see a different view or we have a new experience we can alter our judgement of what is and isn't moral.

    There is different Laws from different places based on general principles of what most in that area would consider right and wrong.

  • Brokeback Watchtower

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