What is Morality?
Morality is a broad term that is often confused with similar terms, such as ethics or justice. Although it may not immediately make the difference clear, morality is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as:
“A doctrine or system of moral conduct.” However, without proper understanding of the word moral, this definition is largely left up to interpretation.
Moral: ”Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.” Thus:
Morality essentially refers to one’s system of principles that allow that person to decide right from wrong.
The United States Military uses a book called Spiritual Resilience that also discusses morality. It asserts the following:
Morality is a key dimension of spirituality. Along with ethics, purpose and your connectedness with others, it is the driving force to total well being.
In Depth
From the secular perspective, there is very little consensus as to whether or not human beings were created good or evil.
Renaissance philosopher John Locke believed human beings were created good, but so that order could be maintained they had to sacrifice personal freedom for security.
Thomas Hobbes believed that humans were untrustworthy and needed rules so that they might live in harmony.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the secular concepts of good and evil originated from, but it grew to popularity during the Renaissance. Chiefly when the Humanist perspective began to grow in popularity.
Good and evil relative to society began in early Greek society with philosophers such as Aristotle.
He spoke of good actions being relative to what is good for the overall society.
In modern days, certain constitutional documents are often used to draw moral inspiration. These documents were inspired by previous moral beliefs
The U.S. Declaration of Independence
“We find these truths to be self evident… all men are created equal.”(US 1776)
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its core 10 mandates have become famous for their defence of human rights.
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2: All humans are entitled to these rights without discrimination.
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security.
Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture.
Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition as a person before the law.
Article 7: All are equal before the law and entitled to, without discrimination, equal protection before the law.
Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.
Today, most judgements of right and wrong are done in the eyes of the law.
Certain controversial laws are not considered moral law. The difference is mostly in the eyes of each person.
Besides laws, there are few true moral absolutes. We tend to use information from those we find trustworthy to inform our conscience. The latter pressing upon us to make the best choices we can.
In truth, without religion or moral ignorance, the gray areas that exist in morality become worse depending on upbringing and other social realities.
In Life
In order to make life choices that are good for yourself and others, is to exercise empathy and self-control.
As such, making those decisions in spite of personal desires.
Due to the moral gray area, we are bound to make mistakes. But, we can only make the best decisions based on what we know and what we are taught is right by our conscience.
The Words of Others
“The one thing that doesn’t apply by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” (Lee, 108) - Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Making moral choices should not stem simply from what society demands from us, but instead from what we know to be right.
“A man does what he must-in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles, dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of human morality.” - Winston Churchill
This references that human morality hinges on people making the correct choices regardless of our personal issues.
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” - Abraham Lincoln
Similar to the previous one, the basis of this quote is that you must decide on your moral code, and then stand behind it. People or society often try to influence our choices for various purposes, but it is important to stick to our good conscience despite this.
Summary
Morality refers to a belief system or doctrine that allows a person to decide right from wrong.
It is a key dimension of spirituality, which is the driving force of well being.
We cannot know everything, but we can try to make the best possible decisions through empathy and wisdom. Ideally we’ll make the right choices without any selfish reasons.
Empathy cannot be taught, only exercised through consideration of others.
We can use the knowledge learned from others to inform our own choices.
Moral decisions should be made by what we know to be right, as opposed to what society dictates.
The good we owe to others is inalienable, and is our basic human right.
Moral decisions can be very gray; we can only try to do our best by our conscience.
References
United Nations. (n.d). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://web.archive.org/web/ 20190613222054/https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
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