Ethics and Morality
Photo by Thiago Palia on Unsplash
I am sitting with a group of friends idly considering the state of the world.
Right and Wrong
According to the Oxford dictionary: morals and morality are concerned with good and bad, right and wrong of the human character; or the distinction between right and wrong. When someone cannot make the distinction, we describe them as amoral, which is having no moral principles. Surely a defect in the person’s make-up, we may think. Can you imagine the freedom of being completely amoral, someone comments gleefully. But also the challenge, I respond. Sociopath comes to mind. Although with sociopathy, what causes the disease? Is it social experience or genetics or some unknown pathogen?
Amoral
If one has had no moral influence or subjected to any moral principles, is one responsible for decisions and behaviour? Do we get the credit for whatever behaviour we display, in such a case? Or are we born with a sense of right and wrong, a morality that dictates behaviour?
Looking at history, is there hope that good can trump bad effectively enough to tip the scales in favour of good? Could good moral decisions become common practice so that setting an ethical standard becomes moot? Pie in the Sky BS! This comment comes from the only male friend in the group.
Mmm, he may be right. There seems to be an irresistible attraction to our dark side and until we understand why, this complex human condition will persist. The problem starts with freedom of choice, an authoritarian friend suggests, nodding her head sagely.
Freedom
So let’s explore this freedom of choice.
Learning from mistakes is vital for the human spirit to flourish. Allowing a child to make its own decisions may cause unacceptable behaviour, yet the pleasure gained from such behaviour, may encourage him to continue. This pleasure may be satisfaction, empowerment or willful independence. How to balance the pain with the pleasure when we make poor decisions? “A burnt child dreads the fire,” was once a popular maxim yet… the instances of repeat offenders who hurt themselves are many. As well, the plaintive cries of helpless guardians and parents through the ages, ‘why do you hurt yourself this way?’ go unanswered. We know not to control our children too much because it could cause a lack of confidence. When you give them freedom to make their own choices, whatever they are, you hope and pray that they will be the right choices. The question then is, ‘What is the right choice for me?’
Experience
Will my experience inform my choice? And if so, what will that experience teach me? Perhaps that the pain that comes with my choice is worth the feeling of satisfaction, the feeling of empowerment and independence that comes too? Why not? Is that not what happens when a toddler takes its first step and then falls, experiencing physical pain and a bruised ego? We as parents still encourage him to go on despite the pain. Why then do we expect anything different from the adult who repeats self-destructive behaviour, regardless of good moral influences growing up? There has to be some reward that we get that makes the negative repercussions and pain worth it.
Definition
The answer may lie in what is grim pleasure and what is good pain. Good pain is pushing through for a positive, greater satisfaction and lasting reward. Wicked pleasure we get for a short time and then we repeat the behaviour again and again to get that bad pleasure sensation back. Another way of putting it is instant gratification, a modern buzz term, become so because instant gratification is a serious problem. Issues associated with instant gratification include contribution to the environmental problems we have today. The more we consume, the more space we take up to plant crops and farm animals, reducing natural habitats.
Systems
Coming back to ethics, there may be only one reason to having an ethical standard of behaviour. Those of us who cannot discern the difference between good and bad or won’t, will see how to do so through the system. However, a drastic revamp of the system to rehabilitate lives instead of ending lives or merely returning that life to the same experiences as before, is what society needs. The prison system worldwide must change. Is this possible? Not so, according to my sceptic sage, who asserts … there are more criminals outside prison gates than inside. I agree because those in the justice system, and those with financial and political power, break the very laws they make with impunity. That this currently happens in every country on the planet does not help.
Destruction
Photo by Benjamin Lizardo on Unsplash
I doubt very much that we need worry only about destruction of the environment by people. The current moral situation in the world is most likely a strong contender in the destruction of humanity. The planet most likely will recover from man’s destruction of it but, the question is, can man learn anything from history and the futility of fleeting pleasure? This time my friend, the sage, simply stares into the distance silently. I wonder what she’s thinking?
Does this mean you won’t be joining us in the environment march- being a futile exercise, and all? I turn to my guy friend … Can you stop the sun rising? The sage comments drily, Well according to you, we’re getting there. I smile thinking, what a wet blanket I am!
Hey everyone let’s have another round… another friend suggests as she sleepily comes out of a power nap, oblivious of all the gloom I’ve stirred. And life goes on as we toast to the future!
