MORAL and ETHICS

[lisathegr8]

What makes a person good? You tell me. Write me a goddam fucking list, and I will follow. In contrast, what makes a bad person? Does saying things like 'goddam' and 'fucking' make me a BAD person? Does being selfish make me a bad person? If it does, then so be it. You know why saying things like that are bad? Because they offend OTHER

Comments

[silverslider]

Since I am uncertain as to the exact impetus for this entry [though there clearly is one], I will instead speak to the broader issue at hand.

"Good" is always relative to the standard by which you are making judgment. In all cases "good" is defined as what is desirable according to that standard. The same action could be good or bad, depending on who is observing it. If the Yankees hit a home run, their fans would think it good, while in Boston, well... that's bad. These are intensely subjective though, but the greater moral code, if you will, are the rules and objectives of baseball: to score more runs than the opposing team. The home run magnificently advances that goal, thus objectively it is good.

What is the greater moral code in life? People have different ideas. Many believe that there is an eternal order to which all things adhere, and principles upon which all action is governed. It provides a basis upon which to act. There is opposition in all things, often manifest as a good/bad dichotomy. It is what allows us to make judgments and choices. What is the moral code to which you adhere?

Selfishness is perhaps a misunderstood concept. I remember having this same discussion once with Ben. There is a difference between being selfish and making yourself feel good. You can make yourself feel good through both selfish and unselfish means. Feeling joy or happiness is not bad. If it were, would the converse be true that we must force ourselves to be unhappy? By just about any standard this is irrational.

We have a natural affinity towards those things which make us feel good, and an aversion towards those things that make us feel bad. This is natural and thus, we might conclude, in harmony with a universal moral standard. The fact that serving others derives joy within yourself only attests to it's being true and good. More joy has come than from merely serving your own interests. This is perhaps wherein the trick lies: Selfishness typically comes at the expense of others, but selflessness is not conversely true. It benefits others but is typically also in the greater interest of yourself both in joy given and promotion of a harmonious social order. Stability is something we enjoy.

Lack of a moral code breeds instability and inability to act. A purely selfish society is unnerving and eventually destructive to everyone. Driving is perhaps the perfect metaphor for this. Is it wrong to want to reach your destination? No. But if you don't follow the rules [and if no one else did either] no one would get anywhere. At the same time, you don't sit at the stop sign and let everyone go before you in the ultimate act of selflessness. You take your turn and show courtesy to those in order in front of you. They return the courtesy and you are able to proceed at the proper time. The traffic laws, to which adherence is desirable, allowed everyone to get where they needed to be. Aren't most cases where we don't reach our destination the result of either ourselves or someone else disobeying those rules?

Our existence is based on our ability to interact with external forces, be it people, nature, God, etc. You have choice in if and where you want to go and how you will get there. But do we choose to obey the laws? Aren't we only kidding ourselves and undermining ours [and everyone else's] ability to get where we want to by disobedience or disacknowledgment of the laws?

What makes us happy?

[lisathegr8]

Thank you, Spencer, that was actually pretty helpful. I was slightly under the influence of alcohol when I wrote that entry, but it was a lot of things that I had been thinking and too lazy to say. You always have something insightful to say that makes me think :)

The boundaries of the definition of "good" are infact, fuzzy. They are intwined (is that a word?) with the definition of "bad." I'm not saying that good is defined by bad and vice versa, I'm saying that I think they are not as distinctive as I may have previously thought.

All of this has spawned from apathy. For too long, I was apathetic and lazy about my thoughts on the subject of morality. I just didn't realize that battling them would be so complex...