The Thirteeth Floor

[Aoi Magi]

The point I am trying to make is, for me, whichever option, within my limited knowledge, would best serve the survival interest of me and my species, is the more moral and ethical option from my perspective.

I can fully appreciate the 'survival instinct' decision, but is that truly the "more moral and ethical" choice?  Just because it is in one's best interest, does not automatically make it moral or ethical, let alone, more moral or ethical.  If anything, it borders on selfishness.  A thousand lives ended to save one?

I realize that there is no easy answer.  Take the trolley problem for instance.

I can fully appreciate the 'survival instinct' decision, but is that truly the "more moral and ethical" choice?  Just because it is in one's best interest, does not automatically make it moral or ethical, let alone, more moral or ethical.  If anything, it borders on selfishness.  A thousand lives ended to save one?

I realize that there is no easy answer.  Take the trolley problem for instance.

I agree. In general, I'd even say that choosing on the basis of what is best for oneself is generally UN-ethical, ar at least amoral.  I'd define ethics as the attempt to understand and act on the greater good, without a bias toward oneself.

The thing is, as per my beliefs, morality is subjective. So what may appear "more moral" to you might not fit with someone else's idea of morality at all.

In society we work and determine what is moral and ethical through a consensus of all of our individual moralities. Thus in a society where the notion exists of women being property, abusing them will be seen as moral.

In my case, I take the simple approach of survival of my species as the basis for my morality, or as I say it to myself, "survival of the maximum to the maximum". Under this, with your trolley problem, the moral course of action would be to save more lives instead of one. Similarly, abusing other humans or causing needless harm to other creatures actually hampers our own survival as a species in the long run and thus should be avoided. Saving oneself instead of multiple lives also goes against this principle and thus not moral, as far as I am concerned.