RE: Morality without the righteous. What is right and wrong?
March 12, 2013 at 5:35 pm
(This post was last modified: March 12, 2013 at 5:37 pm by Darkstar.)
(March 12, 2013 at 5:06 pm)NoMoreFaith Wrote: Right and Wrong are absolute statements which require context to attribute to an action.
Is it wrong to harm others who are in the action of trying to harm you or your family for instance.
The trick to morality is that in the context of an infinite number of situations and we make do with broad generalisations of right and wrong based on experience.
I would disagree that right and wrong is linked to the detriment or advantage of the individual, and I personally find it hard to argue with Kant's first categorical imperative being; "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction."
This is the closest to being able to formulate right or wrong in most instances.
Divine providence strikes again! I read an article on Kantian moral theory for uni just before posting this!
Unless I misunderstood you, it appears you are arguing in favor of traditional Kantian morality. I think that Kantian morality has one fatal flaw, which you inadvertantly mentioned in the paragraph above (third from the top). It is that no general moral rule can be without exception. If you take it on a situational basis, such as saying "action X is moral in situation Y" that remedies the problem. I do not know the definition of "objective" that is being used when people say "objective morals can't/don't exist" but if it is not referring to being able to mathematically prove morals, then I think the modified Kantian morals described above can have some objectivity. I tried to convey a point like this in some other posts of mine, but I think they were poorly constructed posts.
But of course that brings up the question of how to know what is right and wrong in a given situation in the first place, and I'd say golden rule for a good guideline, but you still need your best judgment.
(March 12, 2013 at 5:21 pm)Tranquility Wrote: The detriment and advantage to the individual is implied in both the golden rule and Kant's more refined version of it.
It's called empathy. Maybe some people can put their own selfish motivations into even that, but it certainly isn't necessary.
John Adams Wrote:The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.