Question Of The Day: Why Is Morality Important?
Most people, philosophically inclined or not, believe that morals and integrity are important. Some adhere to the Christian doctrine of “Do unto others”, while others take a more “rational” approach and adhere to some sort of systematized morality such as Utilitarianism or Kantianism. Some people adhere to a moral code based on feelings, intuitions, or simply the maxim “do no harm”. Some see God as the ultimate giver of morality, and some see morality as a contract between individuals living within a community to behave a certain way. The thing that each of these categories of morality share, however, is the assumption that morality is something that is important and a worthwhile investigation into ideas about “good” and “bad” behavior.
But what if it isn’t? What if morality is simply arbitrary, relative, or cultural? How have we come to the conclusion that morality is necessary and worthwhile? Do we truly have an obligation to keep promises? Should we truly never lie? What code of morality should we adhere to? Should it be the Christian doctrines that currently have hold in the Western World? Or should we, as Nietzsche has said, let the strong rule once again and shrug off things such as compassion, empathy, and forgiveness? Many of these, and similar, moral codes of conduct are discussed, but many times the people discussing them take for granted the fact that what they are discussing actually has any worth or value.
What do you think? Is morality important? If so, why?
Morality is important, but that depends on what moral outlook we have. I believe a child is structured from the day he is born to have objective morals based upon the religion he is born into. Than based on his own conscious, he determines subjective truths to these morals, at least I have, and begins to determine his rights from his wrongs.
Morals are essential to life, for if there were no right from wrong, than there would be chaos. But than it goes back to people’s beliefs. Muslims think it’s moral to suicide bomb the hell out of buildings and people and in turn, they are promised the promised lands of eternity.
Morals have to be based on the conscious and have to be constructed heavily. Sometimes the wrong has to be done for the right to succeed. Raised as a catholic, now a struggling catholic, I believe we have to influence ourselves to live a virtuous life, as Socrates has said, by cultivating our soul with self-discipline, holiness, justice, and courage.
