Wha is the problem of depending upon feelings to decide moral issues?

Answer 1

There is too much variation in feelings to base a good argument on. Yesterday I felt happy and light, today I feel moderate and thoughtful. If I had made a decision yesterday I would have been free with praise and tending to forgiveness and repayment, if I had made a similar decisaion today I would have deliberated and eared on the side of caution. If I had been in a bad mood I would have made a decision that would be vengeful and hard.

There is too much variation to base a decision and an argument on in emotions and feelings, although we should also never fall into the trap of eliminating our emotions when we make decisions. We should always check our reasoning with our emotions to make sure our reasoning is fair and just.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I think one must decide moral issues with feelings... the only problem is that ones feelings may be uninformed and so incorrect. Still, feelings are strong when there are no drugs, no desperation to pollute them into selfishness.

The moral issues in a good setting are decided upon by feelings learned from childhood and environment... I feel I should help that old woman carry her bags. I feel war is wrong. It goes on! We just have to watch out for that old man selfishness... that's the enemy of deciding much of anything on feelings alone.

Answer 3

Morality must be absolute - right and wrong do not change from one person to the next. Therefore, morality must include a set of principles that would apply in every case. These are known (and applied) intellectually, and not based on feelings or emotions. Not only can feelings change from one day to the next, but also they can be different from one person to the next.

Most significantly, feelings can lead a person to think, "Well, I know that this is wrong, but I want it, it feels good, so it must be OK . . . " This is not a sound basis for morality, as it can lead someone to do something that he would not approve of otherwise.

Answer 4

Feelings are a part of our psychic make up the same like cognitive capabilities.
Concerning moral issues it is more advisable to call up the guiding abilities of our conscience and not the driving force of our feelings. The conscience is like a compass guiding us through confusion and even wrong morality, to that what is really meant in a situation.

Answer 5

The problem is that feelings is all that most of us have as a moral compass.

Feelings are an unreliable foundation. Take sympathy, for example. We can hone our sympathy or we can dull it.

In addition, we have competing feelings and we have no standard for deciding between the competitors.

But what other than feelings can we use if we reject God as the source of our morality?

Answer 6

Feelings are just the product of society pressures working with our natural ability to feel sympathy. Society praises and rewards acceptable behavior and so we come to associate that acceptable behavior with good feelings. What we call conscience is just the body of all those good feelings. There is no real logic behind it.

But feelings are all the atheist has.

Answer 7

Because we may not have sufficient experience and thus our feelings only reflect a narrow part of the issue.

Answer 8

Because everyone has feelings about an issue and not everyone has a good logical argument.

Answer 9

because feelings are directly from the ego meaning they only effect you...morals are rules that effect all of society.

Answer 10

Depends on what your feeling?