Is moral life based on personal feelings and individual decisions or is it reducible to laws and commandments?

Question

I have to write a paper on this and I was wondering your thoughts and opinions. I don't really know where to start with it? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

-Im not asking you to do my homework Im just looking for some direction on where to start.

Answer 1

It's based on conscience, which is socialized by human contact. What you do, your actions, are only moral or immoral in regards to the conditions you are under and the society you live in. Morality is a social agreement to which we are all held accountable by our society.

However, ethics are an entirely different matter and do not change from place to place. They are internal and not changed by society.

Answer 2

Moral life cannot be based on personal feelings. This is a no brainer. Whenever you approach something like this, give it this test. Take it to an absurd extreme and see if it still makes sense.

What if some guy feels it is okay to have sex with a little girl? his decision to do so is based on his personal feelings, isn't it? Does that make his actions moral?

On the other hand, there is a woman who refused to cross the street anywhere but at a cross walk because that is the law. Sometimes she has to walk miles out of her way every day. If she follows the law this strictly she may be inconvenienced but will she ever be in more danger or subject to penalties?

So we see that following feeling can quickly lead to immorality while following rules, laws and commandments will lead not.

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Answer 3

Even the most primitive tribes had morals, laws and customs. that is the way society makes the glue that keeps it together and preserves the peace in their own area.

Even modern day street gangs that are not afraid to attack and even kill others have their rules and morals within the gang for the same reasons!!

The supposed morals of Christianity and especially the ten commandments (with the exception of the one god and worship thing) can all be found in societies well before Christianity existed.

Get a group of friends and say you are setting up a friends society and very quickly the debate will begin on who can be a member, what is or is not to be the aims and a whole host of other simple rules.

Answer 4

Laws and commandments enforce morality, however it can't be as simple to follow as that. Morality is mostly impacted by a person's personal decisions and feelings. Laws are just words that may have meaning to some, however a person chooses to abide by them because of what they feel or think is right. While the commandment may say 'don't sleep with your brother's wife', a person's feelings could drive them to do otherwise. On the other hand, if the law says 'do not kill', it is the person's own feelings and personal decisions about murder as an act that prevent them from going postal on their boss.

Answer 5

None of the above.

(Just as a tactic in writing papers, always step back from questions like this and see if your thinking is being led by the question. By being given two choices, thinking tends to be narrowed. Depends on the instructor, but I've sometimes made out better by including a critique of the question in my paper.)

The moral person does the right thing for the right reason. Moral character does not act out of fear nor hope for reward. So most people who just follow the law are not acting morally, rather they are pretending to be moral. A moral person is moral in "being", not just in behavior. The moral person does not rob and loot when the electricity goes off.

Conscience is just a set of feelings. Conscience needs to be informed by reason.

Morality has to be based upon a moral authority to whom we have an obligation to obey.

That moral authority can only be our Creator. I don't choose my actions because of a feeling but rather to a duty or obligation. In Christianity, the obligation is to the keeping of the relationship of love both for God and for one another. Love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8) is the sum total of morality.

While my actions are the result of individual decision as to how I ought to carry out my duty, I usually don't know for sure that I'm correct.

In our laws, we have to balance liberty with the damage evil people can do.

Answer 6

You must decide for yourself, of course. But where you would find the laws and commandments are found by 2 sources
1. Revelation
2. Natural Law

Revelation is what God reveals to the human race by revealing to him what His plan is for the world. Natural law is what man can know by means of reason without the aid of revelation. I would look in those two places. Unfortunately, due to politics, natural law has contraversy in some circles of higher education and I think it is because the term has often been used by those with Christian beliefs. But it is also has been studied since before the time of Christ. Good luck with your paper. I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I think people base it on the law and commandments which are supposed to show what is considered right from wrong but here's the thing, people get so caught up in these laws that they don't realize interpretations are different, which in return allows for people to carry different morals.

Answer 8

Your moral compass(conscience) must be formed to the objective norm of truth. If you have a malformed conscience or dead conscience from the abuse of freedom then you run a terrible risk of being out of control

Answer 9

It's based on a well-formed conscience. For Catholics (I am one), a well-formed conscience is one that is grounded in the teachings of Christ and the teachings of His Church on earth.

Sometimes we read of Catholics who think that their conscience can lead them to moral conclusions that are contrary to Catholic teaching -- for example, the Catholic politician who thinks it's okay to vote for legislation that supports abortion.

But this is erroneous -- if any Catholic person's conscience is leading him/her to such conclusions, then his/her conscience is not well-formed; it is in need of repair.

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