Regardless of your own personal moral code, what would you prefer?

Question

Would you prefer a black-and-white, no questions asked moral code, or one with shades of gray? Why?

Disregard "legislated morality" please -- i.e., the government just might be wrong.

This is double-posted in philosophy as well, if you want to comment from 2 angles.

Thanks all!

Answer 1

Shades of gray. The thing with the clear-cut black-and-white set up is that it makes robots out of people; by simply following the rules, we forget how to think, we become too lazy to be responsible enough to own our very own lives, and we we lose sense of what it truly means to be moral...

Answer 2

Shades of grey, for sure. Black and white could still be completely different from what I believe. At least with the shades of grey approach, I wouldn't have to worry about someone interpreting something I do differently than it was intended. Well, I would. But I wouldn't die for it.

Answer 3

Black and white are both shades of grey, at the risk of wanting to have my cake and eat it, like a greedy intellectual.

I readily admit to a level of hypocrisy here, but there are times when I wish I could impose moral absolutes, as they relate to behaviours such as torture and warcrimes in general, yet in calmer ideological waters, and specific situations, there are always shades of grey. A point which I wish the spell checker understood about my European spelling of grey.

Have a great weekend.

Answer 4

Definitely shades of grey. I heard something about a teddy bear and a teacher this week. That what you get when there are no shades of grey.

Answer 5

shades of gray. only Sith deal in absolutes



["Are you sure about that?"
"Absolutely!"]

Answer 6

are you talking about copcars?? not specific..
oh ok im tired...shades of gray lets face it im openminded..