Your morality?

Question

What do you find morally reprehensible? Putting aside the obvious things like - (murder, crime, rape, abuse, paedophilia) do you consider things like secrecy, lies, betrayal, infidelity, deception as being morally reprehensible? Where do you draw the line?

Where do your morals come from? Society, parents, peers?

Have you ever done something you though of as being morally reprehensible "got away with it" and NOT regretted it or been remorseful? Would you do something morally reprehensible IF you could get away with it, not get caught, be found out, and not have to endure any negative consequences? Is the thought of detection, the ramifications and the consequences the main influence of your behaviours and actions?

Please don't bother with the God stuff..... really not interested in bible quotes and recruitment into the God squad. (No offence intended, its just not my thing)

Answer 1

I think people spend more time contemplating morality than actually being (or at leas trying to be) moral. To me, the main principle is the principle of karma - "what goes around comes around" or "what you give you get back." etc. Don't do anything that you don't want other people to do to you and you'll be moral. Sounds banal but I believe it's true.

Answer 2

Interesting question. I suppose my morals come from my parents, initially, and society in general, but I do think that there is something within most of us that stops us doing things like murder - we just feel within us that it is wrong.

Everyone lies - to a greater or lesser extent. It would be extremely difficult to tell the truth the whole time, without upsetting people. For example, I went to dinner with my mother in law, alone, as my husband was ill - it was beef which I hate. Is it better to be truthful and say I hate beef and refuse to eat it (i'm not a vegetarian by the way) and thereby spoil the occasion, or eat it with a good grace and please an old lady. I did the later, although it was technically a lie. She asked me if I liked it, I said it was lovely!

I won't go into the God stuff as you don't want us too - but I was brought up a RC and I have great faith in God. It DOES make a difference to me!

However, I have also. like many people been unfaithful etc. All too long to explain, but no I don't regret it. Got away with it until it was ME that wanted him to know what i'd been up too. The marriage ended, thanks goodness. Now I wouldnt be unfaithful to new husband, love him too much.

Answer 3

Where do I draw the line?

For me, it is the list you provided in the first paragraph in brackets, as secrecy, lies, etc are a part of everyday life nowadays and I've been through enough of it now that I wouldn't care. I'm sure if anyone had the oppertunity to rob a bank and not get away with it, most people would take it. I would, although I don't think I'm ever going to have the need to do that.

I think at the end of the day, there's only one person I have to look out for, and thats me. As heartless as that sounds, it's the moral I'm sure at least 95% of people now live by, even if they don't want to believe it.

Answer 4

Would we rob a bank if we could get away with it? This experiment has been done.
EDIT
Connected to a polygraph (lie detector) people were given a pretend situation: "You know a way to take money from a bank and you are absolutely certain beyond any doubt whatsoever that the bank will never know of the loss. You need the money. Would you take the money?"

Most of those questioned answered "no" but the polygraph indicated deception. The questioner asked other unrelated questions and then came back to the bank question. Eventually almost everyone had to answer "yes" in order to get through the polygraph test.

For most of us, our morality is no more than doing what we feel like doing. If fear of punishment is taken away, much of our so called morality goes with it. If feelings of sympathy are not a factor, e.g. as in taking money from a bank, much of our morality goes away. Yet we like to think of ourselves as moral, so we pretend we are inherently good.

The Josephson Institution does an annual character assessment for US high school students. One interesting outcome is that their character keeps going downhill but their view of their own character keeps going up.

Answer 5

We all have in-build moral code, Angel. Whether you like it or not, we are all connected into something greater I call God. All you need is some time alone in quiet meditation and you will find that all answers are already inside you. Moral code is playing a vital part in this connection.
People are hunters. Therefore, killing, secrecy, lies, betrayal, infidelity, deception... are important and acceptable hunters skills.
Only you alone are the judge where to draw the line.
If you do immoral things upon people you like, and you have no valid explanation or excuse for your deed, then you will judge yourself and suffer. This is the area where law is unnecessary rigid.
I would do immoral things onto my enemy. Never onto my loved ones, friends, country men /in this concept/ or any good person or innocent animal.
To sum up, bad people deserve my wrath. No remorse.
Good people deserve my love, and I will never do anything deliberate to hurt them.

Answer 6

Good luck with your search.Asking Godless people to define morality .LOL.That's an enigma, or a mystery wrapped in a riddle.Hey, OK no "God stuff" or "recruitment into the God squad".Why don't you contact some state prisons and poll the criminals on this.I'm sure they possess much more intuitive insight on this subject than a ordinary person would.Morality is taught in the Bible!!!!!!!. Oh, hope I didn't convert you,because I know it's not your thing.

Answer 7

I do not know where they come from, I think it is as I have a good sense of values. A lot of PPL just have a set of values, not a sense of them. A set is replacable, if the original set gets overturned anew set comes into place immediately. This is how Jesuits become Liberation Theologists, how people get sucked into cults such as Scientology and how psychopaths "see the light". They have no values of their own and have to borrow some that seems "right" to them.

Answer 8

Your question is a million dollar question ! Having such pious retrospection / introspection , really a quality of Intellectuals. It is not meant for the ordinary guys who always bother for food clothing , shelter and luxury. Puting such nice scope for thinking tank of mind , definitely have certain causes or incidences. It might have been better to analyse in right perspective, if , had it been quoted with the instances. So that the analysis become more truthful and appealing without seemed to be remified. Remification comes from the Priest who used to preach and followers rightly remifies the interpreatation befitting to their advantage. Hence your mention for No quotation of Bible is worth. Coming back to Murder, rape, crime, abuse , these are the common events prevail throught the globe and in any part of the world . Whether is it reprehensive is a quetion ? As we discussed in your other question , the human being a social animal and liking and non liking always prevails. That generate the cause of all these incidents , but if we take it , as universal fact we may not criticise and take it granted . You don't like the quote of religious or any from mythology. But have you a heard "RECARNATION". This prevails a lot in various colonies , however keep it apart, a simple presumption that a very nice person happen to be best in the society, commits crime one fine morning ! How is it ? I read two doctors Husband and Wife vey renowned for their diagnosis , committed suicide one after another ! Are they not qualified to think seriously or can't they resolve thro counselling ? But it occurs . What way can we define ? So , I started thinking since few years that these are facts of life and bound to occur. We are not suppose to define in the fashion , we like . Judiciary is there to identify and laws are framed for such activities. Had that not been prevail , than it may become jungle law ! In middle ages , the Fedalism and extremity of Roman Pops are known to the world . Lool at Nero, who was playing violin while others were suffering ! I hope this is convincing . Morally things are to be generally identified the one who finds it is beneficial to him and to that particular incident. It cannot be generalise .

Morals come from - Not onlly one agency - It is an ongoing process. While our childhood , we hardly think about the moral or conscious about good and bad . A 13 year Boy , due prematured hormonal effect , have had the sensation like an young man of 25 and enetering into an act which is not digestable to the girl of his age , is worthy to be abused . But physologist evaluate their act with their , physical anatomy of the body , food, upbreeding OR boy might be under the impression of some event . In this case right from the childhood to , till we become adult , there are various incidents occur or being witnessed and what we learn at that time from our surroundings , become our culture and being identified further as moral , which give us a sense to react to that occourance.
I did things which are not supposed to be done in a normal circumstances, but could not get cought by others or it is not regretted by other party with whom it had occured or that character has accepted that , it had occured under the impression of intoxication and forgived without any pros and cons. But my instinct , did nor permit me to forgive and for days together, it had caught me in deep confusion or tension which could not be resolved with anybody. I was asked for the 'confession' , but again it is religious - so , I found to approach the other party , and asked for the apology ! It was a great surprise for them , as they said it - it is quite natural for the human being and why I think too much and put myself under stress ? I was shocked and was very happy to remove the burden of my stress . Coming back to conclusion that - if it is discussed / analysed and ask for the apology , it subsides, its effect . This is being done generally while counselling to industrial personnel.

Answer 9

What always makes me so mad is someone messing with someone else's head. I think most other things are human but that it is such a horrible thing to do.

Anyone who consciously messes with someone elses head should be able to be taken to court.
When my daughter was six her teachers accused her of stealing her own dinner money whcih i knew wasn't true but they didn't believe me either She was so confused she didn't know if she had done it or not. I think it is a type of bullyign that can scar your mental health for life.
I can live andhave fun in life without breaking any o fmy morals I think that htey are retty easy to keep to and dont limit me in my creativity or humour or capacity to feel love.

Answer 10

Fox hunting to me is morally wrong.I have always tried to set myself standards that i try to keep up to,not always successful
i may add,lying i arbour,steeling money from your own family.
As for indulging in things that are clearly wrong.
When i was a great deal younger i did things that i am not happy with,mainly having to many girl friends at one time.they were unaware of each other.The thing that set me on a course of a right life was time spent in the far east and seeing the have nots,thus giving me an insight to dire poverty
and others sufferings,making me thank full for what i have.