Is that weird?

Sorry if I sound like a giant loser here; I haven't learned or discussed much philosophy.

I don't know if I believe in absolute morality, but I do have to have morals for myself, otherwise I screw myself over and just get annoyed with myself.

Even if there were no societal rules and standards for "doing the right thing" and we could all do what we wanted, I'm pretty sure I would still get that feeling like "wait, this isn't right."

Basically, I think it comes from inside you.

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A lovestruck Romeo, sings the streets a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, "You and me, babe, how about it?"

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lol at TOK
i believe in morality only because it's forced upon me. it's a code that's deemed the standard for everyone, decided by the majority and enforced on anyone. I understand and live it because otherwise i'd end up in jail

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This pretty much sums up everything I feel on the subject. I couldn't say it better myself, so I'll just quote.

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When they leave me, they're all smiles.
When they leave you, they're in tears.

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Even if there were no societal rules and standards for "doing the right thing" and we could all do what we wanted, I'm pretty sure I would still get that feeling like "wait, this isn't right."

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plenty of people are good people, but cynics refuse to see this.

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You only live once...but if you work it right, once is enough.

Bleah, it's hard to explain and I'm not being very articulate, so hopefully I'm making some sort of sense.

Let me put it this way. Feel guilty about something? Then you 'believe' in morals - enough to know that you did something you personally found immoral.

Universal morals might be stretching it a bit though - I agree with that. However, there will always be relative morals when guilt exists in the human mind.

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Genetics is fate. Change our genes, achieve free will.

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Morality is based on guilt. Something that might be a little inherit and a little learned..  

Let me put it this way. Feel guilty about something? Then you 'believe' in morals - enough to know that you did something you personally found immoral.  

Universal morals might be stretching it a bit though - I agree with that. However, there will always be relative morals when guilt exists in the human mind.

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And I looked up definitions of guilt just to make sure I had a decent understanding of it, and they seemed to explain that guilt is based on morality, not the other way around...

I would think that the reason there is kind of an unspoken (or spoken/written/whatever) standard of conduct among the general public for specific regions is that this is the standard of living that has proven most efficient at fulfilling the needs (at least that the population is knowledgeable of) of the people in that particular region of the world.

As for fluctuations in morality on an individual basis, I would assume the factors are nearly limitless, including genetic history, learning environment, etc.

Post edited at 9:57 pm on Sep. 1, 2008 by MotoMojo

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Spicy Pidgeon