-- Posted by Anonymous at 6:35 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 "Right" and "wrong" and "justified" and other shit like that just don't make sense to me. Is that weird? Sorry if I sound like a giant loser here; I haven't learned or discussed much philosophy. -- Posted by Trash at 6:36 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 It's hard to believe in morality now because of everything that's happening in the world. Nothing seems right anymore. -- Posted by Mieux at 6:38 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 No, I think the same. There really isn't right or wrong. -- Posted by snowfish at 6:41 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 I felt the same way for a long time, but actually only since studying the Frankfurt School of philosophy have I come to think of moral relativism as a totalitarian legacy of rationality and the enlightenment. I'm still not sure if I agree with that entirely, but it makes more sense to me at the moment. -- Posted by Neugen at 7:10 pm on Aug. 27, 2008 Well it's not a matter of belief, it's a matter of understanding, but why give a shit about being accurate? -- Posted by palepalepeach at 9:13 am on Aug. 28, 2008 No, not necessarily.   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. -- Posted by major at 9:41 am on Aug. 28, 2008 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 -- Posted by Amazingness99 at 9:46 am on Aug. 28, 2008 I don't think there is an exact definition of morality. Right and wrong is different for each person, and I believe in morality because somehow, instinctively, I know when I'm doing something wrong and when I'm doing something right. 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. -- Posted by allsmiles at 10:55 am on Aug. 28, 2008 Quote: from Major at 5:41 pm on Aug. 28, 2008 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 This pretty much sums up everything I feel on the subject. I couldn't say it better myself, so I'll just quote. -- Posted by Anonymous at 9:24 am on Aug. 29, 2008 Quote: from amazingness99 at 9:46 am on Aug. 28, 2008 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." Yeah, I don't get that. For me it would just be, how does this affect me? and how does this affect any others involved? I don't carry things out to a higher level than that if it's just an action I'm taking. -- Posted by schoon at 12:25 pm on Aug. 29, 2008 Unfortunately, the majority of intellectuals have given up on trying to be good people and have settled on the cold pursuit of knowledge at any cost. They are so disillusioned that they become cynical, which isn't even based intellectually plenty of people are good people, but cynics refuse to see this. -- Posted by tell me again at 7:01 pm on Aug. 29, 2008 I feel the same way. I mean, there are some things I'd do and some things I wouldn't do. But "right", "wrong" and "justified" are things that never pop into my mind when I am making so-called moral choices. And "immoral" things don't really strike me that way. Bleah, it's hard to explain and I'm not being very articulate, so hopefully I'm making some sort of sense. -- Posted by Bacon at 8:02 am on Aug. 30, 2008 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. -- Posted by Anonymous at 10:18 am on Aug. 30, 2008 Quote: from Bacon at 8:02 am on Aug. 30, 2008 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. I've had (brief) discussions about guilt before, and each time I basically came to the conclusion that I don't feel guilt. The only time I feel bad about doing something that affects somebody else in a negative way is when there is some sort of individual link back to me--either when I am personally attached to somebody and I regret doing anything negative to that specific person, or when I lose some sort of positive thing because of the action I took that disadvantaged that person. There's no "bigger picture" that I compare my actions to, there's no "relative standard" I consider. 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... -- Posted by MotoMojo at 9:54 pm on Sep. 1, 2008 Morality is totally subjective. IMO, Most human interaction, especially emotional conflict, is pretty closely related to different moral beliefs and instinctual reactions to the contrasts of different people's beliefs to your own. 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.