Morality is an issue that is brought up a lot in political and philosophical discussion yet it seems to exist as a “fuzzy” sort of term with definitions that vary from person to person. As such, many people will begin to dismiss arguments at the very mention of the word purely because there is a growing consensus that morality is an individual thing upon which no shared foundation can be built.
A Manipulated Perception of Morality
The muddy waters that surround the topic of morality are no accident. Why? Because immoral acts are lucrative over a short space of time. A thief can go from rags to riches in one night if they are willing to violate the property of others yet there are consequences should their actions be discovered. The cleverest of thieves is one who can transmute the immoral to moral in the eyes of others, thus negating the consequences. If this can be achieved then they could rob the world blind and, not only would no one stop them, they may also start receiving help in their “righteous” endeavors. As such, there is every motivation for those who wish to dominate to use any means they possess to twist the perception of morality.
Perception is Not Reality
How we experience the world around us is indeed an individual thing. What actually exists in reality, however, is unaltered by how we choose to look at it. Morality is not just a concept that was plucked from the ether and scribbled down on the pages of ancient texts to be followed blindly, ignored, or shaped to one's whims. Its origin lies in nature yet this is often overlooked.
Tracing the Logical Chain of Morality
Even simply using our in-built sense of what is right and wrong, actions that result in the suffering of others are almost universally regarded as being wrong. This is because of empathy. When we see someone else suffering, we too experience that pain to some extent. Empathy is the precursor to morality. It is for this reason that the 4% of the population who do not possess empathy (sociopaths) are unconcerned with morality.
Our focus now shifts to the root of empathy which is suffering. Suffering is something which many people regard as being solely subjective. The experience of suffering is certainly that. However, its existence is binary. Suffering is either present or absent. In ALL cases of suffering there is a common cause. This common cause is loss.
Loss in its objective form is the deprivation of some form of property (which I shall explore in greater depth in a future post). It should be distinctly separated from the “sense of loss” which is the subjective experience of suffering. Loss, like suffering, is binary in its existence. It is either present or absent. Loss is the anchor which binds morality to reality.
So what is morality, in objective terms? Morality is the conscious decision to refrain from taking any action that will cause loss of objective property. In essence it is very simple: Do Not Steal.
In Conclusion
It is important to note that any form of theft is ALWAYS immoral and any act in which no theft occurs is ALWAYS moral. Just as immoral acts are often painted as moral by those who wish for power, so too are moral acts occasionally painted as immoral. So to avoid confusion in matters of morality: Look for evidence of theft. To truly gain a thorough understanding of morality one must gain an understanding of property (so we know what can be stolen). I will discuss property in an upcoming post.
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Offering money to a girl to become a prostitute is not theft, and it's her choice if she agrees, but it's arguably immoral. What's her loss, something she would have given away for free anyway? Is it her innocence that's lost? It's debatable...
Sometimes matters of morality are complex and subtle, which is why a jury of 12 people is customary, and trials can take weeks.
Morality is a law, like the laws of physics, and we can't just make laws up.
Laws have to be discovered, they can't be invented.
Sometimes it takes a lot of work to uncover the real truth, both in science & law... It's worth doing though. :)
Offering to contract, regardless of what the contract entails (excluding contracting someone to engage in theft), is moral as long as the person has the ability to refuse. If no money were offered and the girl (who I'm assuming is of age) were simply asked for sex it would not be immoral so why would the addition of a monetary incentive make it become so? It would be immoral if one were to forcibly get her hooked on heroin in order to take advantage of the vulnerability brought on by addiction. In that case the stolen property is her mental faculty. I see nothing debatable about the morality of the first example unless the girl was incapable of giving informed consent. I will be discussing consent in an upcoming post.
I am of the opinion that morality itself is not particularly complex but I certainly appreciate the difficulty in discovering all accurate information available in order to recognize whether theft has occurred or not. I do believe that trials might be more clear cut if jurors had a thorough understanding of the objectivity of morality instead of only being equipped with a subjective sense for it. Without solid indicators of what to look for when passing judgement they are more likely to be swayed by the rhetoric of the defense or prosecution. As you said, "Sometimes it takes a lot of work to uncover the real truth..."
This post was just a short outline of the topic and I will be discussing it in more detail in the future. Thanks for your thoughts!
I think morality is objective when based only on objective premisses (reason and science) , and subjective otherwise, ie, based on personal beliefs, faith, dogmas, etc..
A good observation. That difference is something I planned to discuss in an upcoming post. I kept this one short so that it could be read in a short time.
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