Q&A: Definitions of Morality
Definitions of Morality
Question
I assume people have already talked and philosophized about this a lot, but I’m a simple person, asking in complete innocence, and I’d like a simple and clear answer if possible.
I want to understand once and for all: what is “morality”? Are there clear definitions of morality—what is moral and what is not?
If you tell me it’s an emotion or a feeling, then that changes from person to person. What would you say about a person who doesn’t have that feeling, or whose feeling says the opposite? And in general, maybe that feeling is mixed with personal and private considerations, or prejudices, or a certain education we received.
You’ll tell me it’s conscience, but you can’t go to the grocery store with conscience. Aside from general lines, you can’t draw clear definitions with it. Besides, conscience is also based on the education we received, which changes from country to country and from period to period.
So what is moral?
After all, what was immoral twenty years ago is considered highly moral today, and what is considered moral in one sector is considered an abomination in another sector.
How can one draw clear and sharp definitions of morality that can guide us in every case in life, even the complicated ones?
Answer
It’s impossible to give clear definitions of morality by which you could decide in every situation. The fact that there are arguments and that different people think differently doesn’t mean anything. So some people are mistaken. So what?
One more comment. Contrary to your assumption, there is a very broad common denominator among human beings regarding morality. The disagreements are fairly marginal.
Discussion on Answer
Everyone understands what it is, so why is there a need to define it? Every definition is based on terms that themselves don’t need to be defined because they are self-evident. And not everyone claims it is something else, as I already wrote.
By the same token, you could ask what tasty food is. And how it is prepared.
According to Kant, tasty food is food that you want to be tasty for everyone.
“Everyone knows what it is,” as though there aren’t disputes and school upon school of thought trying to define morality.
And in general, is pornography moral? Is abortion moral? And what about LGBT issues, animal experimentation, euthanasia, gender separation, and hundreds of other controversial topics where each side swears it is right?
And in addition there are dozens of cases a person runs into where several things clash, and it’s hard to decide exactly what is moral.
Morality doesn’t seem clear to me at all (maybe I’m an immoral person…)
The Last Decisor, no one even pretends to determine what “tasty” means, because you can’t argue about taste or smell. Morality, though, people do pretend to determine.
You should spend a little time in kitchens and see how a chef yells at the kitchen staff.
He doesn’t do it for no reason. He knows something they don’t.
Honorable Rabbi, I still haven’t received a satisfactory answer as to what morality is.
If morality can’t be defined, then what is it? A feeling? A sensation? Conscience? Some vague and mysterious thing that everyone claims is something else?