A starting opinion: “For me, a wasted life is ignorance. The less you know, the less you are able to handle and contribute to basic social interactions. Staying in a box is a wasted life. And I believe the key to few regrets in life is just simply to live and learn.”
SIDE #2 IT IS A HUMAN CONSTRUCT
By: Marty Frolick
Morality is very likely a human construct. Don’t confuse morality with empathy or sympathy as some answerers have. Grief is not morality. Morality demands a judgement on whether or not an action is good or bad. This then requires a definition of what is meant by good and by bad. Animals do not decide whether their actions are moral or not. Arguments could be made that there is no ultimate morality and any judgement is entirely subjective. This means that any action could be both moral or immoral depending on the context.
The reason you feel like you “know right from wrong” or feel guilt after an action, is because you are measuring your action and the consequence against a learned standard.
Morality can appear to exist in animals and humans as some innate behaviour but this is really only an appearance. Actions that increase our chances of survival also increase the survival of our genes. Genes that coded for any behaviour that helps us survive will become more common in the gene pool. A great deal of our learned morality comes from the idea of being nice to others and living cooperatively in groups. Because living in groups and working cooperatively increases our chance of survival, it is more common in our behaviour. While it appears that our genes have somehow programmed us with a sense of right and wrong, our sense of what is right and wrong is actually just the set of behaviours that ensure our survival – there is nothing good or bad about them other than the fact that they are beneficial to us.
That is why killing someone who is attacking you is okay while killing a respectable member of your community for no reason is not. Both actions ensure our survival and have different contexts that make one moral and the other immoral by our subjective standards.
By: Helge Moulding
Morality as it exists in nature is instinctive behavior governed by the reactions of creatures to particular situations.
Morality as it is practiced by human beings starts out as instinctive behavior, but it is shaped by social norms, which in turn are governed by a variety of factors, from human history, to human understanding of human behavior.
In the human context there are two ideas. One is that morality, as a social construct, is entirely arbitrary, and no one society does morality better than any other society. But, this kind of moral relativism is not, in fact, accurate.
Morality is a set of rules that we use to interact with one another. Whether or not we agree on what the rules ought to be, most people do agree that rules exist. Even people who do not agree that the word “morals” has real meaning will agree that people manage to live together in complex societies by establishing rules and convincing at least most people to abide by them.
I think we can stipulate that a society where people largely flourish is one that is doing morality correctly. On the flip side, I think it’s reasonable to say that a society where some people generally are allowed to mistreat other people (e.g. allows slavery, or has an aristocracy above the law) is doing morality wrong.
So, yes, morality is a human social construct, but it is not arbitrary.
By: Dan Holliday
I believe that we’ve mostly inherited a millennia of natural selection on our brains that pushes us to see transcendence in our existence — the passionate belief that we are a part of something larger and more significant than our own ephemeral existence.
This isn’t imply that you MUST be religious to be moral, only that wherever we find even the most primitive humans, we find spiritual, transcendent belief systems. And I cannot discount the importance in believing that our morality serves a higher purpose, even if it doesn’t.
SIDE #1 IT EXISTS IN NATURE
By: Dan Avangard
Why wouldn’t it? Perhaps we humans have evolved in expressing morality in a much more complex manner than other species, but the roots appear to remain the same for all.
“Human morality was not formed from scratch, but grew out of our primate psychology. Primate psychology has ancient roots, and I agree that other animals show many of the same tendencies and have an intense sociality.”
By: Bruce McIntyre
Morality existed in nature, long before humanoids, much less humans existed. There are genetic basis for cooperation and communication within a species. And the tendency to “protect” the herd is part of our heritage. As our species has developed, the intra group communication and tendency to protect the group against influences both from outside and inside was the start of the development of what we now term as “morality.”
Note that all of this existed long before the concept of religion. Religion has adopted many of these attributes, and called them “Religious morals.”
And as our society has developed, that standard of morality has changed (and hopefully improved). If you read the Old Testament you will see ‘morality’ as it existed a couple thousand years ago. Things have changed, and in many ways has improved.
As our species continues to develop as a modern society, morality continues to primarily be a secular exercise, while various religions try to find a way to combine modern morality with religious dogma.
By: Jeff Corkern
The concept of “morality” was forced into being by the—-PHYSICAL—-fact we are all eternal beings who have eternal souls.
When the scientists finally realize we have souls, they are going to look at each other and realize souls are why the concept of “morality” evolved and persisted in human society. Along with concepts of “justice”, “law and order”, “compassion”, and a thousand other concepts.
By: Kyrani Eade
Morality exists in nature.
The clear evidence is that all people start with a conscience.
And furthermore most people value their conscience and try to keep it clean, they will acknowledge the wrong doing, have remorse and make amends. Why bother to do that if it was only a construct.
Sure, some may deaden their conscience but in doing so they become inhumane, they have no empathy and act unethically. But this makes other people shun them, so they have to wear a mask to try and be accepted and thus live within society.
Happiness is an emotion that can come and go very quickly or stick around for a little while; it all depends on the situation and its circumstances. Nevertheless, I believe that it mostly depends on us, whether we really want that happiness to stay or not. We might all say that we do, but then something happens and we sort of just lose that happiness. Yet, I think we can choose to keep it longer if we really want to. But, that means we can’t let other circumstances affect us negatively, because that’s where the problem begins. We can choose to be happy no matter what happens however, it can be a very difficult choice. And sometimes that choice comes with sacrifice, but often times when you really look at it, that sacrifice is worth it. Though there will always be things that can temporarily rob us of happiness, we always have the choice to change the situation and bring back that happiness.
But, sometimes looking at things from this perspective can be hard. Even though we have the choice, it doesn’t make it easier. Choosing happiness is hard, and the sacrifices that come with that can make or break a person. So, rather that focusing on choosing happiness, try looking at it as thinking positively. Finding the good in a bad or broken situation. We can’t choose how we feel, but we can choose how we think about the situation. Instead of focusing so much on being happy, we should be focusing on how we can make the most of our lives. And that means embracing the happy with the sad, the triumph with the failure, and each and every moment of our lives, because they are what define us.
“Truth is simple: it has no clothes, no neat little box to contain it.
But we cannot grasp that which has no box. We cannot perceive Truth without clothing.
So Truth dresses up for us, in a story, in sage advice, in a blueprint of the cosmos—in clothes woven from the fabric of Truth itself.
And then, when we have finally come to a firm grasp of that teaching, Truth switches clothes. It tells us another story—entirely at odds with the first. It tells us new advice—to go in a different direction. It provides another model of how things are—in which each thing has changed its place.
The fool is confused. He exclaims, “Truth has lied!”
The wise person listens, he is patient, and through his labor he hears a third voice, one that brings harmony to these opposites he has learned.
Until he discovers that Truth is a simple, pure light no box can contain. And so, it belongs in all places, at all times.”
Unspoken truths are the things not said. Often times we listen for a truth to be spoken, the physical rendering of it, but with the unspoken truth, it is often felt rather than heard.
Every time we ignore the unspoken truth, it puts a rift between ourselves and others. It is important to speak our truths, even if that means taking extra time to process our thoughts beforehand. It only adds more distance if a truth stays buried away. An unspoken truth can either reaffirm a relationship or bring about question.
Willing ourselves to recognize these unspoken truths is the first step in ultimately putting them behind us. It is also about accepting the unspoken truth once we realize it and actively deciding how to handle it.
“Relationships are not usually harmed by the truth, but they are often harmed when unspoken truths pile up and assumptions are made.”
-Tereasa Jones
The song is about the common search for love and the fear of loneliness. The lyrics are focusing on a metaphor for all of the things we use to fill the void in our lives so we don’t feel the pain of emptiness and loneliness.
Yes, it’s a lonely world, and finding someone is hard, but hope makes it all bearable (believing that there is someone there for you). It also addresses escaping from your past, whatever it may be, and looking toward a better tomorrow.
There is a commonality between us all, regardless of our backgrounds, the loneliness of adolescence, escaping from your past.
We are so desperate to not be lonely that we’ll form a relationship simply on the basis of a smile (again metaphorical, though often literal). This scene is repeatedly played out day in and out – we’re all searching for love and companionship.
“Strangers waiting”: We are all strangers to each other, no one has experienced exactly what you have, and there is a certain inherent isolation in that. Everywhere, every town, every person, through all life experience.
Shadows are our own inner darkness (or demons, our deepest secrets). We are haunted by our personal ghosts, and are seeking someone who will understand and relate to us despite who we are. The shadows aren’t really seeking (since shadows aren’t actually anything, but the absence of light), but us seeking someone with whom we can share who we really are.
What we project ourselves to be to the world – how we want people to see us.
“Living just to find emotion”: We are isolated and seeking meaningful relationships, but willing to settle for something to make us feel less empty, so we will fill that void with any sort of connection. Any sort of superficial emotional connection seems to be preferable to being alone in the darkness.
Putting forth a great deal of effort to make those connections, the fact that we often substitute cheap thrills (sex?) for true meaning and connection in relationships.
We will sacrifice a great deal to avoid being lonely, even if the reward is fleeting.
“Some will win, some will lose”: Some will find a true, meaningful relationship, some won’t, some never will.
This cycle goes on and on, just the players change over time.
Don’t give up hope, keep searching for that meaningful relationship regardless of how difficult and trying the search is.
…
“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.”
– Jim Morrison
This is so true and just scary to think about. The media does control our minds, especially the youth. Young people are growing up in a world where there is a database telling them what to think, how to act, what is cool, what is not, who to love, who to hate, what to be, what to look like, etc.
Things like this can be so dangerous. All these kids are now growing up with body issues and self-confidence issues, they have to see what they’re not and what they don’t have everyday. They have to grow up in a world where there is constant comparison.
Databases control our thinking in a more literal way as well. The internet, with all these search engines, is tailored to each and every person individually; it collects data on them and only presents them with what it thinks they’ll like. It controls our information, it controls the way we receive our information, and it controls how we distribute our information.
Not saying that all media is bad, if you use it the right way it can be good. Nevertheless, we have to acknowledge the ever present negative effects that it has on our youth, and society as a whole.
“You don’t know what you would do if you were actually put in that situation- you simply don’t, and you can’t say you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”
You can not say you know what someone is going through if you have not been there yourself. You can be empathetic and be supportive, but never say you know what it’s like. And never say you wouldn’t have done something, because you’ll never know unless you experience that situation.
…
You are a family of five that is living in poverty. You have just used the last of your paycheck since getting fired from your already low-paying job. You have three young children and a sick partner to feed and take care of- How will you manage? Getting a new job takes time and involves lots of paperwork. What if it’s too late by the time you find one? But wait! You are offered something. It involving dealing illegal drugs- will you take it?
If this was your last option to keep your family from starving, if this was the only way, you can’t say you wouldn’t have taken it!
…
If you yourself just read about a case involving a man caught selling drugs, your first thought would probably be ‘what a horrible person’ or ‘who is stupid enough to get involved with that’ or ‘he deserves what he’ll get’. But, what if the man convicted did that solely to save his family. You never know, and you can’t say you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing.
“Give time time”
…Such a simple phrase, yet one that contains so much wisdom. Honestly, we get so caught up in planning for the future that we forget how to live in the present. We’re always thinking about what comes next rather than what is happening right now. We’re never able to take life day by day because of the way our society works- it’s nearly impossible!
Give time time. So what does that mean? Well, it means that we need to trust that things will happen when they’re suppose to happen. We need to believe that the universe has our best interests in mind. Everything happens for a reason, whether we figure out that reason in our lifetime or not. We need to give our life time to play out, leave time for things to happen, and give time time to work itself out. We are not the masters of time, we can’t control it, and we have no say in our ultimate fate.
We’ve become so impatient, not wanting to give time time. We want everything now. Society is becoming faster and faster. We no longer have to wait- we get results instantaneously. But, that means that we are getting used to having everything we want exactly when we want it. We don’t like to wait, we don’t want to work for things, and most of all, we crave a reassurance that the unpredictability of life just can’t give us.
You can’t speed time up or slow it down, so enjoy your wait, because that’s the best part. Once you have what you want, there’s nothing more to do. When there’s no more wait, you realize you’ve waisted what could have been something amazing and memorable just worrying about what was coming next.
…So, patience and trust is key in-order to change our mindsets. Time might be taking it’s sweet time, but it’ll happen if it’s meant to be.
Hope's Corner 