Wither Morality
Mid afternoon Thursday and I hope to find precise words to describe my latest thoughts about morality. Humans are inordinately concerned with morality. We are the most complicated of all mammals. Wolves, otters, and elephants have a species appropriate manner of associating. A wolf learns to recognize the alpha, to give that male “leader” deference. Perhaps there is a hierarchical reciprocity within an elephant herd. Anyone living in proximity to those creatures would know.
Propriety: I am not alone and morality matters.
Later today I expect to participate with a group of friends to discuss an essay by a City University of New York philosophy professor entitled – Morality is a Culturally Conditioned Response. The title makes transparent sense to me. How could it be otherwise?
I come to consciousness as a helpless newborn, absolutely dependent upon parents, upon those with specialized skills (the pediatrician) for every component requisite to my survival. To name just a few: nourishment, warm blankets, shelter, antibiotics, and cuddling. I’ll say it again with different words. I “awaken” in a strange, chaotic, dangerous place, that only becomes “world” in and through the solicitous care which is given to me by others of my species. Conceding myself to be alive, I learn as I respond to material assistance, and to the manner by which aid is offered to me. “To be” alive is to learn, especially to get along with others of your species, most importantly comportment with one’s own tribe. Learn to live.
To be fair I need mention that not everyone agrees with this assessment. Many believe that morality can be traced to a divine source. A God-on-high, or many gods have revealed moral principles. The ten commandments, or the Sermon on the Mount come to mind. Some of us believe morality comes from human nature. Others are convinced that morality can be traced to our ability to reason. For me those options are unconvincing.
What are you thinking? In recent memory has morality come to mind? What occasioned the reflection?
What about a tune? I think Cool Change by Australia’s Little River Band is what we need. Enjoy!
Did you “get” the point of the lyric? Lessons from culture, from human action are insufficient for moral principles. As essential are those learned from non-human life all around us. And from the sea, the moon, the breeze…
2 thoughts on “Wither Morality”
A tough and relatively oblique question with regard to morality. My own sense is that there is no definitive answer. If I were to guess I would think that morality is tied to survival. Perhaps those who are amoral are the same people who lack an ability to truly understand how egregious behavior can destroy society. That they are so intent on self-aggrandizement they are blind to the destructive quality of that behavior.
If I gave nature a conscientious, an ability to reason, I suspect that he/she would want her creatures to survive. Yet we humans must want that as well and I just don’t see it. Morality , at least to me, is akin to survival as previously stated, and so I see this trait as a pet of human nature but we have (for the most part) turned our backs on that aspect of human nature. Greed & power are the blinders chosen by so many to keep as from seeing that natural morality.
While there is no certainty of the source of morality, I find nurture to be the most persuasive candidate. To the extent that an organism is able to learn to find what it needs, or even better, a niche, the odds for survival are improved. Since learning is fundamentally an embodied trial and error process, note has been taken that individuals unable to emotionally process contact with external reality can lack a moral orientation. A self closed in upon itself is oblivious to the effect of behavior upon other selves or upon nature.
I believe we must grant any living thing a rudimentary reason. A fully functioning life form recognizes the co-dependency with others, particularly with its species. As we have witnessed recently this can be upended by threats to well being, or by habituation to a litany of lies. We can be seduced to believe there is a magic key to happiness, contingent upon subscription to a religion, or to a leader.