Pop Quiz.

[final_problem]

Let's get philosophical. Where do you think the line lies between "criminal" and "lawful"? "Good" and "bad"? Where's the goodness stop and the evil begin? Where's morality end and immorality begin? Where's humanity end and inhumanity begin? Nature or nurture?

Let's hear your thoughts.

Comments

[tollingforthee]

I think the line between "criminal" and "lawful" is pretty well dictated as it is. There is room for (minor) interpretation when it comes to say, ignorance or intent, but it's contextual. A law is a law. If you obey the law, you are being lawful, if you break it, you are being criminal. To go any further wouldn't be philosophy, it'd be nit-picking.

About morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. It's sad that I know people will misinterpret that statement so widely that it will somehow make me a horrible human being, so I will attempt to expand, however briefly, on it

[final_problem]

What about the moment of regret that comes weeks, months, years later? Obviously that'd make the act immoral by your definition but is it considered moral during the weeks, months, years between the act and the regret?

And where does someone get the ability to feel remorse or edification after committing an immoral or moral act? Are we born with it? Is it ingrained in us? Both? Neither?

[tollingforthee]

To your first point: no, of course not. But a person has to learn to live with the fact that they may be blinded by their own lack of self-understanding when it comes to ethics and morals.

As for whence the ability comes from: I have no answer. To be perfectly honest, I was raised Catholic, so while I easily divorced myself of its particulars, for a long time I still thought that sense of morality came from God.

I'm not so sure anymore. So I don't know, dude. I just don't know.

[final_problem]

That just brings up the question of morality again: if you can't trust your own self-understanding and feelings and your morality is based on that, how can you trust your moral compass?

Morality from God brings up interesting questions about why humans have defined morality and other animals don't. Dolphins are highly intelligent yet they still rape and murder not only their own but also other dolphins of different species and (in the case of murder) porpoises. But that argument could depend on whether or not you think other animals have souls and so forth. Not saying you believe morality comes from God since you already said you dunno, I'm just postulating.

[bravenewhuxley]

Note that I'm a bit groggy writing this, so it may not be the most coherent of answers

[final_problem]

Regarding harm done vs. our own desires: A man and his wife are held at gunpoint. The gunman tells the man that he can choose to be killed or he can choose to live at the expense of his wife's life. There is no other choice and no escape. Is he ethical for sacrificing his life and causing heartache and potentially leaving his wife alone with the gunman, trusting that the gunman will do her no harm; or is he ethical for asking that his wife be shot dead to avoid any heartache on her part and leaving himself alone with the gunman?

What if his motives were different? What if we added self-preservation into the list of reasons he chooses to have his wife killed instead of himself. Does that change the ethics? Are they both ethical choices? Neither?

[bravenewhuxley]

The problem with situations like this one is that there is never certainty about another person's actions (e.g. the gunman in your example), and that it creates a scenario in which there are only two options -- and in this case, without more details about the situation, that cannot be presumed. Why are both of them not trying to disarm the gunman, for example? Would it not be more ethical to try and save both lives, rather than take the Solomonic approach and slice the baby in half

[final_problem]

For the sake of the scenario, the couple is tied up and the bonds are too tight to break from. The gunman's got a pistol and is at a reasonable firing distance that he could shoot down anyone who did manage to escape anyway and we'll say he's going to make the choice for them after one minute.

[artofwu]

ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR DOYLE.

[johncleland]

I don't believe there is a line between "criminal" and "lawful". Law's are human made, crafted on one persons opinion- whether or not you break them is up entirely to the person wielding the gavel.

Morality ends with you die. Immorality is reserved for one's image, not ones actual life. We cannot live forever, but our reputation can live on forever.

Humanity ends when you leave the species of humans. Inhumanity is anything not in our species, then.