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How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

I have a few simple moral rules that I live by in my day to day existence, such as:

Don't lie.
Don't kill anybody.
Don't hurt anybody except in self-defense.
Don't break promises.
Don't cheat.

The funny thing is, I almost never do any of these things, nor do I even want to do any of them most of the time. Conflict between my desires and my moral convictions is very rare. It seems like I almost never face any real "moral dilemmas."

Now, I don't believe that there is an objective morality written into the nature of the universe, but sometimes it strikes me as suspicious how neatly my desires coincide with what my practical moral code allows me to do.

Any thoughts?

So? What's wrong with that? I don't find it suspicious at all.

quote:

Originally posted by jennypie So? What's wrong with that? I don't find it suspicious at all.

I dunno. It seems like there should be more struggle going on.

Maybe I'm just a moral masochist.

Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles but sometimes it strikes me as suspicious how neatly my desires coincide with what my practical moral code allows me to do. Any thoughts?

Really, I think it just makes you a good person. Simple as.

Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by david.michael Really, I think it just makes you a good person.

Well, maybe.

What I am getting at is that it seems like everyone tries to convince himself that he's a "good person." Probably even a lot of hired assassins, rapists, and torturers think of themselves as "good people."

To what extent is "morality" merely an after-the-fact pat on the back that we give ourselves when we review our actions? Like, "Well, I may not be perfect but at least I don't do *those* things."

I say man up

That's one of your major weaknesses... You don't want to be known as the guy who never told lies, never took drugs and never cheated on anyone, do you?

/a cookie to ones who pick up the reference

quote:

Originally posted by Azz3D I say man up That's one of your major weaknesses... You don't want to be known as the guy who never told lies, never took drugs and never cheated on anyone, do you? /a cookie to ones who pick up the reference

Trainspotting.

And I've taken drugs. But I don't think taking drugs is immoral.

Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Well, maybe. What I am getting at is that it seems like everyone tries to convince himself that he's a "good person." Probably even a lot of hired assassins, rapists, and torturers think of themselves as "good people."

Are you questioning your "black-and-white" list of morals and wondering if there should be more gray area then?

Perhaps you're just not often put into a position where there is a moral dilemma. (Save the bus of children or save the person you love, Spiderman!)

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Trainspotting. And I've taken drugs. But I don't think taking drugs is immoral.

Well done , and I agree

Re: Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by david.michael Are you questioning your "black-and-white" list of morals and wondering if there should be more gray area then?

Not really. I'm wondering to what extent "morals" are simply self-justifications, excuses to consider ourselves superior to other people.

Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I have a few simple moral rules that I live by in my day to day existence, such as: Don't lie. Don't kill anybody. Don't hurt anybody except in self-defense. Don't break promises. Don't cheat.

What would you do if you promised to keep a secret between you and friend A, but then friend B asks you a direct question regarding the secret that requires a yes or no answer? Do you lie to friend B to keep friend A's secret, or tell the truth and reveal what Friend A told you to keep secret?

i'm a good person even if i would shame anyone publicly.

Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

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Originally posted by spanglo What would you do if you promised to keep a secret between you and friend A, but then friend B asks you a direct question regarding the secret that requires a yes or no answer?

I would say, "I don't feel comfortable answering that."

Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I would say, "I don't feel comfortable answering that."

Did you sleep with friend A? "I don't feel comfortable answering that" is not an acceptable answer.

Re: Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

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Originally posted by spanglo Did you sleep with friend A? "I don't feel comfortable answering that" is not an acceptable answer.

Well, to begin with, I would never sleep with someone who would make the sex conditional on never mentioning it.

That seems kind of ridiculous to me.

So you deal with moral dilemmas by avoiding them? That's rich.

Are you going to answer my original question or run away from it?

Friend A could've asked you to keep it a secret after the fact...

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Well, to begin with, I would never sleep with someone who would make the sex conditional on never mentioning it. That seems kind of ridiculous to me.

What come on man! Half the girls I've slept with I've never told anyone about.

One thing I hate about America is leftover remnants of Puritain morality. I wish those fucks had all sank somewhere in the Atlantic instead of bringing their bullshit morality with them.

quote:

Originally posted by spanglo So you deal with moral dilemmas by avoiding them? That's rich. Are you going to answer my original question or run away from it? Friend A could've asked you to keep it a secret after the fact...

They might ask me to do so, but I would not agree to that unless they had a very good reason. I'm trying to imagine one, but the only thing I can come up with is cheating, which I wouldn't have anything to do with in the first place.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

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Originally posted by Zild What come on man! Half the girls I've slept with I've never told anyone about. One thing I hate about America is leftover remnants of Puritain morality. I wish those fucks had all sank somewhere in the Atlantic instead of bringing their bullshit morality with them.

They shipped the moral minority over on the Mayflower. They bred like rabbits and became the moral majority.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How often do you face moral dilemmas in your life?

quote:

Originally posted by Zild What come on man! Half the girls I've slept with I've never told anyone about.

Is that because they made you promise not to, or simply because you didn't want to tell anybody?

For me it would be the latter.

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quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Is that because they made you promise not to, or simply because you didn't want to tell anybody? For me it would be the latter.

I don't make promises like that, but I am a very secretive person. So unless someone absolutely needs to know they won't.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles They might ask me to do so, but I would not agree to that unless they had a very good reason. I'm trying to imagine one, but the only thing I can come up with is cheating, which I wouldn't have anything to do with in the first place.

Quit whinning and answer the question!

It was not cheating because you and friend A were not exclusive, and friend A had a great reason to keep it quiet which you agreed. Friend B comes around sometime later and asks if u and friend A slept together. What is your answer?

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quote:

Originally posted by Zild I don't make promises like that, but I am a very secretive person. So unless someone absolutely needs to know they won't.

I'm the same way.

Which means the original question was about a kind of promise that I wouldn't make.

I face "dont kill anybody" every day. Sometimes i win, sometimes i fail

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I have a few simple moral rules that I live by in my day to day existence, such as: Don't lie. Don't kill anybody. Don't hurt anybody except in self-defense. Don't break promises. Don't cheat. The funny thing is, I almost never do any of these things, nor do I even want to do any of them most of the time. Conflict between my desires and my moral convictions is very rare. It seems like I almost never face any real "moral dilemmas." Now, I don't believe that there is an objective morality written into the nature of the universe, but sometimes it strikes me as suspicious how neatly my desires coincide with what my practical moral code allows me to do. Any thoughts?

Quite a few, actually

It's not at all surprising that you don't find yourself having moral dillemas that often. You probably live in a rather cultural homogenous area, I suppose, in the sense that there are few (if any) cultures around that condone any of those acts your refrain from.

Japanese culture, for example, tolerates lies quite openly, as long as you're lying in order to be polite. Those of us coming from a Christian background, in which lying is seen as a bad thing, probably see that both as wrong and inevitable: Don't our parents teach us to thank for a gift even if we hate it? Some of us may not even consider that to be a lie (although I wonder what else it could be).

As for killing, we probably don't realise how often we need to kill othjer living beings in order to live. Some hardcore vegetarians do realise it, and Buddhists often remind us that we will not get an extra life every time we stomp a hundred bugs. Most likely, you apply this rule only to human beings and pets (probably because we tend to "humanise" them), but because this belief often goes unchallenged (?), there's little need to revise it.

Finally, I've read claims about there being some biological foundations to morality, but I know too little about this subject.

My point is: If you abide by these rules, and you feel you're helping yourself (and others) this way, it is unlikely that you will face a moral dilemma anytime soon.

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