Morality is based on desire.

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Terrapin Station
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Re: Morality is based on desire.

Post by Terrapin Station »

Count Lucanor wrote: November 28th, 2020, 1:01 pm No, that's not possible.
You're claiming that it's impossible based on?
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Diascarus
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Re: Morality is based on desire.

Post by Diascarus »

It could be cognitive. Somethings will be pleasing, others not. We have to figure out what is and is not pleasing to us. You're not gonna like doing the right thing sometimes, and other times you will. It's through what you have perceived and learned that you decide how to make your choices. For example, I have made the choice never to cheat in a relationship. I have made this choice. You could say it's reason, or the avoidance of pain, which ultimately brings about pleasure, but either way it's a conscious choice nonetheless. I have perceived both the positive and negative effects of a cheating person within a relation ship through the actions of others. With my knowledge (Though calling it that is a whole other debate) is what's keeping me within my moral compass. Would it be pleasurable to get involved with multiple beautiful women? Sure, for a short amount of time till your found out, but, once you are caught you've broken the objective moral code of "cheating is wrong" (Polygamy aside). You are nor considered immoral and by the whole, though you yourself may think that you still are within yourself. This is the great duality of Morality. If reason was solely based upon pleasure the latter would assume I would throw away all safety nets and do what's most pleasurable, and in this instance it would be succumbing to my lower instincts. Yet, I've made the conscious choice not to do so, you could argue that avoiding the negative effects would be more pleasing, but I would disagree. In the moment of temptation of anything that would bring immediate pleasure can be either difficult or easy to shake off. The difficulty is where the morality arrives. Though it would be more pleasurable to do Y, both I and the whole consider X to be what's right. From there your choice defines you for a time.

Let's say I like X, whatever X is I'm going to incorporate it into my life because it is pleasing to me. That is a desire because what is pleasing to me is what I want to be around. Now say X is opening the door for someone before you go in. I find this to be pleasing, so I desire to do it, yet at the same time this is considered a morally right decision I have made in the eyes of the whole. If you took a poll of if x, y, and z were what is considered the "Right thing to do" you would get the same pattern of answers depending on where in the world you asked these questions. We would all like to believe it's nice to hold a door open for someone else, or its nice to help the elderly, or clean up your local park. ETC. I think were debating this the wrong way. It's not that its one or the other, its both. Morality is both subjective and objective at the same time.

What you and what the whole believes to be morality might be the same thing, but most often it isn't. There are widely different cultural differences for what is morally right and wrong as well. For example, the middle east has very little women's rights, yet this is a normality for their culture, and to us in the west, can be seen as a travesty to freedom. Whoever is right or wrong is irrelevant, but the difference in perception of good is what's important. Last example, the people of India find it immoral to eat beef. They highly revere the cow for being the most giving animal. We here in the west have debates whether its ethical to eat beef, but it solely comes down to you and your choice because of freedom. As I stated above I Morality is both subjective and objective at the same time.
popeye1945
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Re: Morality is based on desire.

Post by popeye1945 »

Morality is base on self interested desire, in the interests of one's own being, one's own biological well being, which is has in common with its fellows.
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