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Morality
“We all think that morality is important,
but we can't agree on what is moral.”*
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To conservative Christians "moral values"
tends to refer to sexual behavior and issues
such as marriage and abortion.
To more liberal Christians, secular people,
Jews, Muslims, that tends to oftentimes
mean social justice questions -- poverty, the
environment, war and peace.
*Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Nov. 7, 2004
What makes something
moral?
Is it a moral issue only if our action affects
others?
 Murder, stealing, rape, lying
or…
 Is it also a moral issue even if our action does
not have a negative impact on others?
 Hunting? Cheating/plagiarism? Abortion?
Suicide/Euthanasia? Prostitution?
Polygamy? Doing drugs?

Ethics of Virtue vs.
Ethics of Duty
Virtue Ethics:
 Be good
 Internally motivated
– imposed from
within (innate)
 Punished from
within (sense of
shame, guilt)
 Affects the self
(even if not others)
 Guided by principles
Duty Ethics:

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Do good
Externally motivated
– imposed by others
(told what to do by
society, god)
Punished by others
(society, god)
Affects others (even
if not the self)
Guided by rules/law
Sources of Morality
How do we know what is good?
Cosmic/Natural Law
 An impersonal, external source:
 The “Way” (Tao) of nature
 Dharma (Hinduism)
 A personal, external source:
 Natural laws, created by God as good:
 That which is natural = good, right
 That which interferes with nature = bad,
wrong

Examples: homosexuality, abortion, birth control
Sources of Morality
How do we know what is good?
Charismatic Leader as model
 Jesus teaches his “great commandment” and
the “Golden Rule”
 Buddha teaches the “Five Precepts”:
 Do not harm/kill others
 Do not take what is not given (do not steal)
 Do not lie
 Do not ingest intoxicants/alcohol
 Do not have illicit sexual relations (be chaste)
Sources of Morality
How do we know what is good?
Divine Command
God says “do” and “don’t” (“thou shalt not”,
“thou shalt”)
 Is it good because God commands it (God
makes the rules)
or
 Does God command it because it is good?
(God merely identifies and enforces the rules)
If God commands us to kill, does killing become
the moral thing to do?
Examples of Divine Command

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Judaism: Halakhah
 Based on 613 “commandments” in Torah
 Interpreted by Rabbis
 For practical application in everyday life
Islam: Shari’a
 Based on God’s direction in Qur’an
 Modeled after Muhammad’s behavior
(sunna) as recorded in Hadith
 Interpreted by Islamic jurists (ulama)
according to analogy and consensus
Questions to ponder:
Does doing good (duty) make us good?
Or: Do we do good because we are good (virtuous)?
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Can morality be legislated?
Is it still an issue of “morality” if we are simply “obeying
the law”
“duty ethics” = yes
“virtue ethics” = no
???
 Is morality culturally relative and personally subjective?
Or: is there any absolute and universal moral law?
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Basic moral principles
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“Do unto others as you would have others do
unto you”
“Love God and love others as you love
yourself”
“Live in such a way as to love all and be loved
by all”
What basic moral principle guides your life?
Or do you live according to the rules?
Explore more on the Web:
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BBC Religion & Ethics: explores ethical issues,
including positions held by various religions on various
issues including: same-sex marriage, ethics of war,
euthanasia, human cloning, genetic engineering,
designer babies, abortion.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/
Online interactive philosophy games: Is your morality
based on reason or gut level response? How
consistent are you in applying moral principals?
Taboo: http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/taboo.htm
Morality Play:
http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/morality_play.htm