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Development of Morals and Ethics

First in this series

How are morals developed?

This article is about how we develop our morals and ethics and the pitfalls of various develpmental influences. I think it is timely in this time of moral confusion.

Morals and ethics have their developmental roots in cultural and religious traditions, community standards, internal reflection and reasoning, and external standards.

The difficulty with community standards is that they can justify and perpetuate various behaviors that are damaging to people. Today, few people would find acceptable the Ancient Roman's use of the arena for battles to the death "entertainment." Yet the practice was spreading rapidly in the ancient world, and little today restrains brutal sports and spectacles, such as boxing and professional wrestling. Few would find the idea of slavery acceptable, but it flourished in the world until recent history, and it was staunchly justified and defended in many parts of the US. Few of us would find acceptable the displacement and barbarian treatment of native people by settlers, but it is still justified and defended even today in some hot spots of the world, in the names of religion and nationalism. Few would condone unrestrained sex that gets women pregnant, and then the fathers abondon them, but in many countries this is a common practice that is ignored by many communities. Community standards are self serving, often used to support a way of life.

Socrates was a master of reductive reasoning. Whatever moral dilemmas people had entwined themselves in through their traditions and thinking, Socrates attempted to help them argue the issue back to basics. For example, what would be considered just? The problem with this kind of reasoning is that it assumes that the person has some basic pattern in the back of their mind about what is just. I can identify with this idea, but few of us are born moral giants. like most of us I think that many things I see are unjust, but on further investigation realize that they are just. Philosophically, having an innate pattern of justice within is an interesting idea, but justice is more likely a learned concept that gains validation through experience, and is typically learned from community standards, so the pattern may be corrupt.

The supreme standard from outside... Difficulty: opposite of individual responsibility; opposing opinions.

While each of the preceding methods of learning morals have their good points, they also have difficulties that subvert them. The method of moral assessment that I believe works best is deconstruction and reconstruction. Unlike reductive reasoning, which uses logic to reduce things to their core and leaves them there, deconstruction is a method that can ask, "What is important," and can include historical lessons, etc. Deconstruction can look at individual parts, allowing the outdated and insignificant to be parsed, but doesn't eliminate everything while in search of a core meaning. Reconstruction allows the re-collection of what is significant into a whole that is relevant and significant for today. It is the same process that the Apostle Paul went through when he examined certain Jewish traditions that conflicted with other people. He found the spirit of meaning at the base of the traditions, and discarded the rest.

An example of this was the tradition of the Catholic Church, of saying Mass in Latin. The Vulgate (common book) was written in Latin, a dead language spoken by the Ancient Romans and Europeans. The language died out as dominant civilizations changed, but the Priests continued to say Mass in Latin. Few in 20th. Century congregations understood the language, or the worship service. A tradition had outlived its usefulness, gave all of Biblical knowledge to the Priests and away from the people. Finally people and the Churches demanded that this be changed. The entire worship service changed to more effective forms.

Similarly, many Christian Fundamentalists of today insist on using the "Authorized" King James Version of the Bible, despite it being very difficult for many to read and understand due to the archaic 16th. Century language. This book was translated from the Latin by order of King James of England. It signified a clear break from the Roman Catholic tradition, and was a first step in bringing God's revealing to the people. Fundamentalist Christians of today declare it to be the inerrant Word of God. However, more modern translations use better sources, comparing many existing Greek or Aramaic texts.

Fundamentalists, who are more literal in their Biblical interpretation, and look for more rule based guidance and authoritarian leaders, lock communications into the 16th. Century. The King James version is full of words such as these picked from just one chapter: tempting desired, shew, seeketh, bade, ye, thou, shalt, bind, savourest, raiment, spake, sore afraid, sore vexed, ofttimes falleth, oft, hither, hence, yonder, exceeding sorry, notwithstanding, lest.

These words may be familiar to some who read them every day, but to most people they make comprehension very difficult. The puzzling thing is that the translation brought God's revealing to the people, yet the insistence on using 16th. Century language removes the revealing from the reach of many people. The religious leaders might as well go back to speaking Latin and reserving all translation and interpretation for themselves.

Such is the resistance to change by the religious community.

The premises held by this series are that:

God first expects allegiance to Him, and then turns our attention to our relationships with others. How we treat others is the primary concern of God, and of religion. No matter what we think the "laws" are about worshipping God, when we mistreat others, our worship is offensive. This was the message of the Prophets, and of Christ.
We can't codify conduct into a book of rules. The Ancient Jews created endless laws about their conduct, particularly about worshipping God. The list becomes endless, so that no one can know all the rules or interpret them. It is an exercise in futility, and ends up in burdensome and contradictory rules. Love is the supreme commandment, and it takes precedence over every other commandment. Kindness, love, and forgiveness are the example of God's revealing through the message of the Prophets, of Christ, and of the actions of those who follow God.
All religious organizations change those things that they consider rules. Sometimes it takes years, sometimes centuries, but they all change. Things that don't make sense or no longer fit are overlooked, and then are deemphasized, and then are not mentioned, and then are forgotten.
The wiser choice is to avoid rules, and instead emphasize conduct toward others that is loving.

Sexual conduct

Sex is not a dirty little act. Sexuality forms part of what influences the personality, actions, and behavior of men and women. It influences many life choices. It is part of who we are. It is a celebration of love between married people.

U B Peace. - Scott

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