please excuse this long reply...the following is a few thoughts i have written down about morality
The following thoughts are opinions only and not stated as fact. As with any animal living in large and social communities, it is vitally important that humans have some sort of structure to determine what is socially acceptable behavior, and what isn't. Elected officials in democratic countries make laws to govern their citizens. Many of these laws do not reflect the wishes of the community, but are simply enforced because the powers that be have made the determination that it is in the well-being of the community to have such guidelines. Voting stations would be full if people's votes could pass laws, and many of today's ongoing issues would not even need to be debated. The death sentence for example, would become mandatory under given circumstances, without wasting taxpayer's money on retirement packages for lawyers and judges. Many laws are created to profit the judges, lawyers and politicians. Lets appeal again, another 100 grand in the bank account... At this time we cannot control the laws that have been dictated to us by others. Since it is not very easy to accept some of these archaic laws, it becomes ones responsibility to decide which laws should be abided by, and which broken. The bottom line is that we, as individuals, determine what is acceptable and what is not, what is right and what is wrong. Although we come to our own moral conclusions, it is up to the individual to enforce their own views of right and wrong. To accomplish this we use our conscience, thus the term, "Let your conscience be your guide". Over time we therefore develop our personal moral code. Living up to ones moral code is a major contributor to whether one is happy in this life, or not. Let Your Conscience be Your Guide If everyone had the desire to only do positive things, to help self and community, we would not need many laws. It is the lack of moral and ethical consciousness in individuals and groups that have caused most laws to be enacted. If the term "Let your conscience be your guide" were in fact the law, we would surely have an unruly society because of the lack of moral fiber surely to surface within the community. Despite the law, many individuals do not have the social consciousness to consider their actions acceptable or not. Many just don't care what society thinks. Once one starts making decisions based on their conscience, they should also take on the responsibility of sustaining the moral code that they develop. This code should be constantly adhered to and improved upon. Conscience development is one of the biggest contributors to the overall happiness and contentment of ones life, and polishing it will pay dividends in the long run. Consciousness and Guilt Why do some criminals show no remorse when confronted with their crimes? We presume it is because their consciousness is dormant and they therefore do not recognize guilt, or because they are beyond caring about the law and feelings of others. Structured law is therefore required to deal with this lack of conscience and/or social responsibility. In morally healthy people, guilt is ones conscience telling us that we have done something against our moral code, or against the laws of society as prescribed to us. Guilt can be generated automatically, due in part to the constant enforcing of laws and the moral codes of others, from the time we are born. This brainwashing may therefore create guilt in one for doing something that their conscience, even their healthy conscience, tells them is okay. For example, many people feel guilty for not going to church on Sunday. Why is this? Did they ignore God? Did they hurt anybody? No they didn't. They went against the admonition of their religious leaders, and, although they have done nothing wrong, they are wracked with guilt. This is not fair and certainly not justified. Is Guilt Justified? If one has a healthy moral code and come to their own conclusions about right and wrong, the words, feelings and admonitions of others should not determine their feelings of guilt. Yes, we must follow the basic laws of coexistence, but we must also clear our minds of the instructions and teachings of others, and concentrate on our own conscious fiber. If one has a strong moral code, and feel that they are not causing any harm, they should not feel guilt simply because a law made by less than morally pure people is broken. Therefore, any action that ones clear conscience allows, is justifiable, and therefore should be void of guilt. Social non-conformity should also be removed from the weight of guilt. Trying to live up to someone elses expectations is a waste of constructive opportunities. How you are living up to the demands of what you have determined to be right, should be the only thing that generates guilt. This guilt should act as a strong motivator to overcome whatever is creating it. Saturating non-conformity with grace will allow for a happy coexistance in the community without bowing to its norms. Viva la difference, as long as it does not make you a freak. Fitting in does not have to be considered compliance. The efforts of having an enthusiastic conscience will reduce negativity and guilt thus making it easier to accept those that do not share a high moral code. Guilt and Intent If certain actions have caused pain, but there was no intent to hurt, there should be no reason to feel guilt. The consequence of the action has no bearing on the intent of action, although compassion is definitely felt if pain is somehow caused. On the other hand, if one predetermines that something that they are contemplating is against their moral code, and then proceed with the action, the feelings of guilt should more than make one feel bad, it should demand a counter action, reparations if needed, and a healthy admonition to never take this action again. Desire and Conscious Growth Consciousness resides within each of us. As with any thought or inspiration, it takes desire, focus and effort to advance it and make it grow. One may very well say that their consciousness is an inherent instinct, and should therefore not be tampered with. Everything of value evolves and is perfected over time, but it takes desire and commitment to aid its growth. One must want to grow, to enforce conscious conclusions, to commit their moral consciousness to a type of muscle memory, so that every time something happens, it kicks in a thought process that analyzes the incident, relates it to a previously determined conscious conclusion, and makes a determination of its moral value and therefore whether it will be adopted, or not. Enforcing Conscience Lessons Conscience lessons are committed to memory and become one of the more important contributors to our overall persona. These memories help to steer us when confronted with moral choices and contribute to the general state of our well-being and contentment. As with any moral precept, it must be enthusiastically enforced so that any deviation from the code one has developed, will elicit strong and meaningful consequences, renewing ones determination to abide by the conscious laws that they have developed. Freedom from guilt, in combination with the joy that living a morally sound life brings, will make the laws of the land a little easier to abide. This will contribute to the development and sustenance of a healthy and enjoyable social atmosphere. Using Conscience to Heal By retaining the knowledge gained from making conscious decisions and storing their conclusions as top-shelf memories, we can improve our ability to adapt to any negative situation. This improves our overall spiritual state and helps reinforce and support our social interactions. We will become less affected by the circumstance of our surroundings as our knowledge of self improves. This new and improved spiritual state may be used to comfort and teach another, who may be suffering in any way or struggling to make similar decisions of conscience. Conscience Conclusion The result of constantly polishing ones conscience, making high demands on it, and enforcing these demands, will lead to a very bright existence for the dedicated participant. As positive lessons become second nature, negative incidents in life will diminish. The aura of joy and contentment that one develops will spread throughout the community, making the world a slightly better place to live in. On Apr 3, 5:30 am, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > In Dostoevsty’s novel, “Crime and Punishment”, Raskolnikov commits > murder with the justification, “If God doesn’t exist, then anything is > permissible.” Dostoevsky, who advocated a slavophile Christianity, > uses the novel to argue that rationalist atheism leads to nihilism and > chaos and that a belief in a redeeming God is the only solid basis for > human life. > > The theistic argument for an ultimate basis for morality is, of > course, easy; morality is divinely deemed, proscribed, part of the > template of existence. It gives answers to the question, “why be > moral?” on different levels; because God has ordained it, because it > is a God-created part of human nature, because God will punish you if > you aren’t and reward you if you are. > > Where can atheists find an answer to the question; why be moral? More > practically, perhaps, if we accept secular models for organising > society (and this is the basis of western societies), where do we find > arguments in favour of behaving morally? In the wake of the financial > collapse, many commentators have identified a lack of moral > sensibility on the part of those managing and playing the markets as > one of the underlying problems leading to the collapse. Is the basis > of law and regulation merely deterrent; the fear of the consequences > of being caught? > > Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
