Of Ethics and Morality

We claim that humans are sapient, meaning that we are able to think for ourselves, to develop and improve on ourselves, and instead of acting on pure instinct, we act on our own judgement - that is, we are able to differentiate between right or wrong.

Right or wrong. What exactly is right or wrong? We cannot define 'right' as a simple term for the correct thing to do, or 'wrong' as a wrong decision to make, simply because we are sapient. We are sapient, therefore everyone of us thinks for ourselves, we might be influenced by external factors, but in the end, the decision is made by ourselves, through a calculated process of thinking the decision through. The most influential matter on the subject of decision is probably our own morality, which is yet even harder to define.

What exactly is a 'moral' decision? What is the difference between good and bad? Let's look at it this way. A burglar decides to rob a bank, and makes off with a million dollars, but is caught by the police on the way. Bad? Bad, you say.

But what if that particular burglar was seventy years old, was fired unjustly from his job six months ago (for simply being old) and was now down and out, and without any children to support him, has to eke out a living in order to support his sickly wife who's medical condition requires him to pay over ten thousand dollars per month? What if he was really forced to make such a decision?

And no, Social Services and charity don't count here, let's just assume they denied his request for financial aid.

Is he good or bad now?

We might never know for sure. For in this advanced age, the lines between 'good' and 'bad', 'moral' and 'immoral' often blur. One might say he/she was a moral person, but that exact same person might not hesitate to hurt others to obtain, say, a million dollars in currency.

In our modern world, it is very easy to see how technological advancement and money have blurred the lines of morality and ethics. This is simply due to how money and materialistic wealth has adversely affected our view of the world. Whereas in the past, there was always the omnipresence of religion to guide our perceptions of morality, nowadays more and more people are making their own Gods, that is, that humans control their own fate, and are not bound to any religion. Once upon a time, people were afraid of committing morally unjust actions such as murder or rape, but now, for the right price, anything is possible.