What is more important, happiness or morality?
| Happiness | 19 | |
| Morality | 21 |
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dappled
Most important is to find a way of combining both but if a situation renders that impossible, I say morality comes first.
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BLAh81
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dappled
It's perhaps an extreme case, but yes. We are all only one person and our happiness is only about pleasing one person. Morality is about not just every person, or even every living creature, but all of existence. Weighed against the needs of one person, one person's happiness isn't that important, even if that person is one of us.
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BLAh81
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dom180
Is the point of morality (from a utilitarian point of view, at least) not to ensure the greatest happiness for the greatest number?
Because you make a distinction between happiness and morality I'll presume you mean personal, individual happiness. I definitely believe morality is more important than happiness.
But then, morality and happiness mean different things to different people. Just looking at all the moral debates in the world like equal rights and abortion shows that morality is not a measurable, quantifiable thing, whereas happiness is (admittedly with some difficulty, but it can be done). Can the two even be fairly compared when one is a quantifiable concept and the other is not?
The goal of morality is to achieve happiness. Make of that what you will.
By the way, good question.
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NeuroNeptunian
I think that morality is more important.
It is my own personal view that the world would be a much better and happier place if everyone had a common set a morals (much like the 10 commandments and the golden rule, but those are just the best examples that I can think of at the moment), and they stuck to them.
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BLAh81
In essence I agree with you. However, you bring up the Ten Commandments as an example of a good moral code. This made me think of "About the Holy Bible" by Robert G. Ingersoll. Here's a fragment:
"Some Christian lawyers -- some eminent and stupid judges -- have said and still say, that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of all law.
Nothing could be more absurd. Long before these commandments were given there were codes of laws in India and Egypt -- laws against murder, perjury, larceny, adultery and fraud. Such laws are as old as human society; as old as the love of life; as old as industry; as the idea of prosperity; as old as human love.
All of the Ten Commandments that are good were old; all that were new art foolish. If Jehovah had been civilized he would have left out the commandment about keeping the Sabbath, and in its place would have said: "Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-men." He would have omitted the one about swearing, and said: "The man shall have but one wife, and the woman but one husband." He would have left out the one about graven images, and in its stead would have said: "Thou shalt not wage wars of extermination, and thou shalt not unsheathe the sword except in self-defence."
If Jehovah had been civilized, how much grander the Ten Commandments would have been."
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NeuroNeptunian
I'm actually a little offended that you felt the need to bring this to my attention. I formally studied law for two years, I know that the 10 C's was no where near the first or best example that I could have given, but I did not feel that I was being graded on this one. I did NOT say that it was an example of a good moral code, I said it was an example of a commonly held moral code. I did not know that I gave off the vibe of someone that is completely uneducated, but thanks anyway.
Just as a reminder.
"but those are just the best examples that I can think of at the moment"Comment Hidden ( show )
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BLAh81
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GoraIntoDesiGals