"morality"?

[Natasha]

what is your definition of it? not the boring old dictionary definition, but something that is more concrete.

please do not involve religion in your answer, thanks.

[tekla]

For people who do believe, which seems to be a fair amount, its impossible to separate morality from religion.  Just sayin.

[Lisbeth]

Morality is a generally agree on system of what is right and what is wrong. But I prefer what Robert Heinlein said about morality: "Don't let your sense of morality prevent you from doing what you know is right."

[RebeccaFog]

Morality is leaving the smallest footprint and tiniest impression possible.

In other words, mind your own damn business and let others mind theirs.

[lisagurl]

Its what ethics misses.

[Witch of Hope]

In view words? This here:

Bide The Wiccan Law Ye Must,
In Perfect Love, In Perfect Trust.
Eight Words The Wiccan Rede Fulfill:
An Ye Harm None, Do As Ye Will.
And Ever Mind The Rule Of Three:
What Ye Send Out, Comes Back To Thee.
Follow This With Mind And Heart,
And Merry Ye Meet, And Merry Ye Part.
http://www.dragonwinds.com/phoenix/three.shtml

[Miniar]

Morality is an internal sense of what is right and what is wrong.
The thing is however, that morality is simultaneously an individual and a social construct.
It's learned, subjective and can shift to allow us to do things we would otherwise consider amoral.

[Nicky]

What is it with wiccans and pirates and the way they say 'Ye'. I heard from some dubious source that ye was actually said the, they just wrote it down ye (something to do with printing presses and not having the letter 'thorn' which sounded like a 'th' and was ultimately replaced by th).

Oh, morality.

I think there is a biological morality - the morality of stuff which benefits the species and helps you pass on as many of your genes as you can in the long run. You could say it is imoral to act in a way which reduces the chances of your species surviving in the long run. This is a pretty hard and fast rule, yet somewhat complicated to inact.

What I think of morality is pretty much what miniar said. But I think there is a biological componant that is not learnt, rather it is instinctive and sometimes people are missing this componant or it fails to be triggered cause of their upbringing.

[lisagurl]

Then we can be like the lemmings when we over populate the earth's resources we can run off a cliff.

[tekla]

Using Wica is bringing religion into it.

[Nicky]

Using Wica is bringing religion into it.

I think wicca is like the pirates code, more a set of guidelines than religion...

[tekla]

Wicca is a neopagan, nature-based religion. It was popularised in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant


Former military chaplain Don Larsen, near the circle where his fellow ... to become the first Wiccan chaplain in the U.S. armed forces.



Smells like religion to me.

[Nicky]

at least I still have the pirates code...

[tekla]

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[Dominic]

Using Wica is bringing religion into it.

But what if their definition of 'morality' corresponds to what's written in the Wicca Rede? Then it's a perfectly acceptable answer, is it not?

It's not like they were pushing their beliefs onto you, as often happens when discussion turns to either politics or religion, so taking issue with it is really just unnessicary.

As someone with no morals and only an intellectual (not an emotional) understanding of 'right' and 'wrong' - because really, everything depends on circumstance and perception anyway - I define 'morality' as the culturally accepted definition of 'right' and 'wrong'. (killing is morally 'wrong', giving to charity is morally 'right', etc. however, this can chage depending - for instance, if the person you killed was a criminal, it is usually considered less 'wrong' than if you killed a child.)

[tekla]

Then it's a perfectly acceptable answer, is it not?

No, the rules - as stated in the very first post said please do not involve religion in your answer, thanks.

[stacyB]

Morality is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Its about more than survival of the fittest, or the notion of kill or be killed. More specifically, morality can only be defined between sentient beings. Its what allows us to cohabit together while ensuring the survival of the species. While the rules of morality vary from one social group to another, the basic tenant of conscious thought and self awareness remain unchanged.

See, not one mention of religion... 

[tekla]

Morality is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom

That, and sitcoms, beer, and plastic surgery.

[stacyB]

That, and sitcoms, beer, and plastic surgery.

What, you never saw a bear crack open a brewski and watch Cheers while worrying about the cellulose on his thighs? 

[tekla]

Not since I radically reduced the amount of acid I did.