Do you consider yourself to be a moral person?

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Back to my question: if you feel you act moral, why?

Is it fear of punishment/bad outcomes? Is it because you feel a "duty" to your fellow humans?

Yes - because it makes me feel good about myself and the rest of the world, but I know that it makes me feel good because it is (in theory) benefitting me. Obviously be nice to the wrong person and they may well punish you for it, but that's my take.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Back to my question: if you feel you act moral, why?

Is it fear of punishment/bad outcomes? Is it because you feel a "duty" to your fellow humans?

Mostly b/c it got branded into my brain after being raised with the parents I was raised with. Also, just a general respect for humanity, even though I hate most of them that I meet.

So I'm reading that many people are doing this as it might render them a benefit, i.e. how you want to be treated, positively impact people to act in a moral manner, etc.?

It has nothing to do with the benefits of having a guilt free conscious--though that is a pleasant side effect--or anything that you get out of it, but everything to do with the positive impact on the lives of others. But, again, that's just me.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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So I'm reading that many people are doing this as it might render them a benefit, i.e. how you want to be treated, positively impact people to act in a moral manner, etc.?

Yes, we get it. If you act morally for selfish reasons it isn't very moral. What's your point?

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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So I'm reading that many people are doing this as it might render them a benefit, i.e. how you want to be treated, positively impact people to act in a moral manner, etc.?

no you read wrong. i dont do this for the benefit of being treated that way. i know i would like to be treated with respect, so i try to do the same to others. not in the hope they will treat me that way but because i feel its the right thing to do.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Yes, we get it. If you act morally for selfish reasons it isn't very moral. What's your point?

not always true. its human nature to act in a way that is self beneficial, but you can do so in a way that is good to humanity or not. choosing the former is still moral even if it has a tinge of selfishness mixed in

Originally Posted by in stitches

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not always true. its human nature to act in a way that is self beneficial, but you can do so in a way that is good to humanity or not. choosing the former is still moral even if it has a tinge of selfishness mixed in
I think it's true. Doing good by others, in effect, is doing good by yourself. So you reap the benefits of--like I said--a guilt free conscious, and a sense of wellbeing knowing that the respect you show others is a direct reflection of the respect you show yourself. Now, is any hedonistic aspect of acting morally done knowingly or consciously? Well, for me, it's usually a pretty subconscious thing. I don't go out of my way to be kind to others so that I can feel good; that will just happen naturally.

Originally Posted by mm84321

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I act "morally", i.e., stick to my principles and core beliefs, and that seems to have a positive impact on the people I encounter on a daily basis. That's what makes it worth it, for me at least. I find the best way to change someone for the better is not to directly and authoritatively tell them to make any changes to their life--this will just intimidate them, and no human being likes being told what to do--but to lead by example. When someone sees a strong, confident--and moral--individual, who is able to do things just a bit different than what is considered the norm, or what is conventional, and they see that it can actually work--and perhaps work better--that is how people start to make changes to their lives. It must always first start with the individual.
sorry this sound like bs... you do not lead. you base yours choices upon popular opinion. if you were like you claim you would not start threads on dining alone you would do it or not do it.

I try my best.

Originally Posted by scarphe

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sorry this sound like bs... you do not lead. you base yours choices upon popular opinion. if you were like you claim you would not start threads on dining alone you would do it or not do it.

What?

Originally Posted by mm84321

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I act "morally", i.e., stick to my principles and core beliefs, and that seems to have a positive impact on the people I encounter on a daily basis. That's what makes it worth it, for me at least. I find the best way to change someone for the better is not to directly and authoritatively tell them to make any changes to their life--this will just intimidate them, and no human being likes being told what to do--but to lead by example. When someone sees a strong, confident--and moral--individual, who is able to do things just a bit different than what is considered the norm, or what is conventional, and they see that it can actually work--and perhaps work better--that is how people start to make changes to their lives. It must always first start with the individual.

^ I have a bit more hair on my head.

..

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Back to my question: if you feel you act moral, why? Is it fear of punishment/bad outcomes? Is it because you feel a "duty" to your fellow humans?
It is a bit silly to ask why a person would act morally. They act morally because it is the right thing to do. If you act with the expectation of some sort of reciprocal favor, your action was not guided purely by moral considerations. People in this thread are finding different ways of saying, "I act morally because it puts my conscience at rest," which, of course, is exactly as it should be, but almost borders on tautological (if we define 'conscience' as the sense of disturbance that comes from acting immorally) and doesn't really provide anybody else with usable advice. There also seems to be a lot of awfully pollyanna and simple-minded conceptions of what it means to benefit others, as if the "nice" way of behaving towards others were in every instance a self-evident, cut-and-dried thing, and as if morality in every instance reduces to a binary decision of whether or not to act in this "nice" way.

Originally Posted by Sir Humphrey Appleby

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So people don't **** you over and to make sure they like you and might want to give you a leg up. Ultimately that is what your brain is thinking when it makes you be moral.

Originally Posted by Sir Humphrey Appleby

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Yes - because it makes me feel good about myself and the rest of the world, but I know that it makes me feel good because it is (in theory) benefitting me. Obviously be nice to the wrong person and they may well punish you for it, but that's my take.
Trying to reduce morality to a calculus of self-interest is destined to fail, since there will always be scenarious where it is possible to benefit from somebody else's loss without anyone else finding out. Yet lost purses still get returned on a daily basis.

Originally Posted by tagutcow

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There also seems to be a lot of awfully pollyanna and simple-minded conceptions of what it means to benefit others, as if the "nice" way of behaving towards others were in every instance a self-evident, cut-and-dried thing, and as if morality in every instance reduces to a binary decision of whether or not to act in this "nice" way.

how to act nice or right toward people sometimes is cut and dry, others times it is very complex. taking the time and effort to figure out which one these sitiations you are dealing with is part of doing the right thing.