Ethics - What are yours like? (single, exploited, effect, show)

[Guybrush]

I was wondering ..

How do you guys see yourself in relation to morale and ethics? Do you consider yourself a moral being or not? Do follow abstract principles (f.ex act so that you minimize suffering/maximize happiness) or do you follow a morale that is more context-related (f.ex everyone else is full so it doesn't matter if I steal the last piece of cake)?

Supposedly, there are some trends - for example, women are supposed to be more contexty while men are supposed to be more abstract-ruly. It would be fun to see if any such trends will emerge. Also, although I doubt we'll get enough answers to determine that, there could be differences between nations.

You don't have to get too philosophical or too niched. I think everyone is aware that most who follow absolute rules will sometimes be a bit utilitarian or opportunistic and vice versa for the others. Just roughly try to describe yourself and explain your "rules" even if you don't follow them 100%.



I tend to follow absolute rules. Variations of the golden rule is what I sort of put on the highest pedestal. By that, I mean I believe we should behave in such a way that if everyone behaved that way, it would be best for everyone. As an example, I might say you shouldn't steal because if everyone stole, it would suck. If you don't want people to lie to you, you shouldn't lie to others .. and so on.

It is a rather community-minded way to think and I tend to think of living in a community as a sort of social contract. Being a part of a community is a privilege that is bestowed to you as long as you follow the rules of that community -> rules that help people live peacefully together. I think people who viciously break those rules should have their privelege revoked and be removed from the community .. And this is basically how it is all over the world, so nothing new here I guess.

Reading what I just wrote, I seem kind of strict and I guess I am, but I'm no absolute absolutist .. Many ethical challenges should be approached with a bit more context than what absolute rules allow for.



I'll add that I, unsurprisingly to most I'm sure, believe that morale very much comes from our biology and I also believe in selfishness. However, we're adapted to be social beings and by taking care of our fellow men and women, we are also taking care of our (unconcious) selfish interests. The best thing for social animals to do, thinking collectively, is to be nice to eachother. However, everyone being nice is easily exploited by selfish single individuals for even greater reward on the expense of everyone else, so you need some kind of system to deal with those exploiters.

(note that "selfish" is a term we use in biology that describes the biological urge to raise your own fitness - or rather, the fitness of your genes which will extend to close family whom you share genes with and possibly others whom your own fitness depends on.)


A bit more than I thought it would be. Anyone else?