Can rules define morality?
459727
morality - is defined as society's guidelines for conduct and for right from wrong. They are otherwise known as ethics. Each society in the world has different ethical boundaries and moral grounds for their conduct and actions. ie: in Muslim countries, women are generally surpressed and must be robed in public, in some European countries, there are places where women are allowed to walk around fully nude with no issues.\nIt is up to each person to decide their own moral code and ethics rules, however, if you diverge too far from what society expects, you are judged and will be made accountable to society's rules.
684910
Absolutely not. Morality is a religious issue. \n\nGovernment should legislate based upon practical concerns and objective goals. Murder should be illegal because it causes violence, which disrupts the ability of society to function, and because it interferes with the victim's personal rights. It shouldn't be illegal because "only God can kill". Likewise, communications with a clergyman should be privileged because it serves the social goal of people seeking emotional help (same as a psychologist), and government has an interest in people being rational rather than having emotional breakdowns. Confessions are not legally privileged just because they are sacred in some religions.\n\nMost people don't actually take the time to figure out WHY something may be wrong or bad. Religions and/or politics simply tell them something is bad, and they just accept that conclusion without question.\n\nOnce you look at WHY something is bad, then the answer becomes clear. If it's bad because it interferes with a person's rights to life and liberty, or because it results in property damage, or because it harms the environment thus affecting the health of the community, or because it increases the risk of car accidents -- those are identifiable objective practical goals that are valid for the government to enforce via laws.\n\nIf it's bad because God made it a sin, or because your moral upbringing told you so, or because good people shouldn't do that -- those are not valid reasons to pass mundane laws. Granted, those may be moral reasons why you should choose not to do something. But the government should not not be dictating religious or moral beliefs, let alone attempting to enforce them.
925274
Wouldn't moral law just be doing what you think is right? For example, don't murder, don't steal, don't rape are some pretty basic moral laws. \nAlso "Laws are rules or STATUTES" not statues. Moral law would be statute law likely so you might search the web for statute law. You definitely won't find much about statue law that's relevent.
590616
You're discussing things on two different levels. Morality and justice are correlated obviously, but not the same thing. The 10 commandments are supposed to be individual standards of morality not laws. For example, is it MORAL to constantly belittle someone and make them cry? No, but it is not illegal.\n\nThere *are* laws about adultery, not because it is morally wrong but because it breaks a legal contract. (These laws are obviously not really enforced that often.)\n\nThere *are* laws about keeping the Sabbath day holy (e.g. you can't buy liquor in some places on Sunday), but these types of laws are becoming more obsolete.
1057387
misising a few words I think ... anyway moral is flexible and relative. if yet you ind yourself in question I guess you have to live with it ...
567406
Well first off that is a good question. It depends on who the person is. Is it a person looking to define his own moral character if so then look inside him/her self.
265808
I don't think that this should determine or have any effect on the question of morality here.  The fact is that natural childbirth can cause tearing, sometimes very severe tearing.
473647
i think that most of us humans forgot the word MORAL means because of the way we act at times\n\nif there is anybody out there that does not agree please ontact me we will discuss it
401871
No.  Morality CANNOT be based on God.  Does God command certain things should be done simply on a whim or does he command certain things are good or bad because they ARE good or bad?  If God commanded that it was good to go out and kill people would it be good?  Heck no!  Killing would still be bad.  Thus, good and bad cannot be based on God because God must use some kind of rationale to determine what is good and bad.  Why do we need God to figure this out?  It is perfectly logical that it is not a good thing to kill other people, so we do not need God to tell us that or determine any other moral questions.\n\nUse your mind.  It's much better than mindlessly following the bible like a sheep.
1063139
Basic Humanist principles, which pre-date religion. Half the Ten Commandments are basic common sense - not killing each other, not stealing - they are the rules that a society will self-determine.\nPersonally I believe that there is just *morality* and that pre-fix is redundant. For the most part, people are moral, with or without God.
25584
Any religion depends on a sort of "mob rule", or the will of a majority to impose an artificial "moral" code on its adherents. It is primarily a tool for political power, especially in creating destructive and dangerous policies that, as you point out, contradict the very meaning of acting as free-willed, happy human beings.\n\nMorality is not found in religion, and in fact is often contrary to it. Morality is simply an objective standard that says, "I live for my own sake and happiness, I recognize that right in every other human being, and I will act accordingly." Thus mutually beneficial relationships arise to create a truly self-sufficient and moral society.\n\nThis is what the U.S. has gotten away from but what the Founding Fathers wished for. After all, our country is founded on principles of freedom and the right to PURSUE (not be given) happiness. Freedom of religion is among these, but not the IMPOSITION of religion. Any "decline" in our society is due to an INCREASE in religion, not the reverse.
567205
All things being equal, any decision is best made by logic since logical decisions almost always reflect reality. Making decisions by "morals" is just another way of saying "making decisions based on ideology." Some ideological decisions work, but trying to decide everything within the limits that every ideology has will often lead to greater problems. \n\nA good example from my own life is my stance on abortion. I intensely dislike abortion, perhaps because I have 5 children and 8 granchildren. But from a logical and realistic standpoint, there is no other option than to place the decision to have an abortion where it belongs: with those who get pregnant. Forcing a pregnant person to bear to term a baby she doesn't want is, IMHO, just plain stupid. It's an incorrect application of ideology.
489660
Its quite possible that one thing may be illegal, but not necessarily immoral.  Whether or not there's a set definition of what is right and what is wrong isn't the question, but each individual's perspective on any given matter could be slightly, or entirely, different.  Therefore, who's to judge if something is bad just because it is illegal, or vice versa?
1063730
Morally, if we were to universally follow The Law given to Man by his Maker, then it is a resounding "YES!"\n\nHowever, our man-made laws have yet to acquiesce to being held accountable and liable to such a MORALITY clause...
383336
Whenever you answer a question about whether something is morally correct or right, you have to identify the criteria you have for making moral judgments.  If it is just one person's opinion versus another opinion, then there is no right or wrong answer.  If we all make up our own rules as to what is right and what is wrong, then who is to say that my rules aren't as good as your rules?  If rules only apply to the one who makes them up, well then that makes it easy to be perfect.  I'll just make up whatever rules I want that make me look perfect and you look bad.\n\nI believe that we don't have the moral right to make up our own rules about what is right and what is wrong.  You are free to make up your own rules, but you will still be wrong.  Do I have the moral right to make up rules for you?  No, I do not.  But God has the right to make up the rules, or reveal to us what the rules are.  It is the only real standard of truth.  The rest is wishful thinking.  If you say that you do not believe in God, does that change anything?  No, it does not.  God is there, or he is not there, no matter what you think, feel, or believe.\n\nSo, to answer your question, God said that homosexual behavior was wrong.  It doesn't matter whether you think that is a good judgment or not.  There is absolutely no reason for anyone to accept the rules you make up as being valid for anyone.  You have to go outside of yourself to find the true standard.\n\nYes, I've had many conversations with those who practice homosexuality.  I do not believe God made them homosexuals.  They may have had a same sex attraction, but that is not the same thing as choosing to engage in homosexual acts or thoughts.
1169161
Ethics\nFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\nJump to: navigation, search\nFor other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation).\nEthics (from Greek ἦθος "ethos" meaning "custom") is the branch of axiology, one of the four major branches of philosophy, which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to distinguish that which is right from that which is wrong. The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. Ethics in plain words means studying and analyzing right from wrong; good from bad.\n\nmor·al [ máwrəl ] \n\n\nadjective  \n \nDefinition: \n  \n1. involving right and wrong: relating to issues of right and wrong and to how individual people should behave\n\n \n2. derived from personal conscience: based on what somebody's conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what rules or the law says should be done\n\n \n3. according to common standard of justice: regarded in terms of what is known to be right or just, as opposed to what is officially or outwardly declared to be right or just\na moral victory.\n\n \n4. encouraging goodness and decency: giving guidance on how to behave decently and honorably\n\n \n5. good by accepted standards: good or right, when judged by the standards of the average person or society at large\n\n \n6. able to tell right from wrong: able to distinguish right from wrong and to make decisions based on that knowledge\n\n \n7. based on personal conviction: based on an inner conviction, in the absence of physical proof\nmoral certainty\n\n \n\n\nnoun  (plural mor·als) \n \nDefinition: \n  \n1. valuable lesson in behavior: a conclusion about how to behave or proceed drawn from a story or event\n\n \n2. final sentence of story giving advice: a short precise rule, usually written in a rather literary style as the conclusion to a story, used to help people remember the best or most sensible way to behave\n\n \n\n\nplural noun mor·als  \n \nDefinition: \n  \nstandards of behavior: principles of right and wrong as they govern standards of general or sexual behavior\n\n \n[14th century. < Latin moralis < mor-, stem of mos "custom," in plural "morals"]
731108
Ofcourse, we could look it up in Websters, but who has the time.\nMoral to me is the foundation of doing the right thing.\nBoy is that hard.\nDamn you "Moral" !!!