"It is a moral issue to me. I only see the value in liberty. I think that humans should be free, but that freedom should only extend to the point whereby they are restricting others' freedom.
"I'm hesitant to apply the word moral to it, though, since that implies I have a moral system by which I am living."
"I don`t see how you can distinquish between selllfishness and morality. If we are good to other people and they are good to us, doesn`t it make life more pleasant? Everything comes down to individual at the end, and personal reasons- following some kind of moral system is supposed to make life more enjoyable and easier as well. Though personally I respect those that reject all systems imposed by others."
"I think there is an extremely clear distinction and that your example is not universal. To be moral only to make life more pleasant would be seen by many as not moral at all. Morality is often seen as something that has independant value- to be followed even when it disadvantages you, or even makes you unhappy. The problem of the 'right' thing to do."
"But why we do the right thing? What is a right thing? One can argue that even soldier sacrificing his life for a country does it for sellfish reasons- to protect his family, to not appear as coward, because he believes he will rewarded- in this world or in afterlife. One can say that the soldier is usually manipulated to fight. The more someone thinks, the less it is obvious that something is a "right" thing."
"That is not a great example. A soldier sacrifcing his life for a cause may not be seen as a particular moral thing, merely as a mattter of duty, which does not necessarily equate with moral.
"For some, the more one thinks, the more clearly the notion of a right thing and a wrong thing become.
"Many people indeed live by a moral code which they do so not because it advantages them, or makes them happy, but simply because they believe it is right, and that this concept of 'right' is something to be strived for. From the oldest tales of this planet, people have often debated and obsessed over the concept of right and wrong."
Originally posted by RocasAtoll
"How about you can either take the bullet yourself, or have another die in your place and you choose to take the bullet? Would that suffice for a moral situation?
"A rather simple one," says Lo Qi. "I do not actually intend to debate the nature of right or wrong, merely to point out that some do indeed think that way- indeed, probably more humans do than do not, so I am entitled to ask if that is a motivating factor in your beliefs about the advancment of society."