Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The "Truth" About Morality, OR Would I Lie to You?


            Before answering questions about moral behavior I believe it’s important to define what we consider moral in order to provide context for the answer. In my mind, for this exercise let’s say moral behavior is behavior that causes no harm to self or others, outside of that of microaggressions. The reason I am defining moral behavior this way is due to the fact that in general most people take part in mildly immoral behavior everyday. This may be simply to receive a desired effect from another person or to spare another’s feelings (Ley, 2017). Essentially, most of the immoral deception we engage in has its roots in some misguided altruism. As one might expect, this low-level type of immoral behavior is inconsequential, even if dishonest.  

            I absolutely think that most people (myself included) believe that they behave morally “most” of the time. To add to this point, Ley also notes that most liars truly do believe the lie as they tell it, or at least wish it were true (2017).  There is a famous quote that has been attributed to many, but it is something to the effect of “We all believe ourselves to be heroes of our own stories.” This is due to our typically egoistic nature, as we view the world, and our actions through our own lens, and it is difficult for many to step outside of this. Summarily, most of us can find a reason to justify even the poorest of moral behavior. Hence, the lack of empathy we see in many corners of our modern world. When viewed through this stripped down real-world perception; there are no heroes or villains, just those with different agendas[1].   


           I believe most people decide what is morally just based on their own internal rationalization. As alluded to earlier, it becomes easy for us to justify action (or inaction) based on our feelings and interpretations of what is going on around us or happening to us. This personal opinion is also shored up by Tsang who concludes immoral behaviors are decided upon through multifaceted cognitive processes as well as environmental or situational pressures (2002).

          In conclusion, what is moral is different and even ever-changing for each of us through the course of our lives. What makes up your moral code?



[1] Yes this is a quote from Daredevil, not academic in nature but still worthwhile for this discussion.



References
Ley, D. J. (2017, January 23). 6 Reasons People Lie When They Don’t Need To. Retrieved January 16, 2019, from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-who-stray/201701/6-reasons-people-lie-when-they-don-t-need

Tsang, J.-A. (2002). Moral rationalization and the integration of situational factors and psychological processes in immoral behavior. Review of General Psychology, 6(1), 25–50. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/1089-2680.6.1.25

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