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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