‘Morals’ is a word that has served as our compass for making good decisions since we could speak. A simple definition that most will give for morals is that they help us differentiate between what is good and bad. However, little thought has been given to what these morals really are and whether there is such a thing as absolute moral norms or if morals are just relative to our culture, religion or the way we were raised. Moral norms can be more precisely defined as a set of rules that serve as a compass in making good decisions with our freedom for the benefit of ourselves and the community as a whole. To be even more precise, moral norms are about judgement. We judge everyday problems that arise by referring to morals. For example, let’s
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From all that I have read and studied about moral norms, I have come to the conclusion that although people will have different views on what is moral and what isn’t, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t absolute moral norms. There are a set of what we may call moral laws that we should follow but there will always be some who choose not to and the rules about these morals can be altered between cultures. Although we say that killing someone is wrong, with the exception of self defense, we still in the U.S. have certain states where the death penalty is still in effect. Many can argue that these criminals don’t deserve life or that it needs to happen to make room in the jails or for the safety of others, but who are we to play God and decide that these criminals don’t deserve life like the rest of us? Eskimos kill their infants and see nothing wrong with that while we will kill criminals and see nothing wrong with that. Just because we kill, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a universal truth that we shouldn’t kill. We make an exception to this rule with criminals and eskimos make an exception with infants but that doesn’t mean that either of us are right. Also as Rachels states, even though Eskimos kill some of their infants, they do accept and follow that the young, those who aren’t killed, are the responsibility of the parents to raise and take care of until they are able to do so on their own.
From all that I have read and studied about moral norms, I have come to the conclusion that although people will have different views on what is moral and what isn’t, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t absolute moral norms. There are a set of what we may call moral laws that we should follow but there will always be some who choose not to and the rules about these morals can be altered between cultures. Although we say that killing someone is wrong, with the exception of self defense, we still in the U.S. have certain states where the death penalty is still in effect. Many can argue that these criminals don’t deserve life or that it needs to happen to make room in the jails or for the safety of others, but who are we to play God and decide that these criminals don’t deserve life like the rest of us? Eskimos kill their infants and see nothing wrong with that while we will kill criminals and see nothing wrong with that. Just because we kill, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a universal truth that we shouldn’t kill. We make an exception to this rule with criminals and eskimos make an exception with infants but that doesn’t mean that either of us are right. Also as Rachels states, even though Eskimos kill some of their infants, they do accept and follow that the young, those who aren’t killed, are the responsibility of the parents to raise and take care of until they are able to do so on their own.