JusticeMachine

Can it be agreed upon that, for a society to function, it has to do so by a code of rules (morals) that are applied unilateral for all subject to that society.

If this can be agreed upon, then it follows: From what source/sources to we derive the code of rules (morals).

My contention is that if you try to make the rules (morals) a subjective thing, then you will never be able to establish the society. I will be lost in a world of agruement and conjecture.

If I establish the rules/laws/moral code from an objective stand point (which, I believe is necessary) then we have to derive that objective stand point from a source that is perceived to be outside of our subjective will.

I will start there.

dangin

To have objective morality, one must have objective authority to enforce said morality.

Morality comes from the "social contract" each "social" species has evolved physically, as well as socially. The social order works for each species, as evidenced by the fact that a species existing long enough to become social is doing something right.

Thus the functioning social contract of preliterate species allow them to function and thrive.

We were once a preliterate, preverbal species that had a social contract. The roots of our common "morality", and "laws" today all come from this originally evolving social contract.

This is why murder, theft, assault, home invasion are serious crimes, to almost everyone, in almost every culture.

But things like adultery, pornography, drug use, prostitution, even masturbation are believed to be moral or immoral differently by different cultures.

Obviously, the core group of "personal safety" values, that make the community function and thrive is the original source of all human law and morality.

I'll will end there.

Jamie_L

No. I don't think we can. A society would work most smoothly if everyone operated by a standard moral code. But societies in the real world aren't really like that. Some of us think it's okay to pass a bum on the street and ignore him. Others feel obligated to make him a sandwich. Regardless of what everyone believes about objective/subjective morality, the reality is that everyone lives by slightly, or in many cases vastly, different moral codes.

Most societies these days are held together by laws, and for the most part these laws are subjective. Especially in democracies, where people discuss things, compromise, and often change things. The morals that fill in the gaps between the laws are extremely subjective, handed down mostly from parents to children, with everyone emphasizing what they like and down-playing or discarding what they don't like.

And yet, society is still chugging away.

Jamie

curmudgeon

There's no "objective point" outside of society in which to define morality. Morality can ONLY be defined in the context of a society. "Society" being defined as two or more humans interacting in some manner.

If I lived alone on an island for my entire life, what use would I have for a moral code? Would I even HAVE a concept of morality?