Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedCan morals survive in the present day world?
Results so far:
| Yes | 60% | 3 votes | Total: 5 votes | |
| No | 40% | 2 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesIn my opinion morals will undoubtedly survive in the modern day world. But not those morals that used to exist in an unabridged format. Morals are constantly changing as times change, but they will always remain a part of society until the end of civilization, as they serve a valuable social function and are necessary in maintaining social stability and order.
Humans are not easily controlled. That being said there are methods to, to a good percent, control a society to within a good degree. But there will always be rebel elements within this society. No matter how hard line your religious or political policies are on antisocial or 'evil' behaviour, there will remain some who disobey these norms. So morals are necessary for keeping those who do obey social norms obeying said norms.
Morals will never die in my opinion, only change. Adaption is part of the evolution process, and in a scientific context such as ours evolution is law. In a universe governed by action and reaction everything is essentially part of one large constantly changing entity, or at least as far as the known universe stretches it remains as such. Thus all things change.
But this also means nothing is destroyed, only changed to another thing. Morals, serving as they do an important social function, are not going to be put away any time soon, and will rather adapt to society's changing ways. This may be looked upon as being good or bad but the fact remains that society is an ever changing entity, and its morals will always change too.
In the modern world the morals of yesteryear are certainly in jeopardy, or have been warped to an unrecognizable state. Some have changed for the better, and some for the worse. It would take a very outspoken person to argue that women getting the vote was not a good thing and that teenagers using drugs a good thing. But society has always had its rebel elements. There have always been those who disobey morals and social norms, and there will always be such individuals and groups.
Morals keep the rest of society from straying into such places. Thus they will survive, but in a changed format. In my opinion most of this change has been bad, but if people had disliked it then it would not have succeeded in the observed fashion. Is there still time to go back from this change for the worse in those areas affected in a bad way by changing times? This is unlikely, as once a change has happened it is difficult to reverse it.
Learn more about this author, Mark Waybill.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
There is a crisis of morality in our society. We have moved away from a modernist philosophy of constants and absolutes. We have instead moved toward a post-modern philosophy of relativism and subjectivity that already has degenerated morality at it's core. Morality by nature must be metaphysically absolute. When we start to tell ourselves that it isn't, when we go against our consciences and moral law, we slowly kill any viable sense of morality in culture. There is that rationale that we are simply changing our morality from generation to generation. However, I propose that these changes are exactly what is degenerating morality all together making it hard to survive in our current society. I think in general morality will not completely die off as there will always be a people group that will try to stand fast to their morals and values, but as a whole in this over arching society of ours, morality assuredly has been gasping for air.
First, consider the incredible amount of people that our in our prison systems. Prisons are overflowing with people who have stolen, killed, raped, and committed every other crime under the sun. We have some of the most crime ridden cities in the world. We've been trying to clean up these cities, but it doesn't seem to help much. There is no anchor, no value system, no real societal message for people to cling to anymore. Their moral system is broken. Thus, our society suffers under its weight.
Second, we have accepted and embraced the philosophy of moral relativism, which ultimately isn't a morality at all. Morality demands some type of structure, system, and code. If my morality isn't your morality and that spans across thousands of people, then there is no morality at all. With this there is no absolute or universal message that we can really spread to keep morality in society. With no anchor for a society to grasp to then they have to come up with their own devices to survive in the violent waters. Morality struggles to survive.
Third, any sense of morality or values in our society seems to be more of a smoke screen. People try to say they have values to show others they have some kind of character, but in reality they rarely actually hold to these values. No one wants to be held to any system. Humanity is a rebellious race. Morality had once held weight as a strong backbone to society, but now it's just used as a way to trick people into thinking your a good person. Morality has not real value or meaning anymore. Thus, what relevancy does it have anymore? None.
We live in a world full of violence, corruption, wickedness, and death that happens every second of everyday. Morality holds no weight anymore. It's practically scoffed at as out dated and old fashioned. Unless future generations rethink our current philosophy on morality, I have trouble thinking that morality will survive in the present day world.
Learn more about this author, Logan Mansfield.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Social Values & Norms
- Is humanity obsessed with technology?
- Were the 'good old days' really that good?
- Does the erosion of moral values also erode the strength of our society?
- Is picking through garbage demeaning?
- Are changes in society always better?
- Is modern human behavoir a result of human nature or the environment?
