Two Kinds Of Morality Supply Two Kinds Of Understanding
Morality is the essence of understanding and thus life, but there are two kinds of morality— selfish and unselfish— and these obtain two different understandings:
An Unselfish Understanding Is Sane
An Unselfish Understanding is founded upon a set of values that places the private needs of the individual subservient to the needs of the community (like the Ten Commandments). This allows a constant and clear understanding free from the prejudice of private desires, and this is sanity. Hence
Sanity—is the ability to recognize right from wrong independently of private feelings. This in turn allows:
i. Rational Thinking—Disciplined to resist the influence of private feelings and so allow acceptance of truths that contradict fears and fancies.
ii. Self-Sacrifice—Recognition of the need to sacrifice self for the benefit of others.
—two qualities that must obtain the notions of:
Duty: what a citizen should and should not do, regardless of private feelings.
Justice: the belief that the dutiful be rewarded while the undutiful are punished.
Truth: the essential requirement of duty and justice, and independent of fears and fancies.
Knowledge: the correct and exact recording of events obtained by the accumulation of truth.
iii. A Sense Of Immortality:—Implicit in our personal acceptance of a social code is the notion that we are of less importance than the community; this means that we consider our personal well being inferior to the needs of the society. This allows us to face the prospect of death with some equanimity, because even though we know each one of us must eventually die, the most important thing —the community —survives.
A Single Shared Understanding—A Community
The result of sanity is a shared understanding—a Community: by being independent of the personal feelings of an individual a single set of values can be adopted by a group to form a single communal understanding, which allows them to act as one creature, an animal that is much stronger and cleverer than its individual members as it is empowered by:
Scientific Knowledge: the discoveries of citizens free from superstition, which are shared and remembered by all and so allow the creation of a rapidly increasing body of accurate information.
Common Purpose: the promotion of the well-being of all citizens. This gives us the will to resist, along with the determination to prevent, the accidents of life. Famine, pestilence, wars and natural disasters become inspirations for effort and activity, a spur to keep improving our technology and so protect our society.
Institutions: Enhanced by accumulated knowledge, empowered by public order, and inspired by duty, the society can organize itself to better win its objects by creating institutions. Observe all the institutions formed by the society first exist in citizens minds, which makes the organization of society a mental projection of its members.
A Selfish Understanding Is Insane
A selfish understanding is founded upon the value that self is paramount, and that right is what private feelings desire and wrong is what private feelings dislike. As feelings change with mood and circumstances, so must judgement, which can never be predictable or rational; which is insanity. Hence:
Insanity— is the inability to recognize right from wrong independently of private feelings because understanding is founded upon a set of values that sets private needs as paramount, subservient only to the demands of convenience. This obtains:
i. Irrational Thinking—As private feelings rule reason, so truth becomes what fears and fancies demand.
ii.Self-Seeking The pursuit of immediate gratification regardless of others.
—two qualities that must corrupt the notions of:
Duty as it becomes doing what is best for the immediate and private concerns of the understanding.
Justice being what the fears and fancies of the understanding demand from others.
Truth as observation becomes the servant of private fears and fancies.
Knowledge The corruption of truth results in the accumulation of delusions: superstition.
iii. A Sense Of Impending Doom — Implicit in selfishness is the realisation that the most valuable thing, self, is doomed to die. This means the selfish are haunted by notions of inevitable universal catastrophe that destroys everything.
No Single Shared Understanding — No Community
The impact of which must destroy any existing Community by inhibiting all achievements, allowing only the exploitation and destruction of the actual achievements of others, through:
Confusion: caused by notions of right and wrong varying with mood and circumstance.
Disorder: Opposing notions of right and wrong obtain implacably opposed groups of people within the community. For the crime of murder some may demand the death penalty, others may demand only a term of imprisonment, while others may believe the victim deserved death and the murderer merits reward. So regardless of the sentence imposed for the crime, an injustice will be seen to be done by all but one of the groups.
Delusion: Inability to resist the fears and fancies inspired by emotions must result in adoption of irrational notions: superstition.
Cowardice: A selfish character immediately retreats in the face of hardship as it demands private sacrifice. Without an unselfish perception the individual, and hence the community, cannot show resolution in the face of hardship.
Despair: Being concerned only with self and aware of the inevitable approach of their death, must obtain an ultimate feeling of futility and impending doom.
The Sanity Test
As the insane have no way of judging right from wrong except by their feelings, a simple test of sanity is the question:
How do you recognise right from wrong independently of your feelings?
Unless the truthful answer is an unselfish moral code, such as a religion, then insanity is demonstrated.
Conclusion
Sanity gives a clear meaning to life but it forces its devotees into a constant struggle to control their emotions as they suppress appetites that conflict with the stated code of behaviour. While Insanity imposes only the restraints of convenience on behaviour, otherwise licensing every animal urge, but it cannot supply any long term meaning to life.
| « NEXT » | « The Role Of Morality » | « Language IS Understanding » | « A Study Of Our Decline » |