Hartley1

GraceHartley
Prof.Bettridge
FreshmanInquiry
WhyBeMoral?
TheMoralCompassandInherentNorth
Ifsomeoneweretoaskyouwhetherornotyouwantedtobeamathematicianoranartist,
andyouhadtomakeadecisionandanswerthemforagrade,whatwouldyoubaseyourdecision
offof?Isthisacalculusclass?Asculptureclass?Doestheteacherloveboxandwhiskerplots
andprotractors,orFrenchfilmandhairdye?Whatwouldbeamorelucrativecareer,anyway?
Howwouldyourparentsfeelaboutit?Yourfriends?Whatwouldthecoolkidwhoisalwaysso
quietinclassdo?Whyarentthesequestionsyieldingsatisfyinganswers?
The
questionitselfisverysimpleandtheanswerineffablyelusive.Theparallelhere,is
thatartandmath,moralityandimmorality,bothhavetheirfunctions.Theyaredifferentinthese
functions,andmanyargueintheirvalueaswellwhatwouldlifebewithoutthetheater?
Withouttheengineeringtobuildthetheater?Withoutthemorallessonattheendoftheplay?
Withouttheincitingcrimeatthebeginning?Theyallhavesuchimportantroles,andevery
arguingsidehasitsvalidity,itscompellingreasoning.However,reasoningaloneisnotthe
reason.
Thequestionis,
Whoareyou?
Theaimisnottoturnoneselfintoanartistor
mathematician,buttoletyourselfbecomewhatsincerityleadsyouto.Theaimisnottobemoral
orimmoral,butyourtruestself.Moralityorimmoralitywillfollownaturally.
Butmoralityis
morality
itcantbeabandonedinfavoroftheselfissuchafair,
arguableclaim.Moralityoffersstructuretosocietyitisanembraceablebarrierbetweenour
chaoticdesiresandcivilisedlifeitistherebuttaltorampantcrimeandunrestrainedgreeditis

Hartley2

thesafetyblanketthatsoneatlycoverstheunsavoryimpulsesofthemasses.Kantstates...an
agentproposestotakeunfairadvantageofhisneighbors...iftheywerealltoactthisway,it
woulddestroyhispurposeforsoacting...(299).Yourpersonalideologymustworkfor
everyone.Ifpeopleweretofunctionregardlessofothers,therewouldbesocietalcollapse.In
theory,aworldwithoutconventionalmoralorderandthesocialpressurereinforcingit,would
belongtoanimals.Establishmentsmaintainingcivilorderwouldbeignoredandabandoned
anythingofworthlooted,peoplemurdered(accidentallyandintentionally).Ageneralreturnto
theDarkAgeswithbrandnewtechnologyandmaterialismtofuelthechaosandwithoutthe
omnipotentinfluenceofthechurch.
Asidefromtheobviousexternalbenefits,theinherentbenefitsofmoralityoffer,more
thananything,peace.Whybemoralorgood?Thingslikebeauty,pleasure,moralitytheyhave
nodefinitivemeasure.Thepresenceofthesethingssimplyevokeinusafeelingwealwayswant
tofeelsomethingpurerthansatisfaction,morefulfillingthansuccesswhatfuelsthedesirefor
thisineffable,humanfeelingisanyonesguess,andwhiletheoriginofthesedesiresare
debatable,theirpowerisnot.McGinnconfrontsaterrifyingquestionwithaverysimpleanswer:
Becausegoodnessisgood.(95)Theconceptofvirtuemayhavebeenskewedandalteredby
societalinfluences,butitgoesbacktoaninnateunderstandingthemomenthumansknewthey
couldaffecthoweachotherlivedineventhetiniestways,therewasthedesiretoaffecteach
otherinpositiveways.Ofcourse,sometimesmoralitygetsinthewayofwhatwejustwanttodo
whynotsleepwithyourbestfriendsspouseiftheyreattractive?Stealmoneybecauseyou
needit?Whydenyyourselfwhatyouwant?

Hartley3

Moralityhasthesevaluesthatmayswaypeopletoactinwaystheydontwishtoact,but
arecompelledtoact.Isthisunnaturalaction,evenifitisconsideredconventionallymoral,
right
?
Itisanissueofdenialsomeonewillbedeniedofwhattheywant.Perhapsyouwishtobean
artist,andyourparentwishesforyoutobeamathematiciansomeone'swisheswillbedenied.
Whyshouldthewishesofyouparentsbesomuchmoreimportantthanyourwishes,especially
whenthewishaffectsyousoprofoundly?
Obviously,therehavebeenclaimsthatthevalueofmoralitylieinitsmaintenanceof
socialorder,whichthetrulysuccessfulareabletoexploit.InAmerica,thecapitalistsocialorder
includesclassseparationtherichcontinuetogetricherandmoreprivileged,whythemiddle
classslidesgraduallyintopoverty.The1%doesnotmaketheirmoneyinmoral,virtuousways.
Theupperechelonsaresuccessfulandpowerfulbecausetheyhaveabandonedtheantiquated,
confiningideasofmorality.Glauconspeaksoftheimmoralpoliticalfigure,hecantradeand
dealwherehelikes,andalwaystohisownadvantage,becausehehasnomisgivingsabout
injustice...(537).Moralitycanbedescribedasanobstaclepainisunavoidableinlife,andthe
coincidentalinflictionofpainonanotheristrivialinthepursuitofhappiness.Theobligationto
limityourambitionforothersisadelusionthatonlytheauspiciouscantranscend,whilethe
fearfulandtimidaretrappedcateringtothecomfortofothersinsteadoftheirown.Thiskindof
prosperityisopentoanyonewhocangetpasttherestrictingideaofempathy.McGinnmight
arguethatthismaterialsuccessisnottrulysatisfyingorsubstantialvirtueisrewardingona
spirituallevel.Thisisanemptyargument,asthehumanspiritisjustascloudedinspeculationas
thehumanconsciousness.Humansunderstandingofthisundefinedcomponentofourselvesis
subjective.Whydenounceimmediate,massproducedpleasure?Itssubstanceandsatisfying

Hartley4

qualitiesaredeterminedbytheindividualswhoconsumeit.Thehuman,nothumanity,is
responsiblefortheircontentment.
Obviously,bothconventionalmoralityandimmoralitycanbeviewedfrominnumerable
perspectives.Thetruevalueofeitherissubjectivebecausetherearevirtuallynouniversal
morallaws,theyrespeculationisdependentupontheviewsofanindividual.Thus,thedeciding
factorinthepursuitofvirtueistheindividualeachindividualmustpursuewhatismostprecious
tothem,throughwhatevermethodismostfulfillingtothem.Somemayarguethiswouldleadto
aworldofegotistsandcriminalsbankingontheexcuseofsincerity,orthatwithomnipotent
societalinfluence,thesinceredesiresofanindividualwillneverbediscovered.Thefirst
argumentisfoundedontheideathatallhumansarenotonlynaturallycorrupt,buttheyareall
fulfilledbydoingwhatiseasiesttothem.Forexample,somepeoplemaywishtopursuemoney,
andtheirnaturalmethodofchoiceisthroughcrime.Afractionofthesepeoplewillbesatisfied
byalifeoflucrativecrime,whilesomewillexpectmoreofthemselves,andonlybesatisfied
withlegallyearnedincome.Theuniquewillofeachpersonisimportantthecriminalwill
provideajobforpoliceofficers,lawyers,judges,maybereportersevenothercriminals.The
justworkerwillsupportthestructureofthesysteminhisownwayaswell,whileeachwillfind
themselvespersonallyfulfilledforwhateveramountoftimetheyareabletopursuetheir
perceivedpurpose.
Thatbeingsaid,understandingwhatissincere,whatiseasy,orwhatissocietalinfluence
canbenearlyimpossibleforsome.Thereisnodefinitivemethodforunderstandingoneself,or
evenhowtobegin.Thenatureofthepursuititselfischallengingtodiscernsomewoulddefine
itasspiritualjourneyrequiringintensemeditation,anemotionalendeavortouncoverwhat

Hartley5

bringsgenuinepleasure,amentalchallengerequiringresearchandanalysis,asociological
attempttoseparateoneselffromsociety,etc...Whatmaybehelpfultoconsideristhethought
thattheidentityofahumanbeingcannotbepinpointedinoneexperienceoronepartofthe
brain.Thereisnomemoryorsectionofbraintissuewhereapsychologistorneurologistcould
pointandsay,Thatsit.Thatswhoyouare.Wearethesumofmanythousandsofsynaptic
firingsandpastdecisions.Logically,themethodforunderstandingourselveswouldbejustas
complexandtheprocessforcreatingourselvesitshouldinvolveaspiritual,emotional,mental,
andsociologicalcomponent,alongwithmanyothers.
Theseeffortswouldleadeventuallytoapersonwhoisselfsatisfieddrawingtheir
pleasurefromaninternalsource.Whiletheywouldstillbeaffectedbythemoralityor
immoralityofothers,theiroverallcontentmentinlifewouldbestable.Ofcourse,theseareonly
conjectures,asasocietyofthisnaturedoesnotexistyet,ormayneverexist.Simplyconsiderthe
discontentofapersonwhodeniesthemselveswhattheytrulydesireinlifeastentativeevidence.
So,onceagain,considerthequestionwhetheryouwishtobeamathematicianoranartist.
Meditateonwhichwouldmakeyouhappierandwhy,howimportantmoneyistoyouandwhy,
andifyouchoosetoansweritandwhy.Intheend,youmaysincerelyfindyourselftobeawriter
instead.

Hartley6

WorksCited
Feldman,Fred."KantianEthics."
KantianandDeontologicalSystems
.Print.
Jowett,Benjamin."WhyBeMoral?"
TheDialoguesofPlato
.NewYork:RandomHouse,
1937.Print.
McGinn,Colin.
MoralLiteracy,Or,HowtoDotheRightThing
.London:Duckworth,
1992.Print.