MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Seriousness Without repercussions, would we have morals?

afa · 07-21-2010, 04:03 AM

I had a little discussion with some friends the other day.

Let's say you knew the world is ending in a week. All life would cease to exist. The reasons don't matter; nuclear war, giant comet/asteroid, self-destruction caused by that thing in the air from Shyamalan's The Happening (horrible movie, by the way).

What wouldn't you do? I don't ask what would you do, because each of us probably have a thousand things we would (like to) do. What wouldn't you do? Steal? Kill? Pillage and plunder?

There are a lot of things most of us do not do because it's 'wrong'. But why is it wrong? Certainly one reason is that if I, say, steal my neighbour's car, it's wrong because I am unfairly depriving him of something that is rightfully his. He worked for it, he earned it, he bought it. And I'm taking that away from him. Repercussions, in other words.

The thought of repercussions (both to yourself, and others) are, I feel, a large part of what motivates us to live a life with morals and ethics. But if the world is ending, are there repercussions? It seems to me that the repercussions are, at best, minimal. I've always wanted to own a Ferrari. So what's stopping me from going down to my nearest dealer, smashing the windows and driving off with a gorgeous 599 GTB? And if someone tries to stop me, I'll whip out my handy Swiss army knife and stab him in his doomed little heart. The world's ending in a few days, anyway, so where's the harm?

So what wouldn't you do. More importantly, why? I'll go first: (assuming the disclaimer that I might change my mind depending on someone's given example.) Nothing. I think I'll do anything and everything that I feel like. And I realise that calls my moral character into question. (Or does it...? Perhaps there is no such thing as morality in this scenario.)

NOTE: I don't want to discuss this from the point of view of religion or God. Not because I have anything against them, but because that would be a pretty open and shut case. Don't steal because it's a sin. Done and dusted. In the interest of debate, let's leave religious beliefs out of it.

07-21-2010, 04:03 AM	#1
afa The Forgotten Posts: 1,136 Karma: 4689999 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dubai Device: Kindle Paperwhite; Nook HD; Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	Without repercussions, would we have morals? I had a little discussion with some friends the other day. Let's say you knew the world is ending in a week. All life would cease to exist. The reasons don't matter; nuclear war, giant comet/asteroid, self-destruction caused by that thing in the air from Shyamalan's The Happening (horrible movie, by the way). What wouldn't you do? I don't ask what would you do, because each of us probably have a thousand things we would (like to) do. What wouldn't you do? Steal? Kill? Pillage and plunder? There are a lot of things most of us do not do because it's 'wrong'. But why is it wrong? Certainly one reason is that if I, say, steal my neighbour's car, it's wrong because I am unfairly depriving him of something that is rightfully his. He worked for it, he earned it, he bought it. And I'm taking that away from him. Repercussions, in other words. The thought of repercussions (both to yourself, and others) are, I feel, a large part of what motivates us to live a life with morals and ethics. But if the world is ending, are there repercussions? It seems to me that the repercussions are, at best, minimal. I've always wanted to own a Ferrari. So what's stopping me from going down to my nearest dealer, smashing the windows and driving off with a gorgeous 599 GTB? And if someone tries to stop me, I'll whip out my handy Swiss army knife and stab him in his doomed little heart. The world's ending in a few days, anyway, so where's the harm? So what wouldn't you do. More importantly, why? I'll go first: (assuming the disclaimer that I might change my mind depending on someone's given example.) Nothing. I think I'll do anything and everything that I feel like. And I realise that calls my moral character into question. (Or does it...? Perhaps there is no such thing as morality in this scenario.) NOTE: I don't want to discuss this from the point of view of religion or God. Not because I have anything against them, but because that would be a pretty open and shut case. Don't steal because it's a sin. Done and dusted. In the interest of debate, let's leave religious beliefs out of it.