A Moral Moral Dilemma

Aesthetic lifestyle blog

I guess it is hard in a way to compare the mindset of current society with people of another time period with the defining factor being "a modern world" considering when every world one is born into is a "modern" one. We can take substantive changes and compare them to global trends of course. For example we could look at the creation of the smart phone and connect that to communication and response time. And I suppose we can take that information and try and apply it to concepts like patience of the average human being at one time in history compared to another. It's a thought. But really what I am trying to get at is that these more intricate difficult to measure constructs that make up human nature and society as a whole are difficult to define. It's hard to determine their cause and really when we talk about change, in this sense, all we are doing is comparing one time period to another.

So that brings me to my current moral moral dilemma. I question whether human nature is to find one's moral beliefs through innate individual compasses or rather by external social pressures. In other words, nature vs. nurture?

From one point of view, we can determine a moral compass as something we are born with. It's just part of our personality, we can't help it and can't change it and it is just who we are. And yes, it is hard to argue against that because is our personality not truly based in the end on a subconscious moral field we may or may not be aware of.

But what if our morals are more closely aligned not to internal factors, but rather external ones. What if almost all of it is determined by our experiences and current environment and as humans we are more like imperfect, unique mirrors, reflecting back out what comes at us all in our own distinct way. And it is that reflection that we and others see as being our moral compass, sometimes more than others more obvious to the external eye. Yes, each mirror is different, and one could argue the waves in the mirror ARE the moral compass in itself, but that would be saying a perfectly flat, straight mirror is a perfect moral compass and we well know that just does not exist. Are we getting this metaphor or am I taking things too far?

Social activism for example. It is not that I don't believe there are many people that feel direly passionate about social activism. No of course, I think they most certainly do exist and feel so strongly about their beliefs and causes. Their inner mirror reflects the light of the exterior world out in that way of activism. But remember all of our inner mirrors have different divots, dents and cracks. So when we see an inflated number of activist fighting for a cause, could it be because there is also an inflated social pressure encouraging them to do so. For these people, the outside light comes from a different angle, a different depth and tone, and yet maybe it bounces off in a similar way of activism. Activism fueled by external pressures rather than internal beliefs. You, see? And in the end action is action. This person's moral compass to the external world is still the same. They might not even realize themselves it is any different. Either way it's quite similar to having two different processes to reach the same answer to an equation. Is that in itself morally wrong?

In this modern world, where for many that are privileged to live a life far easier and less desperate for survival than many generations, how has this effected the moral compass? This argument is not being made to dismiss the people in this world that have true desperation and struggle affecting them at this current moment. It is only to analyze the groups of people whose struggle is less than their ancestors of previous generations, who have even easier access to food, health care, technology and comfort. Is this group so privileged as to HAVE to adhere to a stricter moral compass than those from previous times? That with privilege comes even greater moral responsibility and likewise with less of it there is less. Is modern society as a whole expected to maintain a higher moral compass overall? This doesn't mean it is being met, nor does it determine what is morally correct because as I have tried to explain, that changes depending on each individual and their environment. But what we all do have in common is that we are alive right now in what is the world in 2025. The point of this article is not to criticize, ignore or exonerate any group in society. Simply it is a passing thought that has made its way to a "modern piece of paper" with the hopes that it may spark another thought, opinion or idea from others.