Some say that nothing we do is absolutely right or wrong. It is more a matter of personal subjective feeling. What is right for you may not be right for me. We do not want rigid and inflexible rules. The idea of right and wrong sounds like a moral judgment. However, others hold that there are universal and timeless principles of right and wrong.
Thinking in terms of right and wrong is too polarized?
Right and wrong in public life
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, stepped down from his royal duties following accusations about his association with someone who procured teenagers for sex. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was seeking votes in the current general election, faced criticism for his apparent lack of veracity. These examples show that the public expects people in the spotlight to follow ethical standards of conduct. This is true even if an alleged misdemeanor does not violate the law.
The law defines what is right and what is wrong. None of us can hope to get away with killing, stealing or sexually assaulting others without being prosecuted in court.
However, the law is not inflexible. In assessing possible wrongdoing, courts realize that what is socially appropriate and inappropriate will vary depending on the circumstances. So stealing or killing can sometimes be the right thing to do, for example taking a knife from a hooligan or a bottle from a drunkard, or killing for one’s country in battle combat.
Good and bad in private life
We assume that what we feel is good must be correct. It’s good for me to do well at work and get a promotion. So you could justify anything in favor of this. How to shamelessly take credit for a good idea a coworker first brought up.
We have different ideas about what is good and therefore we have different values. Consequently, to some extent, we have our own ideas about what is right and what is wrong.
You can agree that:
“Nothing characterizes a mean and petty soul so much as the love of riches.” (Roman speaker, Marcus Cicero)
But it is clear, that according to the world of advertising and consumerism, the right thing to do is to have the best things, the latest technology, the most elegant clothes, in fact, any possessions associated with being known, successful and attractive.
Values can involve what we call moral principles. This goes beyond valuing the approval of others or avoiding adverse consequences for us. Examples include doing what is decent, not betraying a friend, and acting sincerely without deception. Many would say that while food is enjoyable, eating should have as your primary goal being healthy and sharing a meal. One principle that people follow is to try to act in moderation and exercise self-control. Likewise, we can believe that acting courageously in the face of adversity is difficult but correct.
Where do moral principles come from?
Culture instills the honorable. From courage in battle, honesty in communication, social justice in adversity, and compassion in disaster.
However, cultural values differ both over time and geographically. Good and evil seem to change all the time. Cannibalism, public torture, and blood sports were widely accepted in many societies in the past. These are now considered incorrect.
We have had enough of the problems of colonialism, fascism and communism, the destruction of the natural environment in the name of progress and unfettered technology, the horrors of modern warfare, and spiritual poverty and alienation from mass consumerism. All things that have arisen from what has been said to be correct in politics, economics, or philosophy.
So we come back to the question “Is there any timeless right or wrong, or do all ethical codes remain open to change as cultures and circumstances change?”
Universal spiritual guidelines
Students of religion have pointed out that there are moral guidelines common to the world’s major religions, such as those dealing with moderation, honesty, sincerity, and sexual restraint. These can be found, for example, in the scriptures of all Eastern religions, as well as in the depths of the errors listed in the Ten Commandments of the Judeo-Christian biblical tradition.
Furthermore, there is a universal ‘golden rule’ of doing to others what we want them to do to us. The Buddha made this principle one of the cornerstones of his ethics and loving your neighbor is central to the message of Christ.
All of this is far from the idea that the only thing that is right is what we subjectively feel inside and live our lives as we please.
The personal advantage and the virtuous can drag us in different directions. Anyone who defines what is right only in terms of what serves self-interest is not using moral integrity as a guide. I would suggest that we must acknowledge an internal conflict. The battle between the self-justifications of selfishness and, on the other hand, an awareness of good and evil that arises from a higher truth.
Right and wrong and spiritual values
Spiritual values do not translate as hard and fast rules. Christ spoke of sexual immorality as wrong, but did not define this in practice other than mentioning adultery.
Sometimes it is not clear how to follow the spiritual guidelines, but with reflection I would say that we can find the way forward.
I would suggest that we must understand why what is good is good and why what is bad is bad. Fortunately, we can use our human conscience and our discernment according to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. In this sense, spiritual principles are the guides for a truly ethical life, not only applying a set of thoughtless, insensitive and rigid moral injunctions to every circumstance one encounters.
“If modernist naturalism were true, there would be no objective truth outside of science. In that case, good and evil would be a matter of cultural preference, or political power, and the power already available to modernist ideologies would be overwhelming.” Phillip E. Johnson (law professor and co-founder of the Intelligent Design Movement).
