I do not believe, but, up to a point, some basic assumptions are bound to be based on faith, or to be taken at face value, for the lack of a logical explanation that I can find. Which, incidentally, means that I do not believe that everything may be explained by a primordial cause. Some things are intrinsic, some aren't.
I have standards, principles, values. They do not change easily, but they are constantly evolving, in the process of being refined or redefined, however slowly that may be. They make the lens through which I see the world, give it meaning, and, eventually, are the basis upon which I may consider taking action. Whatever they may be, I do not consider them to be of any importance for anyone but myself. Because I do not consider that intents are of any consequence whatsoever. Acts are what really matter, and their consequences what really are. One is appreciated by one's own actions, whatever is backing them.
In this regard, I do not consider that things are intrinsically good or evil. Good and evil are notions that are largely irrelevant and always contingent. So, whatever my standards, principles or values may be, they are not intrinsically good nor evil. Nonetheless, they allow me to give meaning to the world I am living in, and provide me with a an idea of how this world should be. They allow me to elaborate strategies to change my world, to prioritize them, and to select the appropriate means to my ends. Once again, this process is mostly internal, and of no consequence whatsoever to anyone but myself. What is of importance are the actions I am actually taking, or not.
Furthermore, and however tempting solipsism may be, I also believe that I am not alone in my world. It is populated by others that are acting as I am: willingly, and intent on promoting their own visions of the world. With so many different points of view, while implementing one's own vision is a worthwhile objective, what truly becomes primordial is not to allow one's own vision basic tenets to be ignored or, worse, defeated.
So, ultimately, there is no good, there is no evil, there is only the world we are living in and what we will to make of it. Fully realising our will is not as primordial as to allow our core objectives to be reached. Of course, by taking this stance, what becomes important is how we distinguish between what is primordial and what is not, between what we cannot afford to loose and what we can. This difference is essentially a matter of personal standards, principles, values. We may consider that whatever goes against them is evil, and whatever promotes them is good, but we must remember that these qualities are essentially derived from personal values, and, per se relative.
Morality while being relative is not irrelevant. This is the tool we routinely use to simplify how our environment is in comparison to what we will it to be. I am not using the word will indiscriminately: to refine what I said above, while we may desire a different world, at the very least, we only will to change it not to loose the opportunity to see our desires come true. As we effect out will, gradually, we gather the means and provoke the circumstances to make the world as we want it to be according to our desires. This gradation comes from how we prioritize our values. Corollary: the closer we get to our ideal world, the more generally morally intransigent we become.
Other actors have their own morality and with so many perspectives on morality, we have to find some common ground. As we have already established that intents are irrelevant, what we are left with is what we may observe. So, how, instead of why, we are acting is of paramount importance. This is why manners matter so much. This is why know how is nothing once deprived of proper context. A polite society is a morale society.
While intents and motivations are irrelevant on a morale perspective, once expressed, they allow us to find similarly minded people. This expression, provided it is true, allows us to bind and group to aggregate our wills to reach a common goal.
I believe that expressing our intents and motivations is an action, be it in acts or words. So, while my intents and motivations are irrelevant, how I am expressing them is. This is why my word binds me when I am expressing my will in a polite society. In the eye of the beholder, there is nothing to say when I am expressing my will and when I am not. Therefore, in a polite society, my word is my bound. A morale society in an honourable society.
From what has been said earlier, we may deduce that to belong to a morale society, one has to observe manners, act consistently to avoid misinterpretations and take nothing from granted when effecting his own will. Therefore, a morale society is made of actors both both polite and honourable, erecting these values as a way of life.
I have standards, principles, values. They do not change easily, but they are constantly evolving, in the process of being refined or redefined, however slowly that may be. They make the lens through which I see the world, give it meaning, and, eventually, are the basis upon which I may consider taking action. Whatever they may be, I do not consider them to be of any importance for anyone but myself. Because I do not consider that intents are of any consequence whatsoever. Acts are what really matter, and their consequences what really are. One is appreciated by one's own actions, whatever is backing them.
In this regard, I do not consider that things are intrinsically good or evil. Good and evil are notions that are largely irrelevant and always contingent. So, whatever my standards, principles or values may be, they are not intrinsically good nor evil. Nonetheless, they allow me to give meaning to the world I am living in, and provide me with a an idea of how this world should be. They allow me to elaborate strategies to change my world, to prioritize them, and to select the appropriate means to my ends. Once again, this process is mostly internal, and of no consequence whatsoever to anyone but myself. What is of importance are the actions I am actually taking, or not.
Furthermore, and however tempting solipsism may be, I also believe that I am not alone in my world. It is populated by others that are acting as I am: willingly, and intent on promoting their own visions of the world. With so many different points of view, while implementing one's own vision is a worthwhile objective, what truly becomes primordial is not to allow one's own vision basic tenets to be ignored or, worse, defeated.
So, ultimately, there is no good, there is no evil, there is only the world we are living in and what we will to make of it. Fully realising our will is not as primordial as to allow our core objectives to be reached. Of course, by taking this stance, what becomes important is how we distinguish between what is primordial and what is not, between what we cannot afford to loose and what we can. This difference is essentially a matter of personal standards, principles, values. We may consider that whatever goes against them is evil, and whatever promotes them is good, but we must remember that these qualities are essentially derived from personal values, and, per se relative.
Morality while being relative is not irrelevant. This is the tool we routinely use to simplify how our environment is in comparison to what we will it to be. I am not using the word will indiscriminately: to refine what I said above, while we may desire a different world, at the very least, we only will to change it not to loose the opportunity to see our desires come true. As we effect out will, gradually, we gather the means and provoke the circumstances to make the world as we want it to be according to our desires. This gradation comes from how we prioritize our values. Corollary: the closer we get to our ideal world, the more generally morally intransigent we become.
Other actors have their own morality and with so many perspectives on morality, we have to find some common ground. As we have already established that intents are irrelevant, what we are left with is what we may observe. So, how, instead of why, we are acting is of paramount importance. This is why manners matter so much. This is why know how is nothing once deprived of proper context. A polite society is a morale society.
While intents and motivations are irrelevant on a morale perspective, once expressed, they allow us to find similarly minded people. This expression, provided it is true, allows us to bind and group to aggregate our wills to reach a common goal.
I believe that expressing our intents and motivations is an action, be it in acts or words. So, while my intents and motivations are irrelevant, how I am expressing them is. This is why my word binds me when I am expressing my will in a polite society. In the eye of the beholder, there is nothing to say when I am expressing my will and when I am not. Therefore, in a polite society, my word is my bound. A morale society in an honourable society.
From what has been said earlier, we may deduce that to belong to a morale society, one has to observe manners, act consistently to avoid misinterpretations and take nothing from granted when effecting his own will. Therefore, a morale society is made of actors both both polite and honourable, erecting these values as a way of life.
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