Why is murder actually wrong.

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@Lit
Presently, but life can't sustain itself that way on its own. There needs to be the reproduction of life to continue that way of sustaining. It isn't by feeding on dead things then that life sustains itself, but by reproduction.
Please explain how "reproduction" doesn't require dead things.
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@MarkWebberFan
To that end, I ought to refrain from murdering someone.
Yes.  Killing another human is traumatic.  Even when it's clearly self-defense.
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@Lit
Or do we see the animal kingdom punishing for acts we would consider undoubtedly virtuous?
A mother lion that tries to protect her cubs from a new pride leader will be attacked by the pride leader (de facto king).
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@EtrnlVw
...without justification or valid excuse,
I'm not sure what you mean by "justification" and or "valid excuse".
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@EtrnlVw
They don't, because they never made a choice. You took their choice, they didn't take yours. When you murder, only one party has made a choice. 
Do you think that two people can BOTH attempt to murder each other at the same time?
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@EtrnlVw
Does not negate the objective fact you took another beings will from them.
Is murder the only way to "take another beings will from them"?

Are there other, perhaps slightly more subtle forms of coercion?
Lit
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@3RU7AL
Presently, but life can't sustain itself that way on its own. There needs to be the reproduction of life to continue that way of sustaining. It isn't by feeding on dead things then that life sustains itself, but by reproduction.
Please explain how "reproduction" doesn't require dead things.
We do not reproduce so that we can kill, we kill so that we can reproduce. Even a just murder doesn't necessitate it becoming good, because life should always hope to beget life and not take it. I would say nature herself upholds this aspiration and avoidance. Most animals are known to not kill more than needed.
Lit
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@3RU7AL
Or do we see the animal kingdom punishing for acts we would consider undoubtedly virtuous?
A mother lion that tries to protect her cubs from a new pride leader will be attacked by the pride leader (de facto king).
If one can call this a punishment, then it is a different type. The new pride leader isn't attacking to knock the mother's instinct to protect her offspring out of her. I doubt that's his plan, and if it is, he fails.
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@Checkmate
Murder isn't "actually" wrong.

It has been generally decided that it is sometimes a social wrong.

Nonetheless, the taking of life is an inevitability irrespective of social decisions, and murder is only one category thereof.

Hence..... Shooting the bloke across the road is murder, first degree, second degree, justifiable, manslaughter etc...Shooting a bloke across the road in Afghanistan is  worthwhile..... Shooting the chicken crossing the road is yummie or disgusting...... And having an abortion down the road...is or isn't legally permissible.

Categories Categories......Decisions Decisions.

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@Checkmate
Subjectivism  

According to subjectivism, to say that something is wrong is to claim that you personally disapprove of it. The problems with this is that murders would technically be justified as they believed what they did was right. 
Bad framing. When people follow through with immoral acts, they themselves consider it immoral most of the time.
Including murder.

Emotivism (My personal go-to) 

According to emotivism, to say something is wrong is not to make a claim at all. It is simply express personal disapproval. The problem with this is that it essentially eradicates the idea of morality as a whole. 
How do you define morality? 
Morality how I see it is the distinction between moral and immoral. Not what is moral and immoral. If that makes sense.


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Your depictions of subjectivism are incorrect as you are trying to use a subjective framework to derive an objective answer. Rather subjectivism says that actions have no moral component without including some sort of judgement framework. You would not say that the Romans were wrong, rather you would say that slavery is not immoral within the Roman moral framework but is immoral within a modern moral framework.

So to answer your question, murder is wrong today because we say it is today.
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@Checkmate
Yes, but why is it wrong? Why is killing a homo sapien wrong as opposed to killing a pigeon, which is right. 
Unfortunately, for English at least, this is where the conversation splits. "Murder" is defined as humans killing humans, and almost always with the subtext of "intent" (accidental killing is rarely referred to as murder). "Killing" is anytime you take a life, and it doesn't have to be a human or an animal to be killed either... Or even living, now, that I think about it (kill the power, kill the music, etc.).

Kinda semantical, but I honestly think we make this distinction for the sake of intelligent conversation. We have to have words somewhere 🤷

So, referring to your original question, were you looking for why "murder" or all "killing" is wrong?
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@Checkmate
That “murder” is wrong is a circular proposition. “Murder” is a crime under legal systems; A particular type of homicide which a society has found to be wrong and thus outlawed. The question may as well be “Why is wrongful homicide wrong?” Well, you are going to have to be a bit more specific and get in to the particular types of homicides and defenses to get the answers I think you really want.

KeLu777
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@Sum1hugme
Evoking The Natural Law is great because you don't even have to believe in/agree with it to draw for it's truth. It outlines the principal that practically all peoples and individuals have agreed that murder is wrong.

However, all civilizations have, at very least, participated in war (and not having executions is kind of a new thing, anyway). So all these people have made excuses to justify murder. Indeed, throughout the history of law and order, it is very rare to find someone who admits to murder and does not present a justification. And you're unlikely to find a murderer who asserted that murder is never wrong, only that theirs might not have been.

We can infer these things:

  1. The wrongness of murder is so universal that most human being were actually able to agree upon something for thousands of years, without sharing language, country, religion, relation, etc. That's huge!
  2. The act of excusing murder is also universal, and much more self evident, but does not hinder the Law from being presented as a universal. 
The answer to why, or even if murder is wrong, must reflect both of these realities.
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@KeLu777
The wrongness of murder is an a priori principle that we apply to particular situations.
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@Checkmate
What makes murder wrong is that it is not victimless.  If there is no victim, there is no crime.  But there is a victim for murder.  So murder should be banned.

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Murder is wrong because it sabotages everyone involved, you are net harmed by the action.
3RU7AL
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@Death23
That “murder” is wrong is a circular proposition. “Murder” is a crime under legal systems; A particular type of homicide which a society has found to be wrong and thus outlawed. The question may as well be “Why is wrongful homicide wrong?” Well, you are going to have to be a bit more specific and get in to the particular types of homicides and defenses to get the answers I think you really want.
Well stated.
3RU7AL
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@Lit
Or do we see the animal kingdom punishing for acts we would consider undoubtedly virtuous?
A mother lion that tries to protect her cubs from a new pride leader will be attacked by the pride leader (de facto king).
If one can call this a punishment, then it is a different type. The new pride leader isn't attacking to knock the mother's instinct to protect her offspring out of her. I doubt that's his plan, and if it is, he fails.
The point here is that "nature" punishes all kinds of "virtuous" behavior.
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@Lit
Presently, but life can't sustain itself that way on its own. There needs to be the reproduction of life to continue that way of sustaining. It isn't by feeding on dead things then that life sustains itself, but by reproduction.
Please explain how "reproduction" doesn't require dead things.
We do not reproduce so that we can kill, we kill so that we can reproduce. Even a just murder doesn't necessitate it becoming good, because life should always hope to beget life and not take it. I would say nature herself upholds this aspiration and avoidance. Most animals are known to not kill more than needed.
Most animals avoid killing their own kind (unless they are forced to compete for resources).

However, all creatures require death in order to live (except perhaps algae).
Conway
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@Checkmate
Subjectivism  

According to subjectivism, to say that something is wrong is to claim that you personally disapprove of it. The problems with this is that murders would technically be justified as they believed what they did was right. 

Inter-subjectivism

According to inter-subjectivism, to say something is wrong is to claim your community disapproves of it. The problem with this is that communities may be wrong, as the Roman Catholics endorsed slavery, an unacceptable practice in todays world.  

Emotivism (My personal go-to) 

According to emotivism, to say something is wrong is not to make a claim at all. It is simply express personal disapproval. The problem with this is that it essentially eradicates the idea of morality as a whole. 

Religion 

Personally, I view this standpoint un-kindly, as it simply just postpones the mystery and is the "lazy way out" of what would be a fruitful discussion.


 I have one question. Are things wrong because they are wrong, or are they wrong because God says they are wrong. 
When you may say with sincerity that something is wrong, you have already acknowledged that something else is right. 

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@Conway
When you may say with sincerity that something is wrong, you have already acknowledged that something else is right. 
This doesn't address things such as murder. Surely, sending someone to death is not right on the basis that you believe it is wrong. 

35 days later

Jasmine
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Because it hurts people.
Polytheist-Witch
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Consent in all things. Murder is taking someone's life without their consent. That is why it's wrong.  
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@Jasmine
Because it hurts people.
Buying ice-cream hurts people.
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@Polytheist-Witch
I think that taking someone's life with their consent is generally,  also regarded as wrong.....Notwithstanding extreme situations of legally assisted euthanasia, and socially approved armed conflict...... To name but two instances of selective morality....

Abortion being a third of course....Now there's a can of selectively moral worms that's always open.


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Being told that a higher power says murder is wrong is the only thing that makes murder wrong in the collective eyes of humanity. Your fear of punishment is the only reason you don't commit crimes like murder, not because you think it is wrong. The only thing that prevents pedophiles and rapists from being murdered is fear of punishment for murdering them. No one and I mean no one could convince me that it would be wrong to murder rapists and pedophiles, not now not ever. Not even a higher power like God.
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@sadolite
Are you familiar with the television show "DEXTER"?
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@zedvictor4
Now there's a can of selectively moral worms that's always open.
Well stated.
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@zedvictor4
I think that taking someone's life with their consent is generally,  also regarded as wrong.....Notwithstanding extreme situations of legally assisted euthanasia, and socially approved armed conflict...... To name but two instances of selective morality....

Abortion being a third of course....Now there's a can of selectively moral worms that's always open

I think it's our right to end our lives ourselves if we see fit. The unborn are not people yet.  War is nothing but murder. Choosing to join and possibly dying is a right. Legally we waive prosecuting soldiers for conflict since they are rarely the instigators.