Morality is one of the most important topics that humanity has ever wrestled with. It is central to how we live our lives, how we treat one another, and how we structure our societies and ideology's. Despite its importance, morality remains an issue, with some arguing that it is entirely subjective while others hold that it is objective. I will argue that morality is objective.
First and foremost, we must define what we mean by morality.
Because of the lack of others, I will define morality as the set of principles that lead/govern human behavior and guide us in our interactions with others. Hopefully, everyone can agree on this definition.
These principles can be grounded in religion, philosophy, or culture, but they all share the same common goal:
To help us live together in harmony and pursue our goals in a way that benefits us all.
Now, some people argue that morality is entirely subjective, that it is just a matter of personal preference or cultural norms. They argue that what is right or wrong is determined solely by what an individual or a society makes it to be. However, this view is completely false.
If morality were subjective, then we would have no way of resolving moral arguments. We could not say that anything is truly right or wrong, good or evil. We would have no basis for judging the actions of others or making moral decisions ourselves. We already as humans have a basis in what we see as good or bad. No one disputes this.
On the other hand, if morality is objective, then we can make meaningful moral judgments. We can say that certain actions are truly right or wrong, good or evil, regardless of what individuals or societies might think. This is the definition of morality in a basic concept.
There actually is evidence to suggest that morality is objective. Studies have shown that people across cultures share certain moral intuitions, such as the belief that it is wrong to harm innocent people or that fairness and reciprocity are important values.
Moreover, if we look at the history of moral philosophy, we can see that there are certain moral principles that have been held as objective truths across cultures and time periods. For example, the principle of non-maleficence, which holds that we should not harm others, has been a central tenet of moral philosophy since the time of the ancient Greeks.
Morality is indeed objective. It is not a matter of personal preference or cultural norms but is grounded in universal moral principles that are independent of individual or societal beliefs.
