The 21 Century: Being Moral In The 21st Century

Being Moral in the 21st Century

Being moral in an ever-growing and continually changing world is no easy task, notably when there is no specific rules or guidelines to follow. If one were to ask specifically what is morality, Appiah would express that living a moral life is living an “eudaimonia,” (Aristotle) or the idea of the highest good, normally translates into “happiness,” or “flourishing” (402). Living a life to the highest good is a very vague answer, considering everyone’s definition of good is different, and everyone has a different view of happiness. These opinions are so diverse because morality is not just one idea, but a mix of ideas that make up each person’s moral values. In these differences in morals, there is bound for someone

Lakoff elucidates when narrowing down the most basic forms of morality, coming to either “The Morality of Absolute Goodness” or the “Morality of Retribution” (3). People who believe Morality of Absolute Goodness, believe that “two wrongs don’t make a right ” (3). So when someone does something that is not morally justified, that person must justify themselves morally. Conversely, those who believe in the “Morality of Retribution,” (Lakoff 3) strongly suggest that those who act wrong against society, must be punished for what they have done. That by each serving their moral duty, they must make them pay for what they have done” (3). These are just the basic foundations for morality. There is an idea of the sovereign good, but there are also components, like “obligations, rules, aims, depending on the identity being respected” ( Murdoch 365). Morality continues to become deeper, the more complex our problems are. These basics can branch out to more specific morals such as experiential moralities, conservative moralities, liberal moralities and many more different ideals and principles to follow. With so many different solutions to each problem that the world comes across, there are many people have a difference in opinion on what approach we should take in life. Needless to say, a compromise between such issues is no easy

Christianity, for example, is chosen among many because, according to Nietzsche, “the feeling of fulfillment and strength gives a sense of rest” (355), while Bhutto asserts that being a Muslim is to “live in peace, in justice, in equality, in a system that is answerable to the people on this earth that accepting that is is a God who will judge us on the Day of Judgement” (185). Even believing in atheism (which regardless can still be considered a religious belief), affects one's moral ideas. Morals such as “ One would require a position outside of life… in order to be permitted even to touch the problem of the value of life… when we speak of values, we speak with the inspiration, with the way of looking at things, which is a part of life: life itself forces us to posit values… morality, as it is so far understood… as negation of the will of life” (Nietzsche 350). Everyone’s religious belief, even choosing not to have one, sees in the way each of us should react to the world we live in. Christians let the followers have a sense of peace knowing that they are to spend an eternity in heaven if they live in God’s way, therefore affecting the moral principles of each follower. Muslims, like Christianity, intend on living their lives the way God intended them to, so that they may be prepared for the Day of Judgement. Even a