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2010-1-0943 || BS ECE-IV || PHIS004 || N13

Why be Moral?

The questionWhy be Moral, surely encompassed all times in the human history. It

was questioned, being questioned, and will be questioned throughout the span of the

never-ending time. It is like an object seen with different point-of-views or with differentparadigms, although the function of time causes some paradigm shifts.

It can have many interpretations and understandings rooted in many different

bases. These bases include the religion; say the teachings of the Holy Catholic Apostolic

Church, the social standpoint, the political arguments, and many more. These bases have

their own defenses on why should all the people, per say, need to be moral.

Furthermore, the basis does not stop in the known and established principles and

theories given by group of people bounded by their circumstances and situations. To give

emphasis to the primordial factor why a human person conforms or follows to the known

and established principles and theories of moralist, or moral philosopher, it is primarilyrooted to first, the persons nearest to the human person and the first to form you and

nurture you as a living creatureFAMILY; second, the persons whose knowledge can

enhance you to form your own future and can enhance you to become a good citizen

TEACHERS; lastly, the group of people whose knowledge are to test you and gives you

circumstance and situations to make you reflect on the things you contribute to this

worldSOCIETY.

Those three factors can contribute and eventually form the integral definitions for

each human person as to what is morality, how moral perspectives can be tested, what is

the future of morality, and how the principles of morality can conjure the maturity and

principles of the human person tested by time.

One big problem in answering the question is the relativism of moral principles. The

person must be consistent in all the things he or she knows about his or her reaction when

there is test of his or her moral principles. The person must not be influenced by external

factor such as religion, moreover, also the places the person were nurtured and cared. Just

like in the Indian philosophy. Most ethical teachings in Indian philosophy are found in

Indian literature but are influenced by religious association.

For instance, the famous Jaina argument that since animals are capable of pain,

humans have an obligation not to harm thembut there is little wrestling with the

question of the criteria of ethical norms (standards), unlike in the West. Indian classical

philosophers often think about ethics in connection with Indian views about actions, orhabits (karma), and rebirth (the belief in reincarnation). Nevertheless, Indian philosophy is

characterized by a highly refined ethical sensibility (common among Jainism, Buddhism,

and Hinduism), along with standards of character and conduct that are common to many

other cultures (Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All

rights reserved).

Nonetheless, the universality of morality should hold or should be common among

all these moral principles known to each and every one of the human race. The universal

moral law which states that: Do Good and Avoid Evil do holds and incorporated consciously

or unconsciously among the moral principles made in the past, being made today and about

to make in the future.

But these follow-up questions should be properly addressAre we robots bounded

by moral principles sacrificing our own identity? Or are we to abase ourselves to the moral

principles to develop our own identity? These are just questions that need clarification and

proper justification in order to establish some reasons to inculcate basis to be called a

moral person. To be moral in past surely is different to be moral today and is somehow will

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be different in the near future. Certainly enough, almost everything in this world is a

function of time and a test of faith and destiny.

To be moral is to be good. To be good is to be moral.