Equality and Justice (Part 4)
It's a truism that equality is justice (or justice is equality). But what is equality? Read part 4 of 6.
I developed this series in 2012 when I was in my 20’s trying to clarify my own thoughts on the weighty topic. It was originally published on a blog which is now discontinued.
Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.
In this post, let’s run through the basics of morality, like where morality comes from and what it purports to achieve.
Morality is not God-given. Even if God existed, morality defined by Him wouldn't be any more valid than that defined by us, as presented by Plato in Euthyphro dilemma.
There is no right and wrong in the absolute absolute sense. Morality, therefore, is a human construct. We as society define what is right and wrong.
In the state of nature, there is no morality. Animals in the wild don't follow a set of rules dictating right and wrong—at least not consciously. Why, then, do we humans have rules? Why did we form a concept of morality?
One answer as to why we formed the concept of morality or right and wrong can be: because we are mentally capable of forming it. However, the more cogent explanation is, because we want to have better lives than life in the state of nature.
Life in the state of nature is chaotic. The wild is literally a dog-eat-dog world. Without ethics and morality to guide our natural urges and inclinations we wouldn't have raised ourselves from the level of other animals. It's another thing that other animals are not capable of sophisticated thought and hence couldn't form morality.
The purpose of morality, therefore, is fostering human wellbeing. And the way to achieve it is by restraining the animal nature within us.
So, morality is not a given. No action in and of itself is moral or immoral. Whether some action is moral or immoral depends on whether it serves or disserves the purpose of human wellbeing.
In part 3, I introduced the argument of morality and said that the physically strong poor person B should not require incentives to not attack the physically weak rich person A while he can, because it is simply not moral to do so.
Now in light of the basic understanding of morality we developed, let's see if this argument holds water.
To be continued…