Globe article: Would we swallow a "morality pill?

[moviefan]

Interesting article. If you could take a pill that would improve your ability to make moral decisions, would you take it?:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ld-we-swallow-a-morality-pill/article2086360/

 

[d_jedi]

Morality is relative.

 

[rhuarc29]

Morality is relative.

I was going to say that.

However, I think what the article refers to is a way to hardwire individuals to pursue society's current model of morality.

 

[Aardvark154]

Morality is relative.

Only in certain circumstances in others there very definitely is right and wrong.

I would be interesting to see what they view as being immoral: murder, or seeing SPs or both.

 

[Narg]

Interesting article. If you could take a pill that would improve your ability to make moral decisions, would you take it?:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ld-we-swallow-a-morality-pill/article2086360/

No. I value my ability to rationalize away drawbacks to doing what I want ...

 

[GrandBlasterK]

"Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine."
-Sigmund Freud

 

[GrandBlasterK]

"What is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after."
-Ernest Hemingway

 

[GrandBlasterK]

"A man who moralizes is usually a hypocrite, and a woman who moralizes is invariably plain."
-Oscar Wilde

 

[GrandBlasterK]

"The immorality of men triumphs over the amorality of women."
-Karl Kraus

my favourite

 

[afterhours]

Don't be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so.
- Henry David Thoreau

 

[Aardvark154]

"Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine."
-Sigmund Freud

+1 Very good quotation.

 

[Boss Nass]

Depends who makes the pill. The Vatican? Not a chance. Larry Flynt? In a heartbeat.

 

[bobistheowl]

There was a very cautious man, who never romped or played.
He never smoked, he never drank, nor even kissed a maid.
So, when one day, he up and died, insurance was denied.
They said that since he'd never lived, they claimed he'd never died.

- anonymous bathroom stall poet

 

[Hangman]

Only in certain circumstances in others there very definitely is right and wrong.

I would be interesting to see what they view as being immoral: murder, or seeing SPs or both.

See, even the choice of terms indicates morality. "Murder" is always immoral, but killing another person is not necessarily immoral. Is it "seeing SP's" or is it "subjugating women?"

I would not want a treatment that codifies certain behaviours to conform to others' definitions of morality or 'acceptable' behavior, if you will.

 

[exbrower]

Kurt Vonnegut "Welcome to the Monkey House" dealt with this issue 30 or 40 years ago. If my memory is correct he called it ethical birth control, a pill that made you dead from the waist down.

 

[rhuarc29]

"Murder" is always immoral....

Not true. In some cultures in history the killing of another was a sign of strength and the killer's rightful due.

What if murdering someone resulted in saving many lives? Some would view it as the moral choice.

Our troops kill people in the hopes of protecting our country. It's not labelled as murder, but the result is the same. Many people find this acceptable moral grounds.

 

[oldjones]

Not true. In some cultures in history the killing of another was a sign of strength and the killer's rightful due.

What if murdering someone resulted in saving many lives? Some would view it as the moral choice.

Our troops kill people in the hopes of protecting our country. It's not labelled as murder, but the result is the same. Many people find this acceptable moral grounds.

And just for balance there are those who refuse to kill at all, carefully carrying insects out of their houses, replanting weeds before diggeing and so on.

All relative; point is to think, think again and make a thoughtful decision. Then think before acting on it.

Think about it.

 

[genintoronto]

Not true. In some cultures in history the killing of another was a sign of strength and the killer's rightful due.

What if murdering someone resulted in saving many lives? Some would view it as the moral choice.

Our troops kill people in the hopes of protecting our country. It's not labelled as murder, but the result is the same. Many people find this acceptable moral grounds.

That was exactly his point. Ie, that language is already coded in moral terms. So, murder is wrong, but killing can be good, bad, unfortunate but acceptable, etc.

To answer the question: no, I wouldn't.

 

[moviefan]

To answer the question: no, I wouldn't.

Neither would I.

I could try to come up with a philosophical rationalization, but the truth is I would be worried it would spoil all my fun.

 

[Hangman]

Not true. In some cultures in history the killing of another was a sign of strength and the killer's rightful due.

What if murdering someone resulted in saving many lives? Some would view it as the moral choice.

Our troops kill people in the hopes of protecting our country. It's not labelled as murder, but the result is the same. Many people find this acceptable moral grounds.

My point. You missed it. Killing is not the same as murder, i.e. the two terms mean different things. The term murder is a specifically-defined kind of killing, which, by definition, is extra-legal and immoral. So when you use the term "Murder" you implicitly condemn the act as immoral.

Soldiers killing on a battlefield is not murder, though it is killing. One contemporary example is the killing of a Taliban IED emplacer instead of arresting him. In that case, it's not murder, because he is an enemy combatant.

As for murdering someone to save lives, well, that's still an immoral choice, but you'd just have to live with that on your conscience. I'd love to hear a reasonable example of how that situation might come to pass, however.