What is Morality, and What Are Morals?

Morality and a person’s morals are not simple things at all, as many people have differing opinions and morals based on what they think makes someone a “good” or “bad” person. Morality has a dictionary definition, but will always be different depending on the person you ask. If you ask a well-rounded and kind hearted person they might say that you have to do good in order to be a good person, and if you ask someone who say, has committed numerous crimes, they will have a different vision of morality, or maybe not have any morals at all. There are different types of morality, such as how everyone has their own view, and how groups of people have similar visions of morality.

The word morality, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, has two “definitions”. The first way it is used is to, “descriptively to refer to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion), or accepted by an individual for her own behavior”, or, “normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.” Now, I would say that these are good definitions for the word morality, something that many would accept as true, as morality encompasses someone’s morals. As stated in the first definition, morality can be based on an individual's perspective and views on life, contrary to their society’s view on such a thing. Some people have no morals, some people judge others through their morals, and some treat others differently based on if they are “good” or “bad” people according to their morals. A “good” person could be someone who does everyday good deeds for their neighbor, or someone who donates to a charity. A “good” person could be someone who dedicates their life to a helpful cause, or puts extreme effort into helping others. One could consider someone a “good” person, while another could consider that same figure a “bad” person, all based on their personal experiences in life and their views. I use quotation marks around “good” and “bad”, as they are not set in stone words that mean any specific thing, they are ambiguous and different based on the person you ask, similar to morality. To me, what makes a “good” person is the true feeling in their heart, the true reason that they act the way they act,  not necessarily their actions. Somebody could do something seemingly kind-hearted, but if they have ill intentions after the fact, at least to me it cancels out that good deed. Somebody with a good heart that does things to benefit others, without malicious intent, is a truly good person. You have different morals than I, and another has different morals than you, and that is what makes morality a truly interesting and indistinct term.

Over time, many intelligent individuals have done countless tests and experiments on morality, written books about it, and done nearly endless experiments on people to study this phenomenon that is morality and morals. A common experiment to test someone's morality is the “trolley problem”. It was created in 1976 by a philosopher by the name of Judith Tohmson, who created this problem to study a person’s morals and core ethics. The problem takes place in which you are driving a trolley at a high speed, and see two tracks ahead of you. The first track has 5 workers working on the railroad, meanwhile the second has a single person who is stuck on the track, and the trolley is on the path towards the 5 workers. You do not have time to stop, and you must choose to either flip a switch to divert the trolley and kill the singular person, or not flip the switch and have the trolley drive straight and kill the 5 workers. This clearly tests someone’s morality, as if they flip the switch, they kill an innocent man, and if they don’t, they willingly let 5 workers die. Studies show that an overwhelming amount had chosen to flip the switch and kill the singular person, but when put in a situation where the singular person is a relative or significant other, many could not make a choice. In this problem, the overall “good” thing to do is to sacrifice the one person in order to save the five, but it is not entirely good, as you had just committed murder. On the other hand, if you choose to not flip the switch, you did not do anything wrong, but have to live with the fact that you let 5 innocent men die. Over time, many more experiments have been conducted, and generally, certain morals have been accepted by certain societies across the world, and many people have similar morals, which is demonstrated in the aforementioned trolley problem. This is especially true in today’s society, in which large groups of people, who have similar morals,  have been protesting recently based on the current situation in the United States, in which the police have been using their power in ways they shouldn’t, which is not morally correct. This also comes in the form of political parties, groups of people that generally have the same beliefs and morals and base their vote on which side they agree more with. And those are just a few examples in today’s world that showcases morality.

Morality can be seen in real life, books, and even TV shows or movies. A TV show called “The Good Place” showcases the many theories of ethics and morality. The main character, Eleanor, is sent to heaven, even though in real life she was an overall bad person. The person who created this version of “heaven” had supposedly made a mistake, and mistaken this Eleanor, for a different, better, Eleanor. Luckily, Eleanor has a soulmate, Chidi, who was a professor of philosophy, who happened to have written a book on ethics and morals. He is able to teach Eleanor about ethics and morality, and help her become a better person. He has her face problems, such as the trolley problem, in order to teach her about morality. And that is just one example of how morality has appeared in our modern society. Books that go in-depth on morality and ethics are, “Beyond Good and Evil”, by Friedrich Nietzsche, “The Moral Landscape” by Sam Harris, and many more. The Moral Landscape, argues how morality is often confused with facts and science, when it is something different and goes far beyond simplicity. In life, our morals are put to the test nearly every day when we make decisions, no matter how small they are, even though morality is not a topic that comes up often in conversation. The challenges we face and life are weighed on our true self and morals, and our morals change over time through these challenges.

Morality is something that in every day of our life we indirectly think about, and count on. We as humans, use our sense of morality and our morals to figure out which decision to make, and what to do in tough situations. Just like how everyone has their own opinion, everyone has their own set of morals that they can choose to suppress, or express. Morality is your own belief and view on the aspects of life and how they relate to you, and how you use your morals during your life is your choice.