Comment on: What is moral authority?

Bigthink — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:29:56 +0100

@I AM; The counter point to that argument is, what if someone wants someone else to tell them what is right and wrong? What happens when someone CANNOT make a decision between right and wrong, due to a mental disorder, or even more interestingly, the deficiency of a frontal lobe.

Extending this idea, I believe it is not possible to compare what the world ought to be, and what the world is. One can have a goal or an idea to move towards in order to have some sort of hope to mold the world in how they see the world ought to be, but the truth lies in what the world is.

There is no exact definition of a moral authority, because there is no exact definition of what a moral is. One can assume that a moral is "something good". However, what is good in one culture may be outrageous in another.

Hence, I say there are two moral authorities: one which comes from self-discovery, trial and error, ones own experiences, etc., and one which comes from another.

We switch from one moral authority to another, the first of course, being our parents.

Comment on: What is moral authority?

Bigthink — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:10:19 +0100

@DonnyMac--
Unfortunately, this is a good definition.

NO ONE should have that power, though. People need to decide what is right and wrong for themselves, not have someone tell them.

Comment on: What is moral authority?

Bigthink — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:30:58 +0100

Power over what is considered right and wrong?

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Comment on: What is moral authority?

Comment on: What is moral authority?

Comment on: What is moral authority?