How can we know what is good (morally)?
Question asked by: knowitall
In one of Plato's works, there is a classic question, known as the Euthyprho Dilemma:
"Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?”
This is an interesting question. Now, in the modern Western world where religion has taken a back seat (at least traditional Christianity in any case), the question "how can we know what is good in a non-religious context" becomes extremely pertinent.
Without refuge to an appeal to absolute moral facts and values as handed down through God to the chosen few, we have to hunt around for some other foundation for morality. This is easier said than done.
We must accept that morality is just a story with no firm foundation, as opposed to some absolute basis in truth, and then we must decide whether what is good for one human is good for all, or whether what is good is relative to times, or perhaps locations.
The bottom line seems to be that we cannot know what is good, absolutely, but we can know what is good as far as we are concerned by our intuivite grasp of the concept. For every human the concept may be slightly different, and there is no right answer. Ultimately, practices that promote human well-being and the longevity of society are those that are likely to be called good, whilst those that go against this - e.g. murdering whoever you feel like - bad, and punishments put in place. In sum, morality seems to have a sociological origin rather than a metaphysical one.
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