Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Summer Wine]

I am interested in the what standard of morals that people follow. What do they consider thier morals based on, what system do they follow? Who determines what is moral and what is not? Who created the standard of morals that they base thier lives On?

[Metsuke]

My mix is pretty much like this...

30% Bushido/Budo teachings from my training.
25% Japanese Zen Buddhism.
10% Tibetan Buddhism.
25% Common sense/School of the hard knock life.
10% Straight up compassion.

It works pretty good for me.

[Plutocracy]

Its all about the golden rule of ethics in philosophy and Christianity, if you want to be consistent: Do on to others as you'd have done on to you.

For me, this covers Kant's categorical imperitive as well: Don't treat people as a mere means to an end.

Hume's Is/Ought fallacy is importent to: You cannot derive a moral ought from only a fact about the world.

It works even better if you are a good empathizer and can somewhat predict the interests of others. Then you can do on to others as they'd have done on to them.

For parsimonies sake, no supernaturalism for me please. No external source of ethics from omnisicent/omnipotent/benevolent other.

Then you get into questions like "Are things good because a God chooses them to be good, or does a God choose them because they are good independently of the God's choice, and being omiscient, the God knows them?"

If they are good merely because of a God's choice, then the God chould just as easily have chosen murder to be ethical.

If they are good independently of a God's choice, well.... Then they exist independently. No need for them to come from a God other than the God choosing to help us discern them.

I round that out with some Zen(Jap. Chin. Viet)/Taoist thought. Theres lots of compassion in the Vietnamese Zen in particular.

It all comes out of empathy and rationality for me, and what beings I can justify as being morally considerable and the ways in which they are.

Its not perfect, but its a hell of a lot more than some do.

[Konundrum]

Is there such a thing as a "standard" for morals?
My morals were propagated to me by my mother and father. My mother and father, being British and raised in a primarily Christian nation, have Judeo-Christian ethics. Whether they recognise it as "God's will" or not, it was shaped by the Church- which has been shaped by the people (who believe they are acting on God's behalf).
I have not been to church a day in my life, but I have read the Holy Bible (cover to cover), Dianetics, much of the Quran, books by the Dalai Lama, Hakagure (bushido-Samurai code type stuff) and it all boils down to trying to be a person who is satisfied with him/herself. If you do right, your love grows - if you do wrong, your self-contempt grows. You grow to hate parts of yourself which cause further self-destructive feelings or actions. If you do wrong, accept it, repent and strive to do better.


That being said...my 2 rules are:
1. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
2. WWJD? Yes..What would Jesus do? I'm not even religious, but if everyone followed Jesus' examples, the world would be a better place for all.

[drgoo]

Holistic based. One world, one this. Every act has consequences and impacts every one of us. When viewed from the big picture, my little acts have ripple effects that extend in every direction. That is the basis of my morality. I am the manifestation of all things, I act on behalf of all things.

Or not.
Love to all,
dGoo

[Summer Wine]

I find the scope of people's experiences quite interesting. There are quite a number of moral based systems that I had not considered before. I will probably have to look into a few.

[tommynomad]

These eight words the wiccan rede fulfil:

Lest ye harm none, do what ye will.

[agraham]

Of course just by existing, you're forcing people to occasionally walk around you, so you have to strike a balance between maximizing your own happiness and minimizing the the unhappiness of others.

[sadsac]

Be nice!

[kermo]

I once heard a young man describe his outlook: "Do what you can get away with."
I have a friend who believes one should "Do what you can live with."

I'd like to think that my ethos is "Do what best demonstrate's God's love."

My ethics derive from a combination of humanitarian impulse and Biblical teaching. I believe in compassion, self-sacrifice and integrity. Ultimately, I want my life to be about honouring God. That means taking care of myself, following His commands as best I can, and encouraging others to follow Him.

It's obvious that I don't always treat others with as much gentleness as I should, and I sometimes put myself in harm's way. Sometimes I've cut corners to get what I want, rather than doing the most noble or patient thing. But there it is; the ideal.

[rapier]

I have always experimented with different moralities.

Now they have come together in a rich tapestry: I don't believe in absolutes, but balance. I have elements of all...because we need many different things at different times to make it in life.

[buddy bradley]

[Blind Willie]