Question:

How can we know what is right and what is wrong?

by  |  earlier

0 LIKES UnLike

How can we justify what is right and what is wrong? Isn't it all a matter of perspective? Therefore, how can we tell other people what is right and wrong if we don't have any basis to assert our authority of what is right?

Do believe there is a fundamental ethical code that is inately installed into us as humans, or do you believe that we are born as blank slates, with no feeling of what is right and what is wrong and that society shapes our ethical code?

 Tags:

   Report

24 ANSWERS


  1. Look at the situation from the other persons perspective.


  2. As Yaoi said use ethics and judgment.

    You must also do research, research, research... and then when you think you know the answer you must look again from all perspectives especially those that would be in opposition to your findings. Even then it can be a judgment call. Religion, abortion, who would be the best president... there are factors that split people on right and wrong... it is up to you to come to your own understanding of what's right for you by researching both sides. Rape, murder, theft, brutality... these things we know are wrong universally...  Compassion, self-sacrifice, kindness...these things we all know to be right universally... it is in the gray areas that we are often left to choose what's best for us... not necessarily what's right or wrong because some things can be both right and wrong.

    Abdallah Y has an excellent point as well and the words of Ghandi are excelent guides to making good decisions concerning right and wrong as well as ethics. Ghandi was indeed a wise man.

  3. i just gave thumbs down to every other answerer for no reason. am i right or wrong? why?

    Actually i gave them thumbs down because i didn't agree with them. Am i right now? why?

    The truth is i did not give anyone thumbs down but i gave one person thumbs up because he gave everyone else thumbs down. Am i right now? why?

    What if i gave him thumbs down instead of thumbs up? would that be the right thing to do? why?

    Now think over your answers to my questions and ask yourself why you said yes or no to them. What were your judgement based from? Where did they come from? who taught you to judge this way? Why did they teach you this way?

  4. if it hurts somebody mentally or physically, it is bad

    enjoY

  5. There is a talisman of Gandhi, which he has taken from Islam, to find out what is right and what is wrong. Before taking any step, ask your heart: "The step that I am going to take; Is it right? Is it wrong? Will it harm any of God's creatures? Will I displease God? The person who will benefit from this, is he a good human being or a bad one?" Automatically, you will know what to do!!!

  6. right is right when it is in conformity of the values of morality and the acceptance of the society...

    if depends on where you at and on what culture you are in...

    example:

    abortion may be acceptable to other countries but for countries with mostly catholic and others do no accept it.. why? because of norms, religion, beliefs, practices....

  7. Follow your conscience.  Don't make excuses for yourself.  I don't know if anyone else has the right to judge someone else, but we certainly have the authority to judge ourselves.  You are asking how we can know what is right and what is wrong.  Well if you don't have knowledge your actions, you are not doing something wrong.  A woman who is intimate with a man who is married is not doing anything wrong if she is unaware of the fact.  Once she finds out, if she continues the affair, she is guilty of doing wrong.  If you have to make excuses to justify your behavior, you should have a pretty good hint that your behavior is wrong.  Another example is Ikea.  They go out of their way to say how great and eco-friendly they are and all for the children, giving so much money to Unicef, etc, and yet they will not stop using child labor as it keeps their prices low.  This is another example of being aware of your behavior, and so in my opinion Ikea would be more guilty of committing an ethical "wrong" than a company that has no issue with child labor.

  8. All that we have learned since childhood, from our parents, siblings, school and/or religious teachers and friends serve as a guide for what is right or wrong.

    Ethics, moral codes, correct behaviours with people, knowledge of civil rules and laws of society are all learnt during our early years of upbringing and enhanced in school and working life.

    So our experience and knowledge will now enable us to tell and correct other people who talk or do things that are against the norms of society. It is not a matter of exerting our authority as such, unless we are in an established position, such as the manager of a firm, a school principal, etc. Yes it is correct to say that society shapes our ethical code, in a general sense.

    But it seems that many in this modern society have not been properly nurtured to possess good ethics or morals. The Y-generation is a far cry from their grand-parents' time when the family unit and church were strong institutions in matters of morals, ethics, discipline and respect for elders.  We do not seem to be capable of arresting the depressing trend towards  unethical or immoral behaviour among a great proportion of the populace. Some blame this on the powerful and liberal media. We have to pay the high price of democracy,  materialism and modernity, it seems.

  9. Right and wrong is more or less a law to keep thing in order.If we started to use our on judgement on what is right and wrong ,then there might be chaos ,innocent people hurt and society with no protection from people with no moral obligations to human rights.

    This is a long and complicated ,but go back in history and look at how people were judged and dealt with ,if there beliefs were not the same as others.

    You can and now except things you don't believe in,as long as no harm is done to another party.

    I always believed if it bothered me ,then it was wrong.If it right ,then I would feel good about it ,without remorse.

  10. For most people it's a matter of perspective. Every individual has their own notions of what is right or wrong, based on their life experience.

    But when you dig deeper it's more complicated because who is to judge what is moral or immoral? What's ethical and what's not? According to a certain philosopher (I don't remember his name but I learned about him at College), humans should do what brings the most pleasure for the most people. I disagree with him, as I remember, the whole class did. It makes sense on the surface, but his approach would mean that if whatever brought pleasure to the most people is the right thing to do- which ISN'T the case. I am not a hedonist so I strongly disagree with him. (I wish I could remember his name). Going by HIS logic, gang rape would be ok- but it ISN'T. So his logic is flawed at best.

    But my logic is flawed too. I personally believe that we should respect each other and not try to infringe each others rights. Oh and this is what I think about animals. I believe in animal welfare. Animals shouldn't be abused. Especially not in the name of entertainment. I believe there is a world of difference between animal testing for medicinal purposes and animal testing for cosmetics. I have my own ideas of what is acceptable and what is not, like murder is always wrong, etc.

  11. our parents gave us good morals and ethics bad parenting leads to the breakdown of society

  12. Yes, it is a matter of perspective.... you are very right. A set of rules is not going to do much to change a person's behavior... and that is why the founders of all the great religions recommended "increasing the light."

    So if you hear a "religious" person saying that we have to follow the rules in a book, we can rest assured that the followers have drifted away from the original message of "increasing the light."

    And this is also why stillness and monastic habits are used to change a person from the inside out. Stillness is a key to increasing the attention on inner light, and the quality of light that is used to evaluate each new situation.

    You are exactly right. It is a matter of perspective.... and of course, perspective can be changed to improve behavior and live a more fulfilled life. More on my bio.

  13. well depending on peoples religions and beliefs they will determine what is right from wrong differently from some one with a different religion or belief.

    but if someone does not have a religion he or she would learn from their parents or guardian what to think is right or wrong. also just being at school or out in a city or even watching t.v can show so people what is right and what is wrong. some obvious decisions are killing someone or helping the homeless but some more complex questions might not be so simple so they need to be taught.  

  14. we can justify what is right or wrong by simply standing in your own decisions no matter what is the outcome. maybe it is a matter of perspective. by giving them an idea based on what others think is right or simply adviced them to discuss it with fellow memebers of the family.

    I don't believe we do not have feelings of what is wrong and what is right but i think society affects us in many ways

  15. For most people, what is right and what is wrong is shaped by the morals, values and codes of the community (religious, ethnic, national, etc.) they belong to. Then your parents, or other authority figures give you basic ideas of right and wrong in you childhood and youth, after which you decide for yourself, your beliefs and ethics. This might not always be the way to go, as just because a majority of people think it's right, doesn't mean it necesassarily is right.

    I think that a lot depends on the situation.

    Right and wrong is an extremely debatable topic, because it is personal and is definitely a matter of perspective.

    I believe that while we do have an innate sense of what might not be good, and what might be good, a large part of our value system comes from our upbringing or the lessons we have learned.

  16. I think we are born with instilled values in knowing what is right and wrong according to our family, and the society in general.  

    But I don't think everyone has the same feeling on this.  Not everyone is going to agree on what you think is right, and wrong in your own life.  So, I think it gives you a little leeway to decide what your own personal rights and wrongs are... within reason.  No one can decide it is right to take another life, and there not be harsh consequences to face.  

    There are also very negative, hateful people in this world who do unimaginable, abusive acts to others in their life.  This is their norm.  So, how can someone with a normal disposition sit down and tell those people how it is wrong to treat people this way.... especially if this is how they are and all they know?  

    Thanks for reading!

  17. Knowing the right and the wrong comes from the environment and the society and also from your culture it is a skills that we get from life school...

  18. In ethics, sometimes we must use our own best judgment. And sometimes that is going to be wrong; yet being wrong is part of being human and the object is to learn from it. "Learning from it" is how codes of ethics are put together in the first place.

    As far as what is right by law, if you don't have time to check it out, again you take your chances. I do not agree that "ignorance of the law is no excuse." Did you see the episode of Dr. Phil last week where some state has a law pertaining to father's rights, and even the 3 lawyers involved in the case didn't know about it, including the prosecutor? So you MAY get away with arguing ignorance of the law; it has been done before, with success, but not very often.

    Then there is "right" meaning "good." Is something good for its own sake (inherent); good by some subjective standard (perspective); or good by an objective standard?

    Aristotle formulated the idea that things are good which are good for the species involved, so they are not inherent and not subjective, but objective. What is poison to a human is, in some cases, very nutritious for certain flora and fauna, like rotting meat. It's a great fertilizer and some birds won't eat meat until it is good and rotting. So in that case, the "good" is good by an objective standard.

    Which bring us back to "right and wrong." For the same reason as objective standards in "good," they exist in "right and wrong," but now it comes down to "context." If you shoot a good guy, the context is wrong because you shot the "wrong" guy and that is wrong. But if you shoot the bad guy, then shooting is not wrong, it is right.

    Every thing is objective, but sometimes the objective is contextual.

  19. I think there is only one way of knowing what is right and what is wrong; that is by constantly being true to yourself.  Everything else is a matter of perception that is conditioned by religion, culture, society, family etc.  

    If you know that you are trying to justify something because that is what your religion preaches, or your parents taught you, then you are obviously wrong.  If you are not looking to justify your actions/thoughts simply because you know that it is right, then you are right.  All talks of morality and values are hypocrisy.

  20. always listen to ur heart for right & wrong

  21. The basis of right and wrong is very simple: positive regard for others and for oneself.  In other words, love.

    That is the fundamental basis of right and wrong.  It is not a "code" that is "installed in us", as if we are computers.  It's the very basis of who we are; it is the fabric of our being.  It's part of consciousness itself.  It is perhaps best expressed by "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  But it is not a rule as such, that is, it is not something that you should obey or else be punished.  The "Golden Rule" is simply an expression of the fundamental unity of all people, and that unity is the basis for ethical behavior.  Society can shape the forms that etiquette takes--it can give social meaning to physical gestures that don't really have that meaning in and of themselves--but it cannot change the basis of real politeness, which has to do with intention.  A loving intention is the basis for good and right behavior.

    It is a matter of perspective insofar as your ability to be moral depends on how much your perspective is in line with this reality.  When people are living in accordance with the laws of Nature, when they are connected to who they really are, they are conscious of their unity and they share a similar perspective on what is right.  Right thought and behavior is effortless in that state.  

  22. We all know right from wrong. There are universal wrongs that all human beings know of. Some choose to ignore them. There are universal rights that all human beings know of. Some choose to ignore them. Even children know right from wrong. What they lack is the self control and ability to censor themselves in ways that adults are able to.  

  23. it's not a matter of perspective...there is no "perspective" to right and wrong.

    Does it hurt anyone?

    Does it infringe on someone else's right to live?

    Does it allow you to come into possession of property that isn't rightfully yours?

    Does it bring hardship onto others?

    Answer yes to any of the above, then yes, it's wrong.

    This has nothing to do with religious doctrine, it's simple ethical behavior.


  24. ...by your reaction and attitude after the act...

Question Stats

Latest activity: earlier.
This question has 24 answers.

BECOME A GUIDE

Share your knowledge and help people by answering questions.