What makes people know what's right and wrong?

Question

We all seem to know what the behavior of decency should be like, but how do we know this since we were never taught it? People know what is right and wrong, but I want to know how they know.

Answer 1

By God.

God is Right.

which is loving and caring for people.

Wrong is the Devil.

which is hating or being mean to someone.

People found that out with God and Devil.

Answer 2

I would disagree that they weren't taught it, since the ideas of "Right and Wrong" vary greatly between societies.  Children learn by observation, and what they grow up seeing done will be the basis for their morality.  A  16th century Japanese and a 19th century Amish would have had radically different ideas of proper behavior, and neither would reflect the conventions of a modern inner city gang member.  That is why some Religions try to use force of to coerce conformity with their own ideas and to suppress dissent.

Answer 3

God gave us a conscious. That's what I believe. Then he gave parents the ability to teach their offspring right and wrong and to listen to their conscious.

Answer 4

People don't ever KNOW what's right and wrong. They have their own beliefs about it. No one knows because no one knows the meaning of life or why they are here or what happens when you die. No one knows this so no one can know for sure that something is right or wrong. We only know our own experiences. Personally, I think eating meat is wrong because I have pets and I see that they each have their own unique personalities and I would never kill them for food. That is my opinion, but many people believe that murdering animals is just a part of life. There's no certain answer to these questions. Any of them. Even murder. One can argue that it's natural for humans to fight, just like it's natural for animals of the same species to fight and kill each other.

Many people turn to religion to give them structure. In fact, people invented religions. Religion gives people specific instructions for doing right and wrong things. It gives people a sense of justice and optimism about their lives.

Answer 5

Interesting and quite hard to answer. What is wrong and what is right are rather perceptive. Killing is wrong and most people agreed,but to kill is also right or justifiable in some circumstances. In war, people got killed and it became natural. They blamed it on war and not the people.

To know what is right is to understand  what it is wrong. Your mind tells your heart or your heart tells your mind ,I am also confused.

Hurting leads the heart and the mind to relate themself and to realise something is wrong. Hurting or touching the mind or the heart can be sad and happy if you ever experienced it and it is the first signal to tell of a mistake or not.