The Basis of Morality

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Abstract

of millennia of survival, demands self-preservation, and happiness is the reward our body evolved to give us when we meet that goal in exceptional ways.Transitively, the pursuit of happiness is human nature and the ultimate human goal, thus, morality, as a roadmap for life, has the destination of ultimate happiness towards which it navigates us. Therefore, morality must be subjective as the lives we live are all subjective and the route to the ultimate destination must calculate itself to each circumstance.Finally, if the pursuit of happiness is the ultimate human goal, and morality claims whatever creates the most happiness in the world is right, then the ultimate human goal should be to find the perfect moral system.Next, the writing of laws, which is the function of government, is the constructing and dismantling of roads which our moral compasses’ may direct us down. It seems then that governments limit the subjectivity of morality, which is true; but they are still necessary as, for a society to function, some amount of individuality must be sacrificed for the well-being of the group.As Jean-Jacques Rousseau claimed, society is the contract we sign giving up some freedom for the benefits it can provide such as safety, prosperity, and mutual support. However,

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even though the sacrifice is necessary, due to moral relativism, each individual’s moral code is equally valid; therefore, each person has the right to choose and express what best benefits themselves. The only way these two postulates can coexist is through direct democracy.Direct democracy is the necessary form of government as it is the only system of government where each person has an equal say in the running of society and considers all perspectives as they are without any distortion or disfiguration. One viewpoint equals one vote to approve or reject policy; every decision is made purely through the will of the people.Also because morality is subjective, it is ever-changing; time and circumstance shape our needs and wants; and our needs and wants, as they determine happiness, ought to shape society. Therein lies another case for direct democracy: it is flexible enough, through its pragmatism, to endure the shifts in a fluid morality.Hence I claim that morality, defined as whatever creates the most happiness in the world is right, needs to be the foundation on which governments are built and that direct democracy is the only government system competent enough to ensure the pursuit and growth of the ultimate human goal of devising the perfect moral system.</article></body>

The Basis of Morality

And its Implementation in a Perfect World

Part of “The School of Athens” by Raphael

(This essay was written in October 2018 and represents my views at that time. It is the first part of a series that portrays the evolution of my ideology.)

Morality and government are an inseparable duality. Morality delineates what is right and wrong for individuals, and government, what is allowed and prohibited for groups of individuals; societies. What then, when one goes about designing a utopia, to begin with?

I claim that morality ought to be the foundation governments are constructed upon and that there is only one form of government capable of withstanding the tremulous nature of that foundation.

First, I define morality as making those actions which increase happiness in the world right, and those which decrease it wrong. It is a subjective definition to be sure, but that is precisely why I believe it is the correct one.

Humans are subjective experiencers of a complex world and morality is a guide used to navigate that world. Human nature, forged out of millennia of survival, demands self-preservation, and happiness is the reward our body evolved to give us when we meet that goal in exceptional ways.

Transitively, the pursuit of happiness is human nature and the ultimate human goal, thus, morality, as a roadmap for life, has the destination of ultimate happiness towards which it navigates us. Therefore, morality must be subjective as the lives we live are all subjective and the route to the ultimate destination must calculate itself to each circumstance.

Finally, if the pursuit of happiness is the ultimate human goal, and morality claims whatever creates the most happiness in the world is right, then the ultimate human goal should be to find the perfect moral system.

Next, the writing of laws, which is the function of government, is the constructing and dismantling of roads which our moral compasses’ may direct us down. It seems then that governments limit the subjectivity of morality, which is true; but they are still necessary as, for a society to function, some amount of individuality must be sacrificed for the well-being of the group.

As Jean-Jacques Rousseau claimed, society is the contract we sign giving up some freedom for the benefits it can provide such as safety, prosperity, and mutual support. However, even though the sacrifice is necessary, due to moral relativism, each individual’s moral code is equally valid; therefore, each person has the right to choose and express what best benefits themselves. The only way these two postulates can coexist is through direct democracy.

Direct democracy is the necessary form of government as it is the only system of government where each person has an equal say in the running of society and considers all perspectives as they are without any distortion or disfiguration. One viewpoint equals one vote to approve or reject policy; every decision is made purely through the will of the people.

Also because morality is subjective, it is ever-changing; time and circumstance shape our needs and wants; and our needs and wants, as they determine happiness, ought to shape society. Therein lies another case for direct democracy: it is flexible enough, through its pragmatism, to endure the shifts in a fluid morality.

Hence I claim that morality, defined as whatever creates the most happiness in the world is right, needs to be the foundation on which governments are built and that direct democracy is the only government system competent enough to ensure the pursuit and growth of the ultimate human goal of devising the perfect moral system.