Why do some people lack morals?

[Hisshiss]

This is just something that I wonder about sometimes. Are people just born that way? Is it because parents neglect to teach their children morals? Maybe some people just don't care about morals? Are there more reasons for lacking morals besides these?

It's more likely that you just don't understand their sense of morals. its best not to try and judge other people for the "Kind of person" they are, because were almost always wrong.

Just because you don't think someone is a good person doesn't mean your right.

 

[open trap]

I try to hold on to my morals, i finde it makes me a better person, people who dont have any are kinda douch bags.

 

[lacktheknack]

I think it comes from how different people perceive the world and those in it. Some see everything as very black and white, a very simple place with a defined right and wrong, and some see it as a web of intricate logic and subjective view-points.

Where do I fit? I believe that everything is very black-and-white with many "unwinnable" situations.

How can you believe everything is black and white, but at the same time have unwinnable situations? Do you mean there is clearly a right and wrong, but neither can come out triumphant?

No, I mean when there's a wrong and a wrong, or a wrong and an unacceptable.

For example, classic Mafia intimidation: "Do this for us, or we'll kill your family."

Choice one: Do the immoral task, and beg for mercy from the police. (lose)
Choice two: Mention it to the police, and hope the threat wasn't serious. (unacceptable)
Choice three: Mention it to the police, and flee the country. (unacceptable)

Do you watch "Extra Credit"? The most recent one had a moral choice from Mass Effect 2, a good example of two immoral actions (or death).

That's what I mean by "unwinnable situations".

 

[Serenegoose]

Morality is a really, really hard topic to sum up. I mean, the gist of it is that we develop our moral principles from the world we experience, and then whether we embrace or reject that - I'd probably have a different set of moral principles if I grew up as a rich heiress from the US rather than a below-working-class person from glasgow, and then you have to view it through the lens of my experiences and personality.

I'll give you an example:

I was brought up with the belief that if someone wrongs you, you pummel the shit out of them. No questions asked, you put them in hospital. My father bragged about his tales of rows of victims put in intensive care for disrespecting him in one way or another. So if I'd simply adopted that as one of the facets of my morality (that might makes right) I would consider violence morally right under a wide range of circumstances. However, my attempts to emulate that behaviour met opposition - from other people telling me violence was wrong, and my experience of being on the receiving end of violence taught me that it was thoroughly unpleasant. I rejected his view eventually, and formed a pacifistic mindset - but if I'd never experienced his teachers to reject them, perhaps I would still believe that might sometimes makes right.

So why do some people lack morals? Because to you, the lessons they have taken from the world they live in have led them to a conclusion you deem incorrect.

 

[Jaranja]

This is just something that I wonder about sometimes. Are people just born that way? Is it because parents neglect to teach their children morals? Maybe some people just don't care about morals? Are there more reasons for lacking morals besides these?

It's a number of reasons. Where they grew up, childhood experiences, desires...

Everyones different, and how you define morals will vary from person to person. So someone who you think has no morals may actually have morals, they're just different from yours.

Is it time for me to finally one-up Aylaine?! :O!

Here's something you'll like, OP:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development

Negatory! Free will basically means morals are not set from person to person, much like personality, feelings, views and other things that free will effects. I could have just said we're all different, but how often do you hear that? ;P

Personality, feelings and views and all shaped by each other and everything else including environment, upbringing, personal biology and past experiences. It's a blend of these that helps to form the first three things.

 

[lucky_sharm]

This is just something that I wonder about sometimes. Are people just born that way? Is it because parents neglect to teach their children morals? Maybe some people just don't care about morals? Are there more reasons for lacking morals besides these?

It's more likely that you just don't understand their sense of morals. its best not to try and judge other people for the "Kind of person" they are, because were almost always wrong.

Just because you don't think someone is a good person doesn't mean your right.

I'm not judging anyone. I just want to hear people's thoughts on this.

Maybe the question was a bit too general. Maybe a hypothetical situation might help more. Perhaps a situation that involves people, the actions that they take, and how they justify their actions or something like that. I just need to think of one. If someone could help me out with this then that would nice.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

Because morality is a completely subjective concept that varies wildly from culture to culture and even by modern definitions isn't anything beyond "how I was raised?"

I mean, its kinda hard to have or lack something thats completely undefinable.

Do you watch "Extra Credit"? The most recent one had a moral choice from Mass Effect 2, a good example of two immoral actions (or death).

That's what I mean by "unwinnable situations".

Ugh. They (extra credits) kinda fucked that one up completely. The "good" dialogue does mention brainwashing a few times, but thats not what was being asked of you.

The decision was more along the lines of "subversive propaganda" vs "annihilation." They were talking about making a very small, practically undetectable alteration to one of the baser functions, that would influence higher functions. Not strapping people down, playing Beethoven, holding their eyes open while pumping them full of drugs that made them feel horrible while showing a rape on a screen. It was closer to how watching a documentary or learning something new can completely change a person's mind on a particular subject.

To parallel, the abortion issue is based in whether or not an unborn fetus is alive. One of the basic concepts of christianity is the "soul." The idea there is something about you that is undefinable and immortal that enters a body at the moment of conception to define you as a person. Conversely, science has watched an egg develop from conception all the way to "birth," have has established nothing even resembling higher functions exist until at least two months. These two ideas are in conflict but the actual, functional difference the two is when a human is "human." One says at the instant of conception, another says a couple months later, once a brain develops. Theres really only a ~.3% difference between the two, but it creates a fierce divide between people.

The decision isn't brainwashing vs annihilation, its breeching all the walls of ignorance, misconception, and prejudice and correcting an error of judgement versus annihilation.

 

[Mimssy]

Morals are subjective. Just because someone does not have your morals does not mean they lack morals.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Everybody has their own morals. Some merely conflict with proper society.

 

[LemonMelon]

Because Mr Burke offered a better reward than Lucas Simms.

I always use the black widow perk and shake my lady-bits around to convince him that he doesn't in fact, want to kill everyone.

OP, I think it has a lot to do with what your view on morals is, as well as how kids were raised. I think events also happen to change people.

For example: My home was rocked by infidelity. Before that happened, I wouldn't have thought of cheating as being that immoral, and probably would have cheated in my relationships. However, that event gave me more morals in this regard, or at least better ones.

 

[Urgh76]

The vulture pokemon in Black and White is named Vuljina.

Your morals are a lie.

Those aren't morals, that's just plain "pants on head retarded".

OT: Weird, because I was recently thinking about this. Like:

-How could people waste so much food
-How could people listen to Rap being full blown with their windows DOWN?!
-How could people walk out in front of cars at places like Walmart, etc.
-How could people kill
- How could, How could, How how HOW HOWHOWOHOWHWOW

Spoiler: [b

HOWOHOHWHWHWOHWOHWOHW[/b]]

 

[C95J]

I think it's mainly how they were raised, and who they grew up with, I highly doubt that people are born dickheads...

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

This is just something that I wonder about sometimes. Are people just born that way? Is it because parents neglect to teach their children morals? Maybe some people just don't care about morals? Are there more reasons for lacking morals besides these?

Well it depends on how you wish to view the topic .... I'm a non-cognitivist, so I believe perscriptions can have ethically universal propositions. Point is that it depends on how you decide to see the problem from a philosophical and meta-ethical perspective.

For example. There is a thing (as put forward by Kant) the Categorical Imperative. A universal moral compass inherent to all 'right-thinking idividuals'. It's born of the apriori, and as such awakens as one develops.

To understand the concept of synthetic and analytic apriori it's best you look it up. But essentially the apriori is inherent knowledge to the person that cannot be quantified or measured. It's inherently felt. Inherent rules that one knows at birth, but may take time to develop as the ego and the self are explored through experience.

"I occupy a place in space and time." is one.

Now a categorical imperative would be (and no it's got nothing to do with religion, just using it as an example) ..."Thou shall not kill"

Now then you caould ask why a person does kill then if we have this categorical imperative. Well the reason being is because of this.

1: "Thou shall not kill."

2: "But if I kill this guy I will save ten more."

So what you have is a justification for murder. Now why is this important? Because it represents the acknowledgment of the categorical imperative beyond anything other than appeasement of possible guilt. Not because your parents said murdering another is bad. Not because society taught you this. No .. its your own brain coming up with these justifications to break your inbuilt moral compass.

Essentially when you justify breaking a categorical imperative you are saying this (albeit you might not beable to describe this thought in words due to it's inherent nature.).

"Thou shall not kill ... but I must kill to save my friends. I can justify why I kill but I cannot justify that everybody kills."

The reason being is because it's quite simple ... albeit we canot measure the physical effect of this sentiment, we can't even picture the details of it, but we can imagine a world where people everywhere killed with reckless abandon .... we automatically recognise this would be a horrible world and therefore we cannot justify everybody gets to murder another.

Sop in a round about way of saying things .... you have people and crooks like us, who have morals built into us because we are 'right thinking individuals' ... crooks that feel guilty about what they do, but justify it because of poverty ... and we have psychotics who don't feel a thing when they perform an ill or base action because they lack an inbuilt moral compass like the rest of us.

If you're really interested in moral philosophy The Metaphysics of Morals by kant is easy enough, albeit you makyu have to look up terminology ocassionally.

Mill's utilitarianism is possibly the easiest barring his intellectual - physical pleasures cnundrum.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Well people gain their morals from how they were raised and eventually what they see in the world around them. I guess it could be possible for someone to be raised in such a fashion that they didn't develop morals, but it would be pretty hard. The thing is everyone has a different set of morals. Some people's moral sense gives a definite answer to each situation they encounter. Others are much more vague and context-sensitive. Some people's morals are strict and others' are flexible. The only truly amoral people would be sociopaths, psychopaths, and people who just aren't right in the head. But our morals are definitely a result of our environment. Some are directly taught and others are learned, but they are all because of our surroundings.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Because one can survival in the real world without them? Morals come after food,clothing and a place to rest your head not to mention in most relationships. But I am thinking fairness>morals as morals is more an absolute path where as fairness is what you try to do when you are not surviving.

Morality is highly overrated being fair with what you got is something a tad more human I think.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

.... but they are all because of our surrounds.

That's debateable. Afterall, children who are abused as children or people who grew up in rough neighbourhoods don't automatically become crooks.

Nor do people who watch gangster movies, horror flicks, and play violent video games will be murderers.

 

[lucky_sharm]

The way I see morals are how a person justifies the actions that they take. So it's kind of like PaulH's post, I guess. If, lets say, person A is beating up another person just for fun or to show off to his friends, then to me that would be despicable because person A is hurting someone who is innocent for no good reason and doesn't reasonably justify his or her actions. And yet, I would applaud person B for beating up another person who wronged person B in a significant way because person B is beating up someone who is guilty of sin. Both person A and B are doing the wrong thing except that person B arguably justifies the wrong doing that he or she committed.

 

[Nukey]

I can't help but feel that this video might actually clear up somethings.


As for my thoughts, no one lacks morals, everyone has different ones. This could be both good or bad.

 

[Da Chi]

Everyone has morals. They might be a different code than yours though. I've been friends with some shady people, while some of their actions seem immoral to my behavior, to them it's normal.
And of course vice-versa.
Example my friend has lied to a girl because he wanted to sleep with her. But in turn she lied to him. That was his justification. I think it's wrong but he doesn't
Alternatively I've told girls before that all I want is some action and thats it. He says thats rude and disrespectful, I don't because it's simple honesty.

You all might think I'm a monster or a jerk but I find nothing wrong with it.