On Moralism

[Vilien]

On Moralism:

Men are, above all else, motivated by fear. This is most readily apparent in politics, where principles like honor and common decency are abandoned as quickly as it takes one to recognize an opportunity for gain. Watching rulers scurry away from the threat of destruction, clinging to their strongest friends and abandoning those bound for the chopping block, is no spectator sport. We are active participants in this visceral game; we lie, we stab our closest allies in the back, we destroy those who get in our way. It comes as no surprise then that the concept of morality is discarded so easily by those looking to get ahead. It is only natural that the proponents of moral behavior be laughed at, sneered at, and spit upon.

I do not argue that there are not those who follow their principles. Surely almost all men will hold their beliefs in the highest regard, and follow them to the utmost extent, so long as they do not inconvenience them. Rare indeed is the man who clings to his ideals even as the seas of popular opinion and the greed of great powers carry him to his doom. We've seen these men; the truly great. We have held their stories to heart when the powerful knock on our doors. And yet, how many of us would follow such an example?

Despite our ability to ignore our duty to our fellow men, and despite our efforts to ignore obvious truths, it cannot be denied that the natural concepts of morality are close to our hearts even at the most seemingly unbearable and unthinkable instances of human brutality. It is in the twinge of doubt in the heart of the conqueror, in the un-ignorable question in the heart of the slave-driver, in the unease of the dictator that we find our greatest hope. There is no escaping the demands of morality. We are only able to ignore them, at least for a time.

For even though inhumanity so often characterizes our actions, we know these natural concepts, the self-evident truths, that all men are entitled to liberty, the freedom to express your feelings without fear of repression; self-determination, the right to choose how you shall be governed; and mutual respect, a level of decency in conduct and interactions between persons. These moral tenets, so basic in nature and yet so profoundly important, are those that should guide our actions. It is easy to ignore the demands of the conscience. It is extremely hard to live in a manner that is true to your ideals. Moralism is about taking the hard road.

Moralism is about truth. Eternal, fundamental truth. We sacrifice all, our comfort, our safety, our lives, for the knowledge that we have upheld our duty to our fellow man. We are the keepers of a sacred Covenant, not between God and Creation, or between King and Subject, but between men.

Common, fallible men though we are, we live the difficult life. We make the impossible choice. What greater calling is there than that?

[deSouza]

Nice essay, although I must highlight that

natural concepts, the self-evident truths, that all men are entitled to liberty, the freedom to express your feelings without fear of repression; self-determination, the right to choose how you shall be governed; and mutual respect, a level of decency in conduct and interactions between persons.

are a part of contemporary western morals, and that morals are highly relative to the culture one is inserted in.

Some societies, in contrast to freedom of expression could be more focused on "honor", others instead of "choosing how to be governed" "accepting the way you are governed", and other different particularities.

[Lord Panda]

deSouza has made an excellent point.

The essay, while very well written, only really talks about the Western mind set regarding Moralism.

Keep in mind that in some societies, it is considered wrong to freely express yourself, or to go against what your direct superior orders you to do.

In western culture, such as America, Freedom of Expression and the ability to act on your own judgment, thus upholding your morals, is not only allowed, it is somewhat encouraged.

[ModusOperandi]

An excellent work Vilien, while I subscribe to the belief that moralism is subjective..

(for example;

a starving nation steals a rich nation's food..

compared to

a rich nation steals a starving nation's food..)

.. you certainly have given me onus to digest what you have had to say and inspiration to contemplate; well done!

[Lord Panda]

Wait, wait, wait, how can someone possibly justify a rich nation stealing a starving nation's food as moral?

There's no possible argument for that, even if you make the logical conclusion that the starving nation would die off anyway, so the rich nation stole the food to put it to better use.

[Kzoppistan]

While I have my own thoughts about morality and power, I shall keep them to myself this time, and instead congratulate you on a finely scribed, and encouraging, piece of introspection.

[Qaianna]

Wait, wait, wait, how can someone possibly justify a rich nation stealing a starving nation's food as moral?

There's no possible argument for that, even if you make the logical conclusion that the starving nation would die off anyway, so the rich nation stole the food to put it to better use.

Think he meant that the starving nation might be more 'moral'. Although it starts feeling less moral when one starts wondering who they're stealing from. And the effects it has. And whether the rich nation's just better managed or not--some nations are poor for a reason.

Personally, I think that there is an absolutely moral answer to every question that's 'right'. Problem is, you have to be very, very, VERY specific or you don't have a clear enough question for a clear answer; the tendency to not quite ask the right questions ends up making things look relative.

[Valerius]

An excellent work, Vilien.

And though the points about this essay focusing solely on Western values are, in a sense, valid, I tend to get the vibe that Vilien's moralism is focused more on tenets like truth and honour, and that the mentioned liberties of expression and choice are secondary and therefore subject to these. Hence, while it may include Western values, it is relevant to all cultures of differing values in that it advocates the pursuit of a higher ideal apart from simple self-preservation. I don't think that is exclusive to the West. In fact, I could go so far to as to say that that is particularly lacking in Western philosophy.

[Hell Scream]

You cannot stereotype men, men are different in different cultures. Your character depends on your upbringing.

I object.

[Kzoppistan]

Personally, I think that there is an absolutely moral answer to every question that's 'right'.

Yes, but whose morals are you using?

[Lord Panda]

You cannot stereotype men, men are different in different cultures. Your character depends on your upbringing.

I object.

Most of the time, people fit into general stereotypes because of that upbringing.

So, yeah.

[The AUT]

An excellent work, Vilien.

And though the points about this essay focusing solely on Western values are, in a sense, valid, I tend to get the vibe that Vilien's moralism is focused more on tenets like truth and honour, and that the mentioned liberties of expression and choice are secondary and therefore subject to these. Hence, while it may include Western values, it is relevant to all cultures of differing values in that it advocates the pursuit of a higher ideal apart from simple self-preservation. I don't think that is exclusive to the West. In fact, I could go so far to as to say that that is particularly lacking in Western philosophy.

Well, not quite.

Although the ideals you speak of in Western socieites may not be practiced highly today, thing's such as truth, honor and honesty are still valued highly. In other parts of the world, for example the Middle East, being moral means you follow your religion to the best of your ability. To the West it's more about Medieval practices that date back to the code of chivalry.

[Alterego]

What of women? A post on moralism should read people instead of men.

[The AUT]

What of women? A post on moralism should read people instead of men.

Ya see? How chivalrous of you, Alterego

[Druss the Legend]

Moralism is a joke ideal in CN, Really it is.

It's an online simulation game, so just get over yourself and off your high horse.

[Vilien]

Moralism is a joke ideal in CN, Really it is.

It's an online simulation game, so just get over yourself and off your high horse.

I'd like to speak to whoever declared this ideology to be a "joke", and ask what authority they had to make such a statement. I'm assuming that you're the one who did so, because you can't understand why anyone would view their experiences here in a different way than you do, but it'd be nice if you could actually back up your arguments with logic and facts. Of course, arguing with reason might be difficult for someone in your position.

[Alterego]

I'd like to speak to whoever declared this ideology to be a "joke", and ask what authority they had to make such a statement. I'm assuming that you're the one who did so, because you can't understand why anyone would view their experiences here in a different way than you do, but it'd be nice if you could actually back up your arguments with logic and facts. Of course, arguing with reason might be difficult for someone in your position.

Not all ideology, just moralism. Thats his idology and its as its something that cant be measured it cant be right or wrong, just different to yours.

Edited September 23, 2009 by Alterego

[nippy]

Not all ideology, just moralism. Thats his idology and its as its something that cant be measured it cant be right or wrong, just different to yours.

I'll agree with his sentiment, however. Moralism is just asinine.

[Vilien]

I'll agree with his sentiment, however. Moralism is just asinine.

Yeah, who could possibly agree with "do the right thing"?

[General Scian]

Honestly, this is something I spoke about a while back with a member of IAA. It seems as though we have become so intent on proving ourselves "right" that in turn we have forgotten what it means to be "right." It has begun to matter little: who we intrude on, who we hurt, how we handle ourselves, and the standards we hold ourselves to.

I credit this to be an overall lack of respect throughout this community, and quite honestly, it sickens me. Can any of you look at what you post on here and feel proud of what you say? Your comments are the greatest quality of your character, and I really really hope that people just lose etiquette on these forums and it's not a dying trait in overall society. Moral decay is what we have here, and a very gross sampling of it.

It's too bad that people can actually say "moralism is a joke ideology" or that "Moralism is asinine." It just shows that as a species we have become nothing more than wolves, waiting for another to slip up so we can take their spot. Opportunist, worrying not about logic and morals as much as how it will benefit us. Disturbing, to say the least.

[Druss the Legend]

You Moralists are jokes. It's easy for you to be all Moral and do the right things when your on top. But when push comes to shove, most "Moralists" value their infra above their friends, and thus that is why your a joke.

[Lord Panda]

I would dump all of us 'Moralists' into the same group if I were you.

Some of us go balls deep when we need to, and are not so petty as to value infra over friendship.

Infra can be rebought; The ties that bind us, however, are much more difficult to rebuild and replace.

[Vilien]

You Moralists are jokes. It's easy for you to be all Moral and do the right things when your on top. But when push comes to shove, most "Moralists" value their infra above their friends, and thus that is why your a joke.

If you knew my history, or had any desire to learn about it, you'd understand how completely ridiculous you sound. But go ahead, make those baseless accusations.

Also, one quick question: did you even read the essay?

[The AUT]

You Moralists are jokes. It's easy for you to be all Moral and do the right things when your on top. But when push comes to shove, most "Moralists" value their infra above their friends, and thus that is why your a joke.

So you consider yourself an underdog? You play the villian and attack a defenseless Crimson Guard and call us the jokes? I'm not a moralist, I defend my friends. I've been on the losing side these past two wars, do I consider that moralism? No, to me it's just loyalty to your friends. And maybe that's what CN's about. If it's about war, then it's about who you go to war with and why. You decided to go to war with Crimson Guard. Why? Because you could and decided with your friends it'd be hi-larious if you do.

Now ask me, what did it accomplish? You're so quick to judge us and criticize us of how we play the game and when we return the favor you can't comprehend why. Now, you're just being ignorant.

[Lord Hextor]

I really like this essay, Vilien. It is well written and I found myself believing it. However, moralism is nice and convenient when everyone is doing it. However, I would like to pull something from your essay.

I do not argue that there are not those who follow their principles. Surely almost all men will hold their beliefs in the highest regard, and follow them to the utmost extent, so long as they do not inconvenience them. Rare indeed is the man who clings to his ideals even as the seas of popular opinion and the greed of great powers carry him to his doom. We've seen these men; the truly great. We have held their stories to heart when the powerful knock on our doors. And yet, how many of us would follow such an example?

When I read this, I immediately thought about the Pre-Karma War way of handling things. Those times were darker, indeed, and people were not given their Western-Moralist rights.

However, I want to analyse this and look at what happened DURING the Karma War. When things were looking grim for the Hegemony, a few choice groups immediately jumped ship and joined the popular opinion in striking down what they thought was wrong. That, as the majority can agree, was the morally right thing to do.

However, what about the Pacificans who stood their ground? Was it morally wrong for them to cling to their ideologies which got them in trouble while they faced the same punishment they dolled out on to other people?

I don't have answers for any of this because moralism is the epitome of philosophical ambiguity. What one person thinks is right, another will think is wrong. When one group's freedoms and liberties are being infringed, it is to preserve the freedoms and liberties of another group. Who is to say which group is right and which group is wrong?

Edited September 23, 2009 by Lord Hextor