Think of humanity as one entity. Perhaps our species share a collective form of emotions that are, at times, superimposed upon our own individual feelings, which in turn reflects on our sense of morality. This leads to question the governing laws imposed to protect a society’s morality and why they need to be there if there is this underlying ‘collective human unity’. Therefore, is morality something which we must feel or something which we must be governed by?
As humans, many of us believe that there are consequences to our actions. Insinuating that we rely on our so called ‘moral compass’ to get through life as pleasantly and easily as possible. Some of us may believe that there is perhaps an afterlife, or a ‘day of judgement’ at the end of our lives on this earth, testing our morality in this life; similar to the theology of ‘The Divine Comedy’ where it is explained that souls would be judged immediately after death, then proceed either to hell (if damned) or purgatory (if saved). So should this mean we must follow a morality in order to benefit our afterlife (if we have one)? Or is morality there to make sense of feelings and emotions?
Morality has been present throughout human history, making it normal and easy to follow the correct type of behaviour within each civilisation (although this shifts slightly as centuries goes on). But why do we accept these norms? Should we question what is right and wrong? After all, it is our species who have created and accepted this so called ‘moral compass’.
Typically, the secular world believes morality is relative and, thus, differs from one individual to another. The religious world on the other hand, relies heavily on the text of the faith, following in centuries of social norms and values. Science can also be a viewpoint for morality, as one can extract whether morality benefits the individual more or society on a whole. But ultimately, there is no conclusive universal agreement on what is moral. So how have we defined what morality truly is?
Most of us have a moral compass which we have developed through our adaptation in our environment, along with the cultural norms and values we have learned. But doesnt this mean we end up relying on only one perspective of morality, making us question different moral codes which don’t aline with our own? How do we know which moral code is best? The dictionary definition of morality is “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour”, but this cannot be objectively agreed, as morality differs across the globe. Frequently discussed and debated topics of morality consist of topics such as: abortion, euthanasia, murder or the death sentence, as well as ‘smaller’ topics: legalising marijuana, monogamy and polygamy, lying, self-harm or even one’s sexuality. Emotion plays a big part in choosing a moral compass, as our feelings tend to give us a sensation too strong to ignore. We may be able to not act upon our feelings and emotions, but perhaps in doing so, we are repressing ourselves psychologically. On the other hand, when we have that ‘gut’ feeling that we are doing something wrong or immoral, maybe we are breaking some sort of spiritual and unconscious compass which we are all a part of.
So is morality something which existed before humans came into this world? If we have the underlying feeling that something is wrong or right, is it because society has engraved a moral compass onto our subconscious? Or is it because there is an underlying web of collective unconscious; whether it is inherited over the human centuries (as Carl Jung theorised) or perhaps a spiritually understood energy which we are all connect to. Carl Jung’s ‘collective unconscious’ theory suggests that the reason behind a number of deeply rooted beliefs and instincts is due to a collective unity of our unconscious minds (similar to that of mycelium). Things such as: sexual behaviour, spirituality, life and death instincts are said to be intertwined throughout human history. Does this mean that our morality is intertwined through, not only generations of humans, but also each and every individual? Perhaps there is an underlying energy which we are yet to acknowledge or understand, tying each individual’s unconscious to one another and emitting a powerful sense of emotion linked to ‘right and wrong’.
Dolphinmind 