If there were no concept of right or wrong, we would be living like the animals. Killing would not have a moral value nor would stealing from each other. It would all be about survival and nothing more. Hyenas do not think twice about stealing hard-earned prey from other animals. Nor do cheetahs think twice about attacking a helpless gazelle faun. A dog does not think about how cute the little rabbit is that he is slaughtering, nor does the male lion feel guilt about eating his own offspring.
The problem with living without morality is that, even if it ensures survival in the short run, in the long run it does not work, at least for humans. We have risen to the top of the food chain because of our ability to cooperate with each other and to share. Even among the animals, there are certain frameworks of right or wrong. The alpha male wolf gets first pick of the prey. After that, there is a descending order all the way down to the omega female. If a wolf transgresses this order, they are quickly brought into line.
Morality implies a conscience that makes us feel bad when we break the moral code, unless we are psychotic. Yet, some of the moral codes that have existed in the past could seem psychotic now. For example the Hammurabi Code, one of the oldest systems of law in the world from Babylon, predating the 10 Commandments. The Code divides justice into the three classes of Babylonian society: Property owners, freed men, and slaves. If a doctor killed a rich patient, he would have his hands cut off, but if he killed a slave, only financial restitution was required.
It seems barbarous today to even have slaves, no less laws that applied to them alone. Enforcement of such laws, as in cutting off people’s hands, is also barbarous today. This illustrates that even moral codes can be immoral, depending on what period you are living in and in what part of the world.
The problem with living without morality is that, even if it ensures survival in the short run, in the long run it does not work, at least for humans. We have risen to the top of the food chain because of our ability to cooperate with each other and to share. Even among the animals, there are certain frameworks of right or wrong. The alpha male wolf gets first pick of the prey. After that, there is a descending order all the way down to the omega female. If a wolf transgresses this order, they are quickly brought into line.
Morality implies a conscience that makes us feel bad when we break the moral code, unless we are psychotic. Yet, some of the moral codes that have existed in the past could seem psychotic now. For example the Hammurabi Code, one of the oldest systems of law in the world from Babylon, predating the 10 Commandments. The Code divides justice into the three classes of Babylonian society: Property owners, freed men, and slaves. If a doctor killed a rich patient, he would have his hands cut off, but if he killed a slave, only financial restitution was required.
It seems barbarous today to even have slaves, no less laws that applied to them alone. Enforcement of such laws, as in cutting off people’s hands, is also barbarous today. This illustrates that even moral codes can be immoral, depending on what period you are living in and in what part of the world.
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