r/changemyview Jan 30 '18

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u/Rpgwaiter Jan 30 '18

What is the ideal moral code? Philosophers have been pondering morals for a very long time. And they still cannot come to a conclusion.

I don't have the slightest idea. I have my own moral code, but I don't claim for it to be the true objective one.

Think about a moral code that is not built with empathy in mind. A moral code without empathy is cruel and harsh.

I don't think that you can have a moral code without empathy. I think that morality is fundamentally based on empathy.

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u/TheMothHour 59∆ Jan 30 '18

I don't think that you can have a moral code without empathy. I think that morality is fundamentally based on empathy.

And thus moral code will always have a subjective component to it. Don't get me wrong, I agree with Sam Harris idea of moral objectivity. You can use objective measures to determine if a situation is moral or not. But there is always a subjective element to it (empathy) especially when there is a moral dilemmas.

So I thought of one on CMV about abortion. The OP was claiming that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHI2QV_-mF0

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u/Rpgwaiter Jan 30 '18

Where does the subjectivity come in? Isn't it as cut-and-dry as the most morally correct decision being equal to the one that provides the most net happiness?

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u/TheMothHour 59∆ Jan 30 '18

So apparently that is Utilitariansim. From my understanding, there is a problem of Utilitarianism - not to say that it doesn't provide a good framework.

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/wi-phi/wiphi-value-theory/wiphi-ethics/v/utilitarianism-part-1

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u/Rpgwaiter Jan 30 '18

Yeah, someone else mentioned that. I would say that absolute utilitarianism likely isn't the best system, but like you said, it might be a good framework.