What is Morality?
Relationship is what lies at the heart of morality. We are social beings, in constant relationships of various kinds. Around us is weaved an intricate web of relationships with our families, relatives, neighbours, friends, work colleagues and social authorities. It is when we begin to reflect on these relationships that the whole area of morality presents itself to us as something vital and essential to life and which cannot be ignored. We start to realise our moral obligations in relation to the presence and needs of those around us.
What has happened to Authority?
Many of us grew up in time and culture when obedience was a core value. There was an absolute trust and regard surrounding authority. Today society has largely moved away from this emphasis, although most people would recognise the need for authority, properly used and humanely exercised. It is often said that today we have “moved from the experience of authority to the authority of experience." Generally speaking, people don’t follow a particular course of action simply to obey a law but because doing so rings true to their experience.
Personal Freedom
As we think about ourselves and the world about us, we come to realise that we are fortunate to be free to make choices and take decisions about how we will act, how we will live and how we will treat others. This is because we are both rational and free.
Rational meaning we can think things out, use our reason to grasp and understand the realities of life, consider alternatives and plan our responses to the demands of our relationships with others. Free because it is an essential part of being human that we act out of conscious and free choice, discerned from within and not because it has been dictated to us or forced on us.
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