You have a moral choice!

'Morality', "Moral Science" or "Ethics" is no longer an interesting topic for most of us because even the subject of Ethics has been axed in the GCE Advanced Level syllabus. In the 1950s and 60s 'Ethics' was a popular subject at the GCE A/L examination. Many students offered Ethics and Logic for the exam because they were an ideal combination. Today students learn logic but they hardly know that there was a subject called "Ethics."

The present deterioration of moral values may be partly due to the absence of any knowledge of morality. People are driven by economic goals and personal agendas. As a result we have hardly any time to think of society or the other man who will be affected by our actions. Some people may argue that there is nothing called "society". There are only collections of individuals.

People who live in groups tend to develop certain sets of principles and values. Some of them can be found in the legal system of the country. Without such rules of conduct human life becomes a problem to others and to yourself. One problem associated with this situation, is that laws do not cover all human activities. Where law is silent, ethics takes over loud and clear.

Moral values have come down to us from various religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. In addition, moral rules are created by convention. These are essential for society to function properly. Since they are man made, they can be challenged or altered subsequently. The two leading Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle went beyond this conventional morality and showed a link between morality and happiness. Whether it leads to happiness or otherwise, conventional morality is necessary to preserve our sanity.

It is easy to have a moral code for each individual. This does not necessarily mean that individual moral codes will be adequate to solve the problems in society. When individuals have different opinions on important matters, it is difficult to find a common basis for social ethics. For instance, even leading philosophers were not free from prejudice. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle wanted slaves to obey their masters. In other words, he condoned slavery. He also said that women should obey men. Whether Aristotle was a male chauvinist is open to question.

Ethics or moral science is based on human experience and reason. It was not something handed down to us by a god or a philosopher. But from time to time people have been questioning ethical principles formulated by society. We must realise that society needs to have a set of moral rules, in addition to laws passed by parliament or similar authority. This is to maintain social cohesion and minimise human conflicts. If we allow individuals to exercise unlimited powers, the whole structure of society will crumble down.

David Hume

There are moral issues concerned with law and order and the punishment meted out to wrongdoers. A classic case was narrated to me by a high government official. According to him, a girl had been raped and the court proceedings started to roll on at snail's pace. There were long delays on the part of the police, government analyst and lawyers. To cut a long story short, the case dragged on for more than a decade. By that time the girl had got married and given birth to children. She led quite a happy married life with her husband and children. However, their happiness was shattered when she was summoned to appear before court in connection with the rape charge. The husband who did not know that his wife had been raped before marriage deserted her.

When incidents of this nature happen we have to question our own moral rules and the law. If the law's delays affect society - adversely, something will have to be done immediately to stem the rot.

According to Marxist theory society progresses, by way of conflict between classes. Karl Marx campaigned for a classless society in which everything would run smoothly. In such a set- up individual morality would help to fashion social morality to a great extent. Unfortunately, we do not see such a classless society in any part of the world. As such, we have to find a way to develop both individual and social morality.

Although it is easy for us to have moral rules for individual development, it is not easy to find a common basis for social morality. Plato once said that the wind feels cool to one person but warm to another. Similarly, the values you cherish will not appeal to another person or group of people. Does it mean that we cannot have a standard in law and social morality? If that is so, what are the options we are left with?

Anybody who is exposed to current news will agree that there are numerous opinions on any given subject. Sometimes, people criticise court decisions and demand justice the way they want. We can wholeheartedly agree with David Hume who said that it was impossible to achieve justice based on what people deserve. This is because people never agree on what they deserve. This is the very reason why we should develop a set of principles to strengthen social morality.

Laws are passed by the legislature and enforced by the judiciary. In a democracy the legislature consists of people's representatives. Therefore, the general public are bound to obey them. Similarly when law breakers are punished by the judiciary, people have no moral right to question the legality of punishment.

According to the social contract theory there is agreement between the legislators and the people to obey certain laws which may limit their freedom. This is done to benefit society in the long run. If people begin to question and protest against laws and punishment, it will lead to chaos in society.

When you pass from law to social morality you will naturally feel that you have a moral choice in whatever you do. Your moral choice is fashioned by your education, intelligence and empathy.