Discussion on Morals and Ethics - (via. Inversehalo message board)

From Inversehalo member No1partiQlr:

Existence is a hard thing to cope with once you've come to realize how strange and impossible it seems. The fact that we are not only here but waking, conscious beings with the ability to choose and manipulate our path is astonishing enough. Then to realize that, with the brilliance that is life and existence, there is no real explanation for any of this. This is part of horror of uncertainty in wake of eternity. We are finite beings placed in an infinite world 'free' to make our choice free to become.

Choice is the one thing you have near absolute control over. Granted there are many studies that suggest much of our choices are made for us. Group thinking, moral bias birthed from cultural conditioning, social roles, school, media, etc. are all facets that affect our being. These things, in a sense, plug into our being and manipulate our essence. We become what we are partly because of factors that are brought about from the world around us. This is a give in. However, we are capable of transcending all of this and becoming more then what is expected of us. We can choose to go along with the stream; half asleep, half conscious, and barely ourselves, or we can choose more.

Morality and our lives are defined by ourselves. Every action we make defines our essence to ourselves and those around us. Our interpretations are shaped by what we consider normal and acceptable and necessary. I am a thief if i choose to steal, but thievery is mine to justify as much as it is the worlds to justify. One could argue that all thieves are bad of course, but consider a thief who steals to survive, to eat because he has no food to eat and no job will ever pay him. Can one argue that that thief is bad? If you've ever seen, been to, or even read about a third world country you'll have hopefully learn that being a thief in a place like that is justifiable to some extent. You could always argue one point or another but the fact that this argument becomes subjective is proof enough that morality bends and twist. If you look deep enough into this fact you'll find that most people have a moral bias. That is things become right when it is the norm and things become even more right when it is an act that must be committed by themselves. We thus define ourselves to be moral or amoral in such a way.

The key to me is transcendence. To become the act and to allow the act to become you. I believe that you are what you do. To understand this though you must examine all aspects of choice; everything, from the smallest choice, to the life changing decisions. You must transcend the act and the choice in every way. It's realizing, for instance, that plastic takes hundreds of years to break down but never actually decomposes, and deciding if you agree with such a thing. Our choices tie strings to yourself and everything else it affects. Spending money is supporting what is bought and all that produced the product, dressing one way promotes an image, speaking changes peoples minds, etc. This to me is becoming, this to me is the nature of transcendence through existential inquiry. The only thing that must truly be decided upon is what acts are becoming of you and what acts aren't.

To sum it up, realizing that much of choice isn't governed by our own mental facilities and that freewill has everything to do with consciousness of the self and existence as a whole, your ability to transcend choice and allow each choice to be truly yours by understanding both what is certain about the choice and uncertain is what is moral. Authenticity to me is morality, or at the least I believe morality can be achieved through authenticity.

Now Transcendence isn't truth by all means truth because absolute truth suggest that nothing is real and everything doesn't exist (I could show you guys some creative arguments for this but I do this better in person then writing) but this form of transcending is the way in which i deal with existence.

What does this have to do with this group? well, it's like this: the aim of the group is to help enlighten and spread good, right? I believe that teaching others that they have a choice they can make and also teaching people how to make the choices that we as a group believe is right (remember too that what one believes is right is different from the next but that's another issue) is the key to do this. I also believe that as a group supporting one issue or another should be examined and dissected until each perception is understood that way the right (the one that each individual would want pursue) stance is made. This is complicated of course and maybe even over explained. To make it a little more simple: Teach people that they are. Teach them that they have a choice. Then teach them what choices we've made.

From Inversehalo member Aramal Malik:

To add to what No1inpartiQlr said,

Transcendence is a good approach to improving our outlook on morals and ethics, I concur with that. But we should also look at Potential Human Transmutation - the act of transforming our personal energy and intellect into the energy and intellect of all society and consciousness. While that seems fantastical to some of us, I believe that the universe is responsive (if not totally aware) of our individual efforts. If our struggle is positive and effects the spiritus mundi (the world spirit) then the collective unconsciousness of every single human-being processes our effort and everyone becomes aware of the ability to do likewise. To be less scrupulous about this:

if we create thoughts with good intention, IT WILL BECOME EVERYONES THOUGHT.

Looking around us we see that the world is a product of thought. In some places we can see where bad thoughts have become bad actions. In other places we see that good thoughts, have become good action. If we pollute the universe with our evil, then the universe will eliminate us from the process in order to cleanse itself...
Therefore, our aim of morals - our aim of our ethics should be founded upon the ideal that instead of polluting the consciousness of the universe, we have two choices:

-serve the universe
-help fuel the collective conscious with positive influence

By no means is what I've stated here the final or perfect answer to the question...
That way we can keep this discussion going :)

Besides, Morals and Ethics is ever changing, and hopefully ever improving....