Are morals taught or learned

southcentralts · 03-05-2012 2:26am #1

Reading through another few threads it struck me, do the serious actions we take in life, for good or bad, begin with what we are told is good or bad, or what we experience to be good or bad.

I guess my question is, which has had more impact on your behavior, being told something is bad or having an bad experience of, say breaking one of the 10 commandments (not the getting caught bit, but the actual doing something you know is bad bit, and not a religious nut but could not thing of a better way of summing up all the "bad" things we can do in life, than the commandments. Morality not confined to Religion, an all that, what what what, also yes I am rather drunk right now, even reading back this seems like a rant. where was I...)

Has anyone done something wrong (I know nobody here could possibly have had an affair or ever stolen anything...or killed another member of boards over an obtuse post about correct use of grammar and spelling, greatest way to debunk a theory in the history of being wrong is to point out a spelling error?? OMG Einstein did you use a capital E,,I'll have to check that with the Mods before it can be accepted ) but have we lived our lives based on what we know to be wrong or what we experience to be wrong?

To phrase is another way, if you are the victim of a robbery and know how it feels to be violated in such a way, will it make you less likely to commit such a crime if you fall on hard times and need to put food on the table or see your family starve...as unlikely as that type of thing is in today's economy. Or will you be just as inclined to provide for your family no matter what?

P.S. not so much a rant as a Rangent, you just cannot beat ranting on a tangent, especially when drunk.
RANGENT - its free, use it, don't abuse it.
and not for use in describing a sober person.

anyone have an experience they would share that has been so bad they never repeated it?

minor shoplifting was a bit of a buzz when I was young, but can it compare to shifting a few bits of data on a bank computer and stealing thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands. Funny thing about petty crimes in Ireland in the eighty's was, being under 15, we were more afraid of Jesus and the church finding out about it, than the Gardai. Or am I the only one?

Jesus Wept · 03-05-2012 2:31am

You lost my interest at 10 commandments. Can't believe I had to rattle that shite off non stop in school.

Jesus Wept · 03-05-2012 2:35am

Especially the one about murdering, PREACHY OULD SHITE.

Snowie · 03-05-2012 2:37am

guilt leads to morality and lessons learned..

My parents up bringing taught me to recognize right and wrong booth before and after i do things... in my eyes any way...

people choose to be good or bad...

Pedant · 03-05-2012 2:37am

God, apparently, injects morals into your brain at birth with a syringe he nicknames "the Holy Spirit".

LH Pathe · 03-05-2012 2:39am

Is shame thought or learned

Pedant · 03-05-2012 2:42am

LH Pathe wrote: »

Is shame thought or learned

Both:

I taught her to like fornication, she learned fast

Edit: Daaaaaammmmmmnnnn you and your clever spelling!!

LH Pathe · 03-05-2012 2:44am

LH Pathe wrote: »

Is shame thought or learned

is spelling taught or learned.

AskJives · 03-05-2012 2:45am

We are all born innocent. Its our experiences that shape our lives and ethics.

IM0 · 03-05-2012 2:46am

both, plus they are developed with them over time

Jesus Wept · 03-05-2012 2:47am

Domo230 wrote: »

Can people be born evil. No doubt they can (1 in 100 people are psychopaths afterall)

Isn't being taught something and learning something essentially the same?

Where did you see/hear 1/100?

AskJives · 03-05-2012 2:52am

Domo230 wrote: »

Can people be born evil. No doubt they can (1 in 100 people are psychopaths afterall)

Thats BS.

Sindri · 03-05-2012 2:55am

Domo230 wrote: »

Can people be born evil. No doubt they can (1 in 100 people are psychopaths afterall)

Isn't being taught something and learning something essentially the same?

Being a psychopath doesn't make you evil.

Winston Payne · 03-05-2012 3:41am

Sindri wrote: »

Being a psychopath doesn't make you evil.

Sure what's psychopathy but a bit of craic?

southcentralts · 03-05-2012 3:45am

psychopathy is about not caring about right or wrong and doing what it takes to get what you want. My question (badly phrased thanks to buckfast) is

If you face a decision to do something bad, to get something you want, is an experience you have had, more likely to deter you than what you have been told is wrong, but you have had no experience of ? After all we well never know how bad it feels to do something bad, unless we actually do it... or you are a psychopath.

Sometimes it feels good to do something bad, like taking a dump on your neighbors lawn in the middle of the night ( deserved it ).

Sindri wrote: »

Being a psychopath doesn't make you evil.

we also do not appreciate name calling. No, No we do not.

Winston Payne · 03-05-2012 4:01am

Depends on the situation. Frustrates me immensely, the chiding of "moral relativism". ALL morality is relative, hardly anyone lives explicitly to a code totally and utterly.

southcentralts · 03-05-2012 4:16am

Andy Carroll wrote: »

You lost my interest at 10 commandments. Can't believe I had to rattle that shite off non stop in school.

and it was my shame to use it too.
began this thread because I was drunk and wanted to pick a fight (debate) with a believer (big of me, I know ) and to show that we learn from our actions, and not what our religions teach us about right and wrong, we should fear "the act" and not the consequences. Have we as a society come to regard bad deeds in terms of punishment received, as opposed to harm done.

OH - this is in after hours, oops. So I guess its all's well, that ends with me getting thrown to a pack of hungry lions.

Are morals taught or learned

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