Table of Contents:
1. What is Morality?
2. The Case against Objective Morality
3. On Moral Normative Systems
4. Morality from An Evolutionary and Game Theory Perspective
5. Musings (Miscellaneous Thoughts)
1. What is Morality?
I think it is important to acknowledge that there isn't a single coherent definition of what morality is; rather, there are distinct but interconnected ideas or layers of morality. Firstly, there is moral intuition. This is the emotional reaction, such as anger or disgust, that people instinctively have towards perceived social unfairness or harm. An example of moral intuition would be if you see someone taking advantage of an elderly person or a group of bullies harassing a defenseless kid. Secondly, there is the personal moral code, which is a set of values one follows and what one personally considers morally good or bad and what others ought to do. This can range from uncritically adopted moral beliefs to consciously chosen philosophical systems such as utilitarianism, consequentialism, or whatnot. From now on, it is noteworthy to mention the important distinction between moral values and personal values.
Moral values can be considered a subset of personal values or preferences, but they are not necessarily the same. To highlight this, when Anna says, “Cholocate cake is good,” no one would say that's a moral preference; rather, it's simply Anna’s personal preference or nonmoral preference. Now if she says, “Helping others is good,” most people would recognize that as a moral preference; although it’s still her preference, it alludes to the fact that it is about what others should do. Typically, it is an ideal or value and is also constrained by what is socially (un)acceptable.
Next up the line is collective values, it is the summation of everyone's social and cultural preferences, what actually exists in practice. It exists at the level of society, rooted in what groups of people believe, and this is what usually determines what laws get passed, how people in general or specific groups of people are treated and judged for their actions and traits, what is expected and encouraged and discouraged, and so on. Religious morality is also part of this.
Additionally, this morality is intersubjective, meaning it exists between multiple minds. Individually, it is a system of internalized values where one imagines a “higher perspective” concerning what is good or bad for everyone coupled with moral imperatives. Collective morality values overlap with personal morality and also influence moral intuition. It initially emerges from individuals interacting with one another.
Lastly, there is objective morality, the view that moral values exist independently of individual humans, either in some mind-independent natural or metaphysical realm, and that these values confer goodness, badness, rightness, wrongness, or obligatoryness on actions and things. Proponents hold that morals must be objective and grounded in such a realm to qualify as genuinely objective. Moral statements, like empirical statements, are considered to have truth value, they can be verified, often through reason or moral intuition, and are true regardless of anyone’s personal beliefs. As such, they are regarded as universally binding and applicable.
The Case Against Objective Morality
Morality consists of values. At its core, the belief in objective morality is the belief in objective value. Value describes how a subject relates to an object through feeling; value describes this relation. Value cannot exist without a subject, so value is subjective by nature. Values reflect a perspective or individual’s orientation or sentiment toward an object or event, entailing judgments of good or bad. However, subjective does not mean meaningless or arbitrary, rather it simply means something depends on a mind or perspective to exist.