Reasons to Act Morally Essay -- Ethics Morals Philosophy

Why be moral: A Purpose to Life In our culture, many people are asking the same questions. What makes me better than you? Who says I have to treat you that way? Why does America think it is better than any other country? All of these questions arise from the same question: what are morals? This questions leads to another relevant question: why be moral? What, if anything, makes man (in this paper, I will use the word man in a generic sense meaning the entire human race) a moral creature and thus makes him responsible? However, is there any way we can really know that there are certain inherent laws which govern man, and behind these laws is there a Lawgiver that holds men accountable to these laws? I believe that all these questions can be answered through careful observation and logical thinking. Let us first look at the one thing we know for sure and that is man. We can know this for sure because we are men so we would know how we act. When we associate with others, we do so with some rules of fairness in mind. We treat others in a certain way and expect them to treat us in the same way or we say it is â€Å"unfair† or â€Å"selfish.† We just expect the other person to know that such an act is wrong and that they must play by the same rules that we are. Why do we expect this though? They did not grow up the same way you did. They were not raised by the same parents or even in the same household. So why should one expect them to know the same rules of fairness that you know. If the only basis for your assumption that they should know the rules is because you think the rules are right, then you have no reason to expect them to act that way. However, the other person does indeed know these rule... ...belong to us, we might as well be able to steal because there would be no reason not to. If there was no lawgiver there would be no law, but there obviously is this governing law in men that compels them to do certain things and not do others. If there were not consequences for these actions, anything would basically be moral right. If there was not a being behind the law to enforce it, there would be absolutely no real right or wrong. Everything would be relative, but it is not. There are things that everyone agrees are absolutely good, and absolutely bad. There is no other way around it. The lawgiver has given man a purpose and a reason for life, and it is man’s moral obligation to fulfill that purpose by upholding the law given him. Works Cited / Consulted Lewis C.S. Mere Christianity. New York, New York. Macmillan Publishing Company. 1943. pp 17-39.