OK, here's a mind-challenge.
Can someone name an ACT that is always ABSOLUTELY wrong?
Remember, we're talking about acts. Rape and murder are not acts, but labels applied to specific instances of acts that meet certain criteria.
Expatbrit
Moral absolutes
by Aztec 163 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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peacefulpete
expatriot..Has nailed it.
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siegswife
An adult having sex with an infant or toddler. Personally, I would even include a prepubescent child in there.
I can't imagine an adult even being coerced or forced to have sex with an infant or toddler. Death would be preferable.
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siegswife
Expatbrit, I'm confused about this:
Rape and murder are not acts, but labels applied to specific instances of acts that meet certain criteria.
What does that mean? Rape and murder are acts that meet certain criteria. How are they not acts?
What kind of acts are you talking about that don't meet certain criteria?
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Big Tex
Can someone name an ACT that is always ABSOLUTELY wrong?
Sexual intercourse with a child.
Unwanted sexual contact.
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peacefulpete
Expatriot may correct or disagree with my comments, but if you read my 6th comment on this thread I believe the distinction is made. Just because we may not be able to conceive of an instance when a specific act would not be harmful does not mean that the act is inherently wrong, just that it is so specificly narrowly defined as to create the improbability of innocent or accidental perpetration. To illustrate. Touching the sexual body parts of an infant in itself is not wrong, (for parents when bathing or doctors when examining do so ) unless......... So to eliminate the ambiguity in our statement we might say that the entering of an adult penis into the orafices of an infant is wrong. This statement is far more difficult to conceive an acceptable situation wherein this specific act could occur without harm. But by so narrowly defining the act we are inadvertantly ignoring the multitude of alternative ways an infant may be abused. To eliminate the need for a million of specific prohibitions that narrowly define an act that we at the time could not conceive an innocent person doing, we should apply a more defensible and timeless code that seeks to determine the helpfulness, the harmlessness, or the harmful nature of each incident to determine the wrongfullness and then as a secondary consideration whether the situation still requires we commit the wrong or not. The latter is the question of ethics as different from the principle of right and wrong. Expatriot is simply useing the term "wrong" slightly differenty than me. He is including the ethicall considerations. His last post was succint and perhaps better for this forum.
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siegswife
I'm wondering something about the term moral absolutes. Since the idea of morals deals with standards of right and wrong, why is the focus only on what could be construed as absolutely morally wrong? Why not morally right?
Are there any actions or standards that are always right and moral?
Why would moral absolutes be confined to defining behavior that is morally wrong?
If behaviors exist that are always right, wouldn't that prove that moral absolutes exist?
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siegswife
double post
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plmkrzy
You are confusing ethics and morality
How would you describe the difference between the two?This was a popular subject for debating in my ethics class.
Morality is synonymous with a sense of spirituality, weather that be ones relationship with god, ones own self or adam ant. It is not recognized in a court of law. Ethics are. Morality is a personal choice and ethics or lack of can land you in court. There is a difference even if it is only a slight one or a technicality. There are no clear-cut guidelines for morality only how one views it. It is not illegal or unethical to be gay. Some religions and beliefs will stand their ground on the morality of it or lack of. This cannot be argued. If it is imoral in gods eyes to be gay according to the beliefs and doctrins of one religion but not another, both must be respected it is the ethical thing to do.
Edited to add, something may also be unethical but not illegal.