Basic Concepts and Fundamental Questions: 1. Why Should We Be Moral? 2. What Does It Mean To Be Moral?

Basic Concepts and
Fundamental Questions
1. Why should we be moral?
2. What does it mean to be moral?
Why should we be
moral?
The Ring of Gyges
In The Republic (Book 2:359a-360d), Plato tells the

story of a shepherd named Gyges who found a magic
ring that could turn him invisible. He proceeded to use
the power of the ring to seduce the queen, murder the
king and rule the land. Why did he do so? It is because
he could and, in the words of the character Glaucon, it
would be foolish of him not to do so.
Now:
You have in possession of the very same ring. The ring grants you
total invisibility. No one knows you have it. Totally free to act in
anyway you desire without suffering social or legal judgment.
Would you use it?
Would there be limited on its use?
Why not use it to satisfy your every desire, gain power, and crush
enemies?
In an article published in the American
Philosophical Quarterly entitled “ Why should I be
moral? Revisited,” Kai Nielsen explained that any
meaningful answer to the question of why one must
be moral must first address head-on and seriously the
disciplines moral skepticism and moral nihilism.
Moral Skepticism
Moral Skepticism, is a discipline that covers a very wide area. But the
main idea of this is that, although there is such a thing as morally right thing
to do, we can never know it, i.e we can never know whether our moral
claims are indeed true.
As a result, we are never justified in believing that such moral claims are
true. In other words, one cannot really say that he or she is doing the morally
right thing when he or she returns a wallet full of cash, there is no way for
him or her to be certain that honesty in this case is indeed morally right.
If that is the case:
We find the “Why should I be moral?” absurd.

What convincing answer could we provide to this question
when, in the first place, we could never know what the morally
right thing to do would be?
Moral Nihilism
(Moral Skepticism denies the possibility of knowing what is the morally
correct thing to do.)
Moral Nihilism denies the existence of moral truths all together. Moral
nihilism, as the Basics of Philosophy defines, is 'the meta-ethical view that
ethical claims are generally false. It holds that there are no objective moral
facts or true propositions - that nothing is morally good, bad, wrong, right,
etc. because there are no moral truths.'
Continuation:
For moral nihilist:

- stealing is not wrong, it is not right either.
The same goes with all other activities.
One is then not justified when he claims that he did something morally right when he
returned the stash of money he found. There is no such thing as morally right in the first
place.
Thus, asking the question, “Why should I be moral?” is meaningless for moral
nihilists because there is no such thing as objective moral truths.
Why should I be
moral, then?
The question may be like this:
Why would you do what is “right”, “just” and “proper”?
Glaucon may argue that being unjust is much profitable than being just,
what with all the benefits you can get from gratifying one's senses and
ego.
 However, as Socrates pointed out, it is still far better for one to be
rational and in control of his or her appetite rather than be enslaved by it.
It is still better to get an honest failing grade than a perfect score out of
cheating.
 The moral skeptics may argue that such a question is absurd given that there is no way
for one to know what is right , just and proper.
 However, this notwithstanding, one still finds some actions much preferable over others
even if he or she is not certain that such actions are indeed morally right. A moral
skeptic may still find it preferable to offer his or her seat on a crowded bus to a pregnant
woman although for reasons, admittedly, other than moral rectitude.
The moral nihilist may argue that to ask the question :why should I be
moral?” is meaningless because there is no such thing as morally right or
morally wrong.
However, even a moral nihilist will normally find terrorism and child
abuse wrong even if he or she does not accept it to be morally wrong.
Why should I do the right thing?
1. Doing the right thing promotes self-interest. It may be the self-interest (gratifying the senses
or the ego) of Glaucon or the self-interest (Self-control, exercise of reason and true happiness)
of Socrates.
2. Doing the right thing is what the law demands. One has no choice but to do it because doing
otherwise will bring one into trouble.
3. Doing the right thing is what God expects of me. One will suffer eternal damnation if one
doesn't do it.
4. Doing the right thing will preserve the integrity of the society. To ensure the continued
survival of the society, one must do the right thing.
However,
One may ask, if satisfying my self- interest does not appeal to me

that much anymore, if there are no law that prohibits me from
doing things, if heaven and hell are not real, if the integrity of the
society does not matter me anymore,
Why should I be moral?

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Basic Concepts and

In The Republic (Book 2:359a-360d), Plato tells the

We find the “Why should I be moral?” absurd.

For moral nihilist:

One may ask, if satisfying my self- interest does not appeal to me

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