There are some things that I believe which most people, if you are to take them at their word, do not. But I find that when I observe what people actually do and how they go about their lives, their actions are in harmony with my views. For instance, I believe seeking profit is part of human nature and, furthermore, I believe it to be a good thing. I often hear people mewl about corporations putting profit above people. They are upset when a business puts its bottom line ahead of the welfare of any individual employee. Of course, the employees put their own bottom lines ahead of the company's concerns. Cease paying them and even the most dedicated associate will sprint for the nearest exit.
Then again, there are other things that I believe which most people, if you take them at their word, do agree. But I find that when I observe what people actually do and how they go about their lives, their actions suggest a disharmony. For instance, I believe that aggression (that is, offensive violence as opposed to defensive violence) is immoral. But it is commonplace in our society. There are many good people, if I may be oxymoronic, who decry robbery, rape, extortion, and murder while supporting taxation, eminent domain, wars to prevent wars, and democracy.
I say these things are immoral, you might call them moral, and yet others might call them amoral. Since morality is in the eye of the beholder, it seems like there is a chance that we are all "right". But morality is a means and not an end. The ends we are aiming for are subjective. And if we have subjectively chosen the same end, like perhaps the relative contentment of mankind, then our moral code can be objectively examined to find whether or not our actions will lead us to this end.
To be honest, I don't think very highly of mankind in general. For the most part, I really don't care if future generations cease being produced. I believe that the supposed threat of global warming to the fate of our race is no more real than the threat that Iran will attack America. But so what if it is real? The one thing we know about every single human being past, present, and future is that they all have mortal bodies. Death has been the fate of every individual and is the fate waiting for all those yet to exist. Why is it preferable that they succumb to heart disease rather than to severe weather events? To whom does it matter if we all die one by one or by the thousands, except for the people who might be left to dispose of the thousands?
Yet, I do have a subjective preference for the general benefit of mankind. This is because I am a self centered being, just as we all are. We all have something inside us that drives us to be satisfied. We constantly battle against those things that we feel stand in the way of that goal. The presence of varying degrees of empathy inside each of us makes it difficult to abide the varying degrees of suffering we see in our fellow creatures. Creating a world with less human suffering helps bring the chimerical goal seemingly closer.
The objective path toward reaching the subjective destination is a civilized road. All things that threaten civilization (such as robbery, rape, extortion, murder, taxation, eminent domain, wars, and democracy) are immoral. All things that strengthen civilization (such as production, exchange, cooperation for mutual benefit, peace, private property, and liberty) are highly moral. All other activities that don't fit into these categories (such as playing video games, listening to gangster rap, going to church, writing blog posts, and recycling) are amoral. This is what I believe.
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