Essays

The Moral Crisis

We are starting to realize that the gods did not give us moral rules. Some of us feel like a kid finally moving out of his parents' house: Oh, crap. Now I have to figure this out all by myself!

That's going to be tricky, because moral rules aren't written into reality like physical rules are. We can't measure and test things to find out which moral values are “real.”

Morality is a human invention, like the idea of beauty. When you try to argue that an ape has more rights than a cow, or that lying is wrong in some situations but not others, it's like trying to argue over which Monet painting is the best.

Of course, we try very hard to find an objective moral system. For example:

“The good is whatever maximizes human happiness.” (John Stuart Mill)
“All living things have equal rights.” (Arne Næss)
“Because the universe is condemned to entropy, the highest good is that which improves our ability to build and maintain complex systems.” (Brian Holtz)

The problem is that we can't compare these starting principles to each other. For example, how could we know that John Stuart Mill is more correct than Arne Næss? You might say that humans have more rights than apes because humans have a higher level of consciousness. But then, why should it be consciousness that confers rights, and not some other trait? Why not body size, or one's tendency for peace-making, or - as Brian Holtz' moral theory suggests - one's ability to build and maintain complex systems? At the core of every ethical system is a set of arbitrarily chosen values.

How we actually live

Of course, few of us think so hard about our morals. We mostly do what feels right. Our sense of good morality, like our sense of good art, is mostly based on what feels good.

And what feels good to us is an accident of evolution. Even apes will drown trying to save their kin. That makes sense because their kin carry their genes. Likewise, loyalty and generosity can build your reputation in a tribe, which gives you better access to mates and food. If humans had evolved in a different environment, we should have evolved a very different moral sense.

Morality is also a product of the culture into which you happen to be born. If your parents and elders tell you that God watches your every move and he prefers that you not gather sticks on Saturdays, you might avoid stick-gathering on Saturdays - even if there is no other reason for you to do so. Many cultures thought charging interest on loans was deeply immoral, but modern cultures use this practice as the foundation of their moral system, capitalism.

The heart of the Moral Crisis

So it seems that:

Every moral system is arbitrary, and...
We usually act based on what feels right, anyway.

When we admit these two things, we are ready to face The Moral Crisis.

Most of humanity won't face The Moral Crisis for a long time. Many people still take morality from the god they worship, or else just do what feels right. Even after we pass that stage, we will spend centuries scrambling to find objective moral principles. Moral certainty is comforting, and we will do whatever it takes to avoid The Moral Crisis.

What to do

When you are ready to face The Moral Crisis, what can you do?

Now that I've spent all this time building up The Moral Crisis, my best suggestion is to ignore it. Just keep living. Recognize that the universe wasn't designed to fit a moral system. Recognize that people will disagree with you. Focus your action on the few causes you are (1) most sure to be beneficial to yourself and others, (2) most passionate about, and (3) most able to change.

Live consciously, but don't overwhelm yourself. If you don't act until you find the perfect moral system, you'll never do anything. If you beat yourself up for everything you do that might be wrong, you'll be ineffective and unhappy.

Expose yourself to as many moral opinions as you can. Challenge your own ideas. Try to live in harmony with the world, but realize this may not always be possible, or best. You'll have to slaughter some plants and maybe animals to stay alive. You might have to oppose your friends or enemies or government to keep them from doing destructive things.

Try different moral lifestyles. Some knowledge comes only from doing. Be vegan for a month. Live in the wilderness and carry trash out of a nature preserve. Try complimenting everyone you meet for a day. If you have the skills for it, start a business to create jobs and a service that people value.

Another strategy would be to try to get conscious beings to agree on a moral harmony. Divisive moral systems that persecute certain groups (women, gays, unbelievers) are poor candidates. So are moral systems that may be too difficult for most people. For example, Jains respect life so much that they drink everything through cheesecloth to avoid killing microorganisms.

Imposing morality on a universe not designed for it is like trying to describe a spiritual experience with words, or trying to fit a baby stroller in the trunk of your car: it's probably a good idea but you shouldn't expect a good fit.

The future

If we learn anything from history, it's that moral fashions change. Some things that were non-moral have become heavily moralized, like food. Some things that were moral issues are now neutral lifestyle choices, like homosexuality or marijuana use. Many things that were “bad” are now “good,” like making loans. Many things that were “good” are now “bad,” like conquering nearby lands.

Sometimes technology poses new moral questions. Should we make human clones or designer babies? Other technologies make certain moral questions irrelevant. Does incest matter if the adult couple has ensured they will not produce children?

Even as we confront The Moral Crisis, there is still hope we will at least make some kind of moral “progress.” Maybe we will grow the “expanding circle.” Here's what I mean: Evolution trains the simplest creature to value only itself. For others, it makes sense to value the family. Social creatures are programmed to value the tribe. A human is part of a very large society, and may be trained to value his nation, his race, or even his entire species. As we learn about our heritage with plants and animals, some of us value them, too. That is the expanding circle.

We need not fear The Moral Crisis. Our increasing knowledge of the universe will only help us decide how to act within it. I think Anton Chekhov was right: “Man will become better when you show him what he is like.”