Friday, March 21, 2008

On the Fallacy of Morality & Virtue, Or On the Necessity of Vitality

What are your moral beliefs? Go ahead, try to answer...
If you took caution, or hesitated, you are on the right track. If you answered, this is not good, but it is correctable.

Let us begin this discussion of morality's lodging into the proverbial throats of our cognition. Morality can be defined as follows:

Morality
1 a: the peculiarity distinguishing the living from the nonliving b: capacity to live and develop; also : physical or mental vigor especially when highly developed
2 a: power of enduring b: lively and animated character

Shall we follow this definition?

Virtue
1 a: conformity to a standard of right : morality b: a particular moral excellence
2plural : an order of angels — see celestial hierarchy
3: a beneficial quality or power of a thing
4: manly strength or courage : valor
5: a commendable quality or trait : merit
6: a capacity to act : potency
7: chastity especially in a woman

So you see, the foundation of these two ridiculous concepts is on the intangible ground of right and wrong. Very relative, very wishy-washy. Very Rediculous. Right and wrong have been discussed for too long. Isn't it about time we divert our efforts to something more tangible?, more real?

Let me now define a more suitable alternative:

Vitality
1 a: the peculiarity distinguishing the living from the nonliving b: capacity to live and develop; also : physical or mental vigor especially when highly developed
2 a: power of enduring b: lively and animated character

Humans should no longer fret over right and wrong, but over living and non-living, physical and mental vigor, power of enduring, and lively-nes. "How right or wrong are my actions?" Please, that question is just plain ignoramous. How about questioning,
"How alive are you?"

7 comments:

ClickNathan said...

Currently, I am 4 alives out of 10.

Over the next two weeks I plan to up that to at least 6 of 10. By midsummer, I hope to have caused reason to redefine the scale.

I would consider the average American to be around a 3 out of 10. Shame for my patriotism.

Wolfman said...

I'm not going to pretend that I know what you are talking about, but it sounds like you are on the right track, the track of vitality. I see that you are trying to measure your own vitality, but I also see that you are doing so numerically. Do not do this. Rather try a more descriptive definition.

ClickNathan said...

Ah, excellent and thank you for that bit of course correction. Inspired by you in the garden of Eden, I've already upped my "alive-ity" from 4 out of 10 to "Feeling Uber"...

I'll attempt to keep you informed through my every day vitality.

Wolfman said...

It would definately benefit you in doing so. Stay mindful of your vitality.

You have made modest improvement already.

Shawn Snyder said...

fantastic.

Shawn Snyder said...

seriously.. fantastic..

Wolfman said...

shawn, I have caught small wind of your minor contributions to this philosophy. Feel free to make contributions. It is not anyone the WM will make comment on.