The question I wish to ask is this; how shall we define morality? I propose the following definition; morality is a code of conduct; what is righteous and what is evil. But an interesting question lies in this, why should we be righteous, and why shouldn't we be evil?
The answer to this seems to be in the further question, what does it mean to say something is righteous? It seems to me that the most helpful definition of righteousness is the optimum the ideal. But then we can still ask why should we conform to the ideal, the optimum? Well if the optimum or maximum of life is our purpose, then asking why should we conform to it, is a meaningless question. This is because the definition of what a purpose is is the intended end to an entity.
Take the example of an engineer who designs a self-aware robot, and he gives this robot the purpose of building houses. Why should this robot obey this purpose? In this case, the engineer is contingent, so the purpose he gives is only true in one possible world, and thus could be different depending on the character and/or state of the engineer in that world. But this means that the robot would only have that purpose in the actual world, so the Robot might ask, why not simply take a purpose from a different world? In contrast an infinite, necessary, all powerful being, could potentially give a purpose that is binding and true for all possible worlds in which the creatures it created could exist. So, this means that our purpose from this being is necessarily true. Now of course such a being couldn't simply make up necessary truths arbitrarily, but a purpose, by definition, must come from an entity, much like a command. Thus by making our purpose true in all possible worlds, we necessarily should follow that purpose.
What are your thoughts on this argument? Can an objective purpose or moral code exist? If so is it truly defined as what we should do, or merely what is righteous? And if righteousness isn't simply how we should live then what is it?
Could you put your third paragraph in propositional logical form?
ReplyDelete1) A necessary, all powerful being can do anything logically possible.
ReplyDelete2) It is logically possible to create creatures with a purpose that is true of such creatures in every possible world in which those creatures could exist.
3) Therefore it is possible for a necessary, all powerful being to give us a necessarily true purpose.
I would gladly admit that this purpose may not be a moral purpose, but however, you define morality, the point still stands, there is a reason, an absolute goal by which we should live our lives to pursue.
Then I believe this post should be titled "What is the Nature of Purpose".
ReplyDeleteperhaps a better title still would be, what is the nature of morality and purpose. lol
ReplyDelete