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Showerthoughts_Mod t1_j6hywz1 wrote

This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.

Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"

(For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)

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JA_LT99 t1_j6i5eyi wrote

I mean, it's easily possible for any situation to fall into a more sharply defined area of your morality as well.

I think it's probably much more correct to say that morality is one of the main defining characteristics of you. The gray areas mean less without the whole picture and spectrum.

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myspace-2 t1_j6i6eto wrote

Replying to JA_LT99 (#1,614,088)

agreed, but i think op’s point was that where two different people would decide to stop something or to intervene is a defining characteristic that separates them

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JFp07gel t1_j6imqt7 wrote

My most defining traits are the farthest from my gray area as possible

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Atari-Dude t1_j6j0f3t wrote

My favorite shows are Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Better Call Saul... You are 100% right

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JasonVanJason t1_j6j2dal wrote

Morals were a construct of society not the individual until the Nuremberg Trials were forced to make the distinction that one cannot just follow orders, yet we continue to prosecute Whistle Blowers to this very day and so it seems we have learned nothing.

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Ravore t1_j6ky7h5 wrote

Agree to disagree. I think a lot of gray area situations are not likely to happen like making the train run over 5 people or 1. I think think a lot of your main defining characteristics are what you wake up and do each day and how you try to impact society.

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firesiege t1_j6lbj3d wrote

Replying to JFp07gel (#1,617,874)

Well, I think.... what OP is trying to say is..... its easy to do the right thing if the situation is black and white. And perhaps a bit less telling.

What about some morally grey situations like.... are you willing to lie for the greater good for example? How much of a lie for how much greater good right?

The way I interpret your response is that your most defining traits are already divided up between the two (or multiple) or whatever sides and.... that's okay. I think we all try to do this; honestly. I just think OPs point is interesting because I feel sometimes situations DO come up that make you wonder, what IS the right choice, or which choice do you even want.

Um.... just a random example that popped into my head.
Uhhh.... You're walking down the street, and see uhh I don't know.... $10 on the ground. The pair walking ahead of you are about a half block down. You'd REALLY have to yell to return it to them even if it was theirs. On the other hand, there is a homeless man in an alley that has his eyes on the area of the street where the money lays, but has made no motion to get up as you're much closer. What do you do?

If the answer is still obvious to you, change the distance of the homeless man, or the pair who possibly dropped it, or the amount. ;)

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firesiege t1_j6lbmi3 wrote

Something actually THOUGHT PROVOKING here!?!??!!!? Get OUTA here with that! jkjkjk

(this is so rare, I want to cry)

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DudeOnTheDestiny t1_j6m3svf wrote

I was just watching a video on Moral Development (subtopic of Developmental Psychology) that I'm reminded of. It's about how children/people develop morals. The focus is on how they arrive to a conclusion regarding a dilemma (a man steals heavily marked-up medicine for his dying wife)...how do you justify the action of stealing?

The stages (according to Kohlberg's theory) go from preconventional (what is the consequence of my action? e.g. the man shouldn't steal because he might go to prison) to conventional (what would society think? e.g. the man should steal to be a "good husband") to postconventional (what are my overall ethical principles? e.g. committing a small crime for the greater good).

Postconventional is where we start to consider "social contracts" and "abstract ethical principles" which I think relates to this showerthought.

And Developmental Psychology is about how we become to be who we are in terms of physical, cognitive, social and emotional factors. So I would say that your reasoning and justification for morally grey scenarios is a defining characteristic of you but probably not the "main part" because there's so much to psychology.

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