Morality, exactly what is it? The "principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior:" That is what Google has to say about that. How are morals established? They are established personally by the influences surrounding you. It all depends upon where you grew up is another way of saying that. That is the root of the "principles" used to determine right and wrong or good and bad. In todays environment we talk about left and right in describing morality. No matter how you define or describe that it remains as a binary action. That's where tolerance enters the equation, how much wrong or bad will you tolerate? The whole left and right thing requires the acceptance of that binary function. It is the stuff of wars, the imposition of morality.
That is where things get a little sideways. When we attempt to impose our morals upon others, Holy wars have been known to be the result. We have chosen to call those actions, ethics. " Ethics are the philosophical study of what is morally right and wrong, guiding human behavior through principles and values that shape our decisions and actions." Again, Google defines ethics in that way. That sounds like a lot of double talk to me. Your morality and ethics are so closely tied that they can not be separated. The enforcement of ethics is the same as the imposition of morality on others. The sole decision is whether to impose that upon the society in general. That is the function of government.
Civil law is the delineation of morality and ethics. That's my feeling on that. I don't know what they teach in law school, I'd have to ask my grandson about that, he is in his final year of that, but I suspect it is a bit different depending upon the school. What I mean is the philosophy behind the law. Is right always right and wrong always wrong? Isn't that the philosophical question to be answered here? Man has historically always sought the exception to the rule. That is usually decided upon by government. Dictators, Tyrants, Kings, Emperors and Presidents are responsible for the guidance, the principles imposed upon morality and ethics. Ideally, it is those being governed that will establish that, that is the thinking behind our own Republic. Our representatives establishing the moral and ethical principles that guide the implementation of civil law.
Has the philosophy of law changed in America over its' history? You could say that America is 249 years old if you use the ratification of the declaration of independence. It would be 435 years old if you use the landing of the first European settlers at Roanoke. We would all have to agree that the moral and ethical values have indeed changed drastically over that time. The most obvious shift being when we told the King, no more, we will now decide for ourselves what is moral and ethical. The whole "divine right of Kings thing" is hogwash! It is "we the people" that will decide from now on. We stated, furthermore there will be no "state" religion to establish any moral authority. There shall only be civil authority.
"If Congress can employ money indefinitely, for the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, the establishing in like manner schools throughout the union; they may assume the provision of the poor.... Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America." James Monroe
That is just one of the warnings left to us by the founding fathers. They were just as concerned with morality and ethics then as we are today. The nature of man hasn't changed all that much from those days. Every evil known to them still exists somewhere in the world today. Every right and wrong remains still. No matter the advancement in science, philosophy remains unchanged and unchallenged. Philosophy concerns that which we are incapable of understanding. "They may take the care of religion into their own hands;" In other words be the sole judge of right and wrong.
Prophecy or common sense and logic?
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