Modern Morality: A Philosophical Look at Our Values

Dictionary.com’s definition of “morality” is one conforming to the rules of right conduct; Nina Rosenstand’s book, The Moral of the Story, defines morality as following rules. The two words — conforming and following — are key in distinguishing between the meaning of morality and ethics. When you conform or follow, that can be for a multitude of reasons — peer pressure, parental admonishment, societal forces. Conforming and following are not buying-in nor embracing, not adopting nor espousing. Now ethics, according to Rosenstand, is the justification, the rationale behind our conduct and character. Ethical behavior is personal and independently motivated. Similarly, “ethics is the ordering, the questioning, the awareness, the investigation of what we believe…” (Rosenstand, 2013). Being ethical is being morally proactive, morally aware, and morally sound.

In philosophical discourse, the term “values” conjures an alternative significance in contrast to our plebeian comprehension. We understand values as: “I value my house”, “I value my job and my salary”, “What a value on those chicken thighs!”. Michael Kinsley, political pundit, quipped: “When I want value, I go to Wal-Mart.” These are “non-moral value judgements”. The word “value” has gone under a devolution as our society has been reshaped. Nowadays — attributed to a more secular, globalized world — individuals, families, and “units” have become more amoral or just less cognizant of matters pertaining to character-driven, wholesome living. As cultural norms become an even larger factor in the lives of our youth, “family values” are making less of an impact, because they are mudded by the web, by TV, by music and/or they aren’t even being taught or instilled anymore.

On the same note, virtues — values in the philosophical-sense — are becoming extinct:

• self-control and self-monitoring are dying to hedonism and unfettered self-disclosure with apps like Snapchat;
• self-discipline is being overpowered by superfluous activities like the upheaval of reality television;
• selfless, giving love is being defeated by overt, vain self-absorption with photo-editing applications (like those embedded in Instagram);
• appreciating the inherent uniqueness in oneself is crumbling to mindless conformity in dance-moves like “The Dab”;
• humility and reticence are being ignored by hubris and arrogant self-promoting when individuals rack-up “Followers”;
• hard work and industry are becoming nonexistent in many due to a sense of entitlement — in the mentality of teenagers who contribute little to their household and college graduates who meander about without a job;
• long-term commitment and monogamy are being silenced by lustful, sexualized rap music playing through headphones intrapersonally or portable speakers interpersonally and collectively;
• simplicity and modesty are drowning in the seas of lipstick, spray tans, watches, and dollar bills;
• grit and resiliency are being replaced by righteous victimhood thanks to an aversion, a “dislike” of inevitable adversity, problems, and discomfort.

The solidity, the “earthiness”, the depth of one is, sadly, not as secure, honorable, and deep in 2017. People’s engagements, daily happenings are ruled by superficiality, shallowness, fleeting desires, untamed cravings — be it texting as the form of communication, be it scrolling through news feeds in a mindless, semi-hypnotic saturation, be it “needing” these Jordans, be it shoveling down a McDonald’s burger or be it shoving-in a Milky Way.

Living a good, sound, robustly moral existence is something that demands to be cultivated not left-to-dry, augmented not weakened, worked at not left-to-rust, attended-to not cold-shouldered. Being virtuous isn’t innate, it’s procured over time — through toughness, being under water, at night, among sadness, amid difficulty, from reflection. Examine your life, like Aristotle advises; endure life, like Epictetus beseeches; correct yourself, like Marcus Aurelius instructs; find your truth, like Seneca encourages; and be kind, like Plato commends.