Someone once told me that ‘morality is a test’ and it got me thinking of tests that people are given. Catholics believe their ultimate test if given by god and their success of being a good catholic will get them to heaven. While those who don’t believe in a heaven do believe that it is society that is testing them to see if they can survive. Students, as well, are tested on all sorts of material to see how well they have learned and can apply the material.
If we accept this metaphor then we are accepting that there is a test for goodness. But, what does it mean to be good and how do we use our findings as a universal definition?
The thing is, we can’t. There are just too many factors (cultural-values, religious-values, political-values, family-values, philosophical-theories) that come into play when asking the question “what is moral?” Depending on your belief of any of, or any mix of the aforementioned factors, what you approve of is ultimately what you deem moral, but may be immoral to another who is basing their opinion on the same categories.
For example, if someone approves of cannibalism, incest, or sacrifice to satisfy the gods than those actions cannot be immoral solely based on their approval of it.
In addition, the morality of prostitution is also based on the individual. To say prostitution is immoral because it is illegal is basing morality on legality, but just because it is illegal does not make is immoral. If we based morality on legality than technically slavery was once a moral act. Even today, some people may still believe slavery is moral; and who’s to say they’re wrong?
In the Mariam Webster Online dictionary, you will find the word moral defined as “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior” (). This definition does and does not work. It does work because it doesn’t suggest what the definition of right or wrong is. However, it does not work because it leaves it’s interpretation to the individual and so the word or term ‘moral’ can truly have millions of definitions and therefore, can never be universal.
