Moral law - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Moral law: an enigma wrapped in obligation, a whispered command that threads through the tapestry of human existence, compelling action and sparking endless debate, often misunderstood and sometimes ignored, yet ever-present in the architecture of our societies and the labyrinths of our minds.
References to something akin to moral law appear as early as the 18th century BCE in the Code of Hammurabi, though not explicitly named as such. This code, inscribed on a basalt stele and attributed to the Babylonian king Hammurabi, attempts to codify justice and social order, hinting at underlying moral principles that govern human interaction. The great ideas are exemplified by the great philosophers. However, it is perhaps in the dialogues of Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BCE) and the writings of Aristotle (384–322 BCE) that we begin to see the explicit articulation of a moral order, especially as it relates to virtue ethics, integral to ancient Greek society. The tumultuous political landscape of ancient Greece, rife with city-state rivalries and philosophical inquiry, fostered an environment where questions of justice, virtue, and the good life were paramount and the search for an ethical life was the most important task.
Over the centuries, the interpretation of moral law has undergone seismic shifts, shaped by influential thinkers. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804 CE), with his categorical imperative, posited an objective moral standard discoverable through reason alone - a counterpoint to consequentialism and utilitarianism championed by thinkers like Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832 CE) and later, Peter Singer (born 1946 CE), who measured morality by the greatest good for the greatest number. This tension between deontological constraints and consequentialist decision theory continues to fuel philosophical debate. Furthermore, existentialist ethics challenge any pre-established moral framework, emphasizing individual moral autonomy and throwing open the moral landscape. Consider the experiment ethics implied by the trolley problem and its many trolley dilemma variations, a thought experiment exploring our moral intuitions. The wason test, the monty hall problem, and logic tests, including those of valid vs invalid syllogism, are examples of how cognitive bias may influence our decision making. The impact of moral luck and moral sentiment on responsibility can be assessed via a moral quiz or fairness test.
The legacy of moral law extends beyond philosophical treatises into legal systems, ethical obligations, and the very fabric of our moral reasoning. Contemporary reinterpretations grapple with issues from fairness in justice to the intricacies of ethics in AI, from animal rights philosophy to privacy ethics in technology. Is this moral code an objective reality, as moral absolutist principles suggest, or merely a construct of cultural norms, a fleeting consensus within the vastness of subjective morality? The quest to understand moral law remains a profound and urgent project, its mysteries beckoning us to unravel the threads that connect our actions to the universe of what ought to be.