Human life extends from birth to death through biological development and psychological growth and social interaction and spiritual evolution. In our first year of life, we depend on caregivers to provide us with three fundamental emotions: love and fear and wonder.
The process of growing up during childhood and adolescence enables individuals to develop their identities through exploration and their first responsibilities which require them to consider both societal expectations and biological limitations.
Adulthood requires people to balance their duties with their artistic abilities and their personal connections, which bring them both happiness and difficulties. People discover their purpose through work and love and their journey of self-discovery while they build their ability to bounce back from difficulties and find their direction in life. Older adults use their later years to think about their life experiences and gain knowledge while they study their existing legacy, which includes both physical and non-physical elements.
People achieve fulfillment throughout their life by actively participating in all aspects of existence, building bonds with others, making positive impacts in the world, and developing their personal abilities. Every individual has a limited existence, yet their existence creates a permanent impression, which connects them to the wider human experience.
I love this line: "morality is... more about what governs [one's] judgment when there’s something to lose". Oh, so true! It sharply points out just how strong one is in terms of their moral beliefs and convictions and the circumstances under which an individual's decision needs to be made.
Brilliant framing! The distinction between morality as belief versus morality as action under presure is crucial. I've noticed this in workplace dynamics where people champion equity policies until those policies threaten thier own advancement. The incentive structure almost always wins out over stated values, which is why looking at revealed preferences rather than declarations tells you way more about actual moral capactiy.
I like your perspective and where you were going with this. I've spent a lot of time researching and understanding moral injury, so I have touched on the idea of morality a little in my work as well. My ideas about morality don’t come from some abstract beliefs or inherited positions more so they come from watching what happens when there’s pressure, cost, or loss. really when decisions have to be made.
I see that morality shows up most clearly not in what people say they value (values are inherent to oneself), but in what they’re willing to restrain when something important is at stake: i.e. status, safety, belonging, control. I’ve learned to trust patterns of behavior under tension more than articulated principles in comfort.
I think to get to your question more that’s why I see morality less as an identity (the values we hold and feel inward and act through) and more as a practice of self-governance which is then shaped by incentives, goals, fear, community norms (culture), and the structures that either reward restraint or quietly punish it. When those structures fail, moral language often becomes camouflage rather than guidance.
So I say all this to say that my thinking comes from lived contradictions. The moments where good people acted against their own stated values (including myself) and the realization that understanding why matters more than declaring what should be. This is how morality of people through cultural norms butt up against how moral injury takes root in our selfs.
Morality existed before laws were written. It’s quite apparent in the book of Genesis. God handing it down to Moses (twice) in Exodus was meant to teach for some, but also as a reminder for others. In the end the moral laws are centered on two things: How we relate to God & How we relate to humanity. Somehow we’ve humans have decided to add a third dominant element: How we relate to ourselves. We forget that it’s not all about us.
Human life extends from birth to death through biological development and psychological growth and social interaction and spiritual evolution. In our first year of life, we depend on caregivers to provide us with three fundamental emotions: love and fear and wonder.
The process of growing up during childhood and adolescence enables individuals to develop their identities through exploration and their first responsibilities which require them to consider both societal expectations and biological limitations.
Adulthood requires people to balance their duties with their artistic abilities and their personal connections, which bring them both happiness and difficulties. People discover their purpose through work and love and their journey of self-discovery while they build their ability to bounce back from difficulties and find their direction in life. Older adults use their later years to think about their life experiences and gain knowledge while they study their existing legacy, which includes both physical and non-physical elements.
People achieve fulfillment throughout their life by actively participating in all aspects of existence, building bonds with others, making positive impacts in the world, and developing their personal abilities. Every individual has a limited existence, yet their existence creates a permanent impression, which connects them to the wider human experience.
I love this line: "morality is... more about what governs [one's] judgment when there’s something to lose". Oh, so true! It sharply points out just how strong one is in terms of their moral beliefs and convictions and the circumstances under which an individual's decision needs to be made.
Brilliant framing! The distinction between morality as belief versus morality as action under presure is crucial. I've noticed this in workplace dynamics where people champion equity policies until those policies threaten thier own advancement. The incentive structure almost always wins out over stated values, which is why looking at revealed preferences rather than declarations tells you way more about actual moral capactiy.
I look forward to reading the articles. This piece captured my attention.
Excellent! Thank you!
I’m looking forward to this, Dr. Natalie.
My intuition is that morality is as real as voluntary engagement or tomorrow.
That it is Efficiency, which looks like Entropy if we ignore preference, hope, and the abundance which comes through success-over-time.
Love this subject, Nathalie. I’m not sure I can agree with Glenn though that we are all born with morality.
I am sure some are. I am sure some are also conditioned into a certain moral code and the ‘immoral one’ lives within their shadow persona.
Give these ones a little power (or permission even) and it all comes out.
Think ‘Lord of the Flies’.
Think group /tribal mentality. Morality does not exist when we are in the Lower I Am.
Morality is an inner compass whether it aligns with authority or not,,, we were all born with it… it resonates from our
souls
I like your perspective and where you were going with this. I've spent a lot of time researching and understanding moral injury, so I have touched on the idea of morality a little in my work as well. My ideas about morality don’t come from some abstract beliefs or inherited positions more so they come from watching what happens when there’s pressure, cost, or loss. really when decisions have to be made.
I see that morality shows up most clearly not in what people say they value (values are inherent to oneself), but in what they’re willing to restrain when something important is at stake: i.e. status, safety, belonging, control. I’ve learned to trust patterns of behavior under tension more than articulated principles in comfort.
I think to get to your question more that’s why I see morality less as an identity (the values we hold and feel inward and act through) and more as a practice of self-governance which is then shaped by incentives, goals, fear, community norms (culture), and the structures that either reward restraint or quietly punish it. When those structures fail, moral language often becomes camouflage rather than guidance.
So I say all this to say that my thinking comes from lived contradictions. The moments where good people acted against their own stated values (including myself) and the realization that understanding why matters more than declaring what should be. This is how morality of people through cultural norms butt up against how moral injury takes root in our selfs.
Morality existed before laws were written. It’s quite apparent in the book of Genesis. God handing it down to Moses (twice) in Exodus was meant to teach for some, but also as a reminder for others. In the end the moral laws are centered on two things: How we relate to God & How we relate to humanity. Somehow we’ve humans have decided to add a third dominant element: How we relate to ourselves. We forget that it’s not all about us.