On Ethics & Morality

What do you value the most? As much as I value many things, theoretically and practically my lifestyle shows I prioritise certain things over others. It is very natural and true for everyone. 

In a rapidly changing and sometimes confusing world, the matter of ethics is increasingly more relevant and so I delved somewhat passionately into this philosophical subject. In my view, this topic is so fundamental that it forms a central part of what I am as an individual.

ethics art

Personal ethics can be simply defined as your values put in order of importance. 

Societal ethics is a similarly complex subject and obviously very related. Personal ethics are greatly influenced by the general morality of the era, location and culture you inhabit. Thank goodness, there is always a degree of freedom and diversity in what people might think it’s good and bad, right and wrong.

Even fundamental aspects of individual and societal morality change and develop, as ethics are largely relative and provisional. What was normal behaviour in the 19th century might be no longer OK, what’s accepted in Saudi Arabia or China today might not be so in France or Koh Phangan. What I really desired when I was 14, might not be so important now.

We have only 24 hours in a day and need to prioritise what matters the most, to feel we are productive and have a meaningful life as the concept of meaning is very closely related to ethics.

Moving towards the fulfilment of a deed or project we truly value, will bring satisfaction, self esteem and other positive emotions, providing a compelling reason to exist. The absence of that is nihilism, where nothing matters, there are no values and no ethics. 

Some people spend 10 hours a day working in a career, are driven by material success and the perks of consumerism. Others prioritise family life and the upbringing and education of their children. The effort to learn about oneself, the treasuring of a spiritual practice or art form are all meaningful values and, when prioritised, a form of ethical choice.

How much time, a limited and somewhat undervalued resource, should we dedicate to what action is indeed a big question, and ultimately an ethical question.

Morality is often used instead of ethics, the sum of principles concerning the distinction between good and bad behaviour. The codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group, traditionally a religion, or during communism in the Soviet Union for instance, by an ideology enforced by state control and propaganda, are examples of morality. 

In the context of our personal morality and ways of experiencing what is worth in life, ethics can also be seen as focusing on the decision-making process for determining right and wrong, which often is a matter of weighing the pros and cons of the competing values and interests. 

At the root of all this, we need to decide what we value and what we really care about. At a society level, morality is largely decided by the cultural, political and economic institutions that rule the collective through legislation, but also through the use of symbols and semantics that evoke certain norms and ideals. 

Those, very often and even in Western societies, are directed or influenced to a large extent by the elite or ruling class who have the means and expertise to influence narratives in the media, government decision making and policy setting.

In the case of individual or personal ethics, we have the relative freedom to choose what matters to us, while necessarily keeping our actions within the larger framework, boundaries, norms and mores of the collective we belong to.

This dance between what is generally accepted as good, fine and OK, and our freedom to choose a way of behaving which suits our own wishes and desires, is as fundamental for what we are as the air we breathe. 

Modern, liberal and democratic societies allow the individual a relatively wide range of options. Religious, dogmatic and totalitarian societies restrict the individual choice of behaviour, centrally setting and enforcing a code of values and associated rules in a top-down fashion.

What do I really value in life, what matters to me the most? The more this is clear intellectually, the more it can be implemented in a day to day life. The more aligned and authentic my choices, the more I will have a strong feeling of direction in life.

Of course most people will be careful to display a somewhat hypocritical alignment with the general morality perceived in the group environment they operate. What you say you value, and what you actually value is sometimes not the same. What really motivates people is often not expressed but can be seen by their day to day choices and behaviour. 

The less you understand your true drives and predispositions, the more you will just follow the mould, parrot the headlines of newspapers and pop media, live an unconscious life of homologation and standardisation. This is the opposite of individuation, a Jungian process that leads to the fulfilment of human potential. 

The culture war constantly plays competing values against each other. Usually, what really touches the interests of the lower and less powerful classes doesn’t matter, or it’s even a threat to the culturally protected elite. The masses are divided over practically less relevant but symbolically and ideologically meaningful values. 

This fun experiment of defining ethics inspired me to draft a list of 15 values that I think might be relevant to the community I belong to. These are the values of the Koh Phangan Conscious Community (For Real Edition) Facebook group. Each one has been further developed in a long format post, under the featured tab:

  1. FUN LOVING
  2. BODY, MIND & SOUL (Spirituality and mysticism, alongside science and philosophy, being a necessary part of self development and actualisation)
  3. TRUTH SEEKING (A general curiosity and thirst for learning, exploring, experiencing and going beyond appearance)
  4. VEGAN, PLANT BASED OR WHOLEFOOD
  5. OPEN TO NEW MODELS OF RELATING AND LESS CONVENTIONAL FORMS OF SEXUALITY
  6. ART AND MUSIC LOVING
  7. INCLUSIVE
  8. HOLISTIC AND OPEN TO NATUROPATHY, TRADITIONAL MEDICINE SUCH AS TCM, AYURVEDA, THAI MEDICINE
  9. HUG LOVING
  10. FREE SPEECH LOVING, WITH CARE FOR CONTEXT AND AN OPEN HEART
  11. NATURE LOVING
  12. SKEPTICAL OF MEDIA AND CORPORATIONS
  13. INTO TRAVELLING AND WORLD CULTURES
  14. YOGA, YOGA, YOGA (including all aspects of the practice and phylosophy) AND/OR EASTERN PRACTICES AND PHILOSOPHY
  15. NEW AGE (In a positive manner, as this term was perceived in the 70s. Learning from tradition and creatively, intuitively blend to suit your individuality and unique personal growth)

What do you really value in life, what are your ethics?

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