Are rights and wrongs absolute?

[Seraphim]

Do you believe all rights and wrongs are absolute or there are situations where there are shades of grey?

[Catdancer]

I think there are always shades of grey. You may not see the grey, but someone else with another perspective may.

[abitbroken]

Sometimes there are. But the problem I think is that lots of folks feel that EVERYTHING is subjective or based on perspective. And that's when bad behavior is acceptable "based on what someone went through." It may explain WHY someone did it - motive, but I don't think it excuses the behavior. Murder is murder. Because someone was beaten badly as a child might "explain" why they shot their mom, but it doesn't make it "right," it is still WRONG. Some folks believe because there is no clear sense of right and wrong in some instances anymore, kids have less direction if their families operate that way. But that is up for debate. I think that if everything is subjective, then things can be slightly chaotic.

 

Now, I am referring to right and wrong in the basest sense and am not implying that someone who did something wrong is not worthy of forgiveness. When raising a child, etc, there has to be a measure or rules of what is right and wrong = as un p.c. as people may complain it is. I know I certainly benefited and found comfort in the fact that what was right and wrong didn't change with the wind.

[Cognitive_Canine]

There is a lot of grey area. I have to take things in a case by case basis.

[Blue Spiral]

I believe in both, actually. I view it as a spectrum. At one end, there's a 20% that's always right, and at the other end, there's a 20% that's always wrong. In the middle is a 60% that's circumstantial.

 

My "always right" includes basic human freedoms and civil rights, and my "always wrong" includes rape and other kinds of sex without consent/ability to consent. That said, even though I do believe in some absolutes, I don't think we should adopt a "Things should be simplistic and clear-cut!" mentality. Life is very complex, and rejecting an intellectual approach to that ("I believe in right and wrong, and that's that!") is extremely destructive.

[Sanesoul]

Interesting topic. I think there are a lot of shades of grey.

 

Take for example, killing another human being. I think it is wrong, but I can certainly understand certain circumstances for said killing.

[tso]

Interesting topic. I think there are a lot of shades of grey.

 

Take for example, killing another human being. I think it is wrong, but I can certainly understand certain circumstances for said killing.

 

I think their are circumstances where it's okay, such as war.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

I find that people who do things they know are wrong will make excuses and accuse the person who calls them out on their behaviour as only seeing things in black and white. Often the shades of grey folks are trying to get away with something they know is wrong...or are trying to excuse someone they know is wrong.

[Blue Spiral]

I find that people who do things they know are wrong

 

How do you know they know/think it's wrong?

[itsallgrand]

I do think there are some absolutes. Then, there is the grey.

 

The difficult part is figuring out which is which. Still working on that myself.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

How do you know they know/think it's wrong?

 

People are not that stupid..they know right from wrong, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable...in fact, often their actions to others are actions which they would scream in outrage if someone did it to them. So yes, in many cases they know their actions are wrong, they just choose to do them anyway in order to get what they want.

[Vince99]

People are not that stupid..they know right from wrong, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable...in fact, often their actions to others are actions which they would scream in outrage if someone did it to them. So yes, in many cases they know their actions are wrong, they just choose to do them anyway in order to get what they want.

 

Exactly.

 

There's a lot of moral relativism out there that will tell you, "eh...just do whatever you feel like. No one can tell you truth or untruth, right or wrong. It's whatever." But that has been shown time and time again to ruin lives. And societies.