Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
An immoral question?	Jon1667	06/29/03
Following on the question about The Ring of Gyges: Is the question, does morality pay off (or as Socrates put it, is justice profitable) an immoral question? Doesn't it suggest that the only reason for acting morally is that it pays off ("Honesty is the best policy.")? With the corollary that if it does not pay off, or, worse, if it is detrimental to the doer, then he is under no obligation to act morally? (By the way, this is one of the questions that professors of philosophy often ask in class.)
Clarification/Follow-up by tonyrey on 06/30/03 9:16 pm: Ken, Unusually, I find myself in complete agreement with you!
Answered By		Answered On
tonyrey		06/30/03
Whether a question is immoral depends on the motive for asking that question. If it is intended to be constructive then it is not immoral. It may be misguided but it is certainly not malicious or deliberately destructive. "Pay off" is an ambiguous expression which takes us back to the issue of selfishness and self-interest. Is self-sacrifice immoral or ignoble because you experience peace of mind (or even joy) as a result of your decision? To believe that it is presupposes an impossible demand - that an action is moral only if it does not benefit the agent in any way whatsoever. It reminds me of the Puritan doctrine that being virtuous is necessarily painful! If being a good person is immoral then morality is immoral... :)

Additional Options and ratings are only visible when you login!