The Perception of Morality and its Subjectiveness.

What exactly is moral? What is the objective criteria to define morality?

We all grow up with our own ideals and views of what maybe considered moral or immoral. It is no surprise that certain people perceive certain things as moral while others deem it immoral.

People often have expectations from other people to perceive certain things with the same degree of morality or shame. This expectation often leads people to disappointment because they fail to realize one crucial thing.

Nearly every individual on this planet has lived a life significantly different if not at-least slightly different as compared to every other individual. Each and everyone among the billions of people was brought up in an environment very specific to them, their own version of this world. It is the experiences and learnings from these specific versions of people’s  perception of the world blended with their experiences and teachings that formulate their own perception of what can be deemed moral or immoral.

As usual, let’s understand this through a sample story :

Disclaimer : The discussion and opinions expressed below do not intend to highlight a specific opinion as the “right one” or superior, it merely uses them as examples to exhibit the character traits of the fictional characters of fictional countries below.

Shevershan, a passionate young adult, brought up in Iskarnia. Iskarnia was a conservative country with a relatively small population . Shevershan from an early age saw his parents condemn people of the opposite genders getting too close. It wasn’t just his parents, this was the view of the society of the country he was brought up in. These values of the people didn’t stem from hatred towards people’s desire to connect but because of how deeply they valued long lived and committed relationships. In Shevershan’s country, marriages played an extremely crucial role in a person’s life. The people of Iskarnia believed premarital relationships void one’s married life from the purity and exclusivity that breed’s love and life. Naturally within Iskarnia people with varied types of opinions existed, some who condemned the social construct as it didn’t align with their beliefs and also those who supported it, swearing it had an impact on their lives and showing statistical evidences. 

Shevershan moved out of his country to pursue his higher studies. Bidding farewell to his family with heavy heart and a brain ignited with zeal and curiosity, he moved to Arcadia, a liberal and open country which didn’t have many social constructs.

His first close friend in Arcadia was a local, Sam, born and brought up in the country with its values well engrained in his mental and moral compass.

As they both got closer Sam started to share the details of his intimate life with interpersonal relationships. He talked about how he shared his emotional self with multiple partners of the opposite gender intimately in hopes of finding someone who fits him like the last piece of a puzzle. Shevershan couldn’t help but notice how illegal everything Sam was talking about felt and how severe of the consequences it would have on Sam’s future commitments, yet he suppressed this desire and insisted Sam to continue his story and express his views on morality.

Sam continued about how he was brought up with the values of accepting any and everyone regardless of their actions as long as it didn’t hurt or bother others. He talked about how people doing what they want to do and living in the moment is a better thing than always worrying about the future. Sam’s parents always allowed him full freedom to live his life and each moment of it’s in whatever way he felt.

Sam’s explanation was followed by a question to Shevershan asking about his views of morality and if he felt like what Sam was doing was wrong as Sam had heard a lot about Shevershan’s country and it’s conservative ways of life. Naturally it was followed by a healthy discussion between them as they tried to understand each other’s points of view. They acknowledged their differences while firmly keeping their ground with regards to their views of morality.

TLDR/Conclusion : Nearly each and every individual on this planet is brought up in an environment at-least slightly different from every other individual’s life. The environment an individual is brought up in determines their views of morality and what acts they deem as moral or immoral.