DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - The Most Controversial Thread on YF. [Debate]

**exschke** · 12-14-2011, 11:57 AM

Assuming there are no repercussions for murder, it comes down to, as I said before, morality. If you are immoral or amoral, you will be willing to commit murder regardless of the existence of laws. If your moral code or set of beliefs are different from the "norm", the question becomes where murder lies in that moral system or yours. Without laws, (I'm assuming this is what you mean by making it legal.) how you are brought up will have a much larger influence on how your moral code is shaped. If you're brought up by parents who kill people, sell drugs and rape people, you'll think those things are ok while young and, without a legal system that says otherwise, there's probably little chance of you changing your views. In that sense, you'll be willing to commit murder at a later stage, simply because murder is not wrong within your set of beliefs.

If, on the other hand, you have a "normal" moral code, regardless of how much you hate the person and wish he/she were dead, you will probably come to regret it at a later point in life, sometimes much later. To consciously kill someone, you have to override any rationality you have and basically delve into your primal instincts, much like how predators kill prey in nature. Once you release those primal instincts, they don't go back into subconsciousness, but become a part of you, a burden you will have to carry for the rest of your life. If the victim didn't have an intention to kill you, it becomes further difficult to justify needing to resort to your primal instincts to take a person's life. After all, you definitely don't need to kill to survive when food is available from the supermarket, so your only reason for murder is out of spite.

And really, if you have a "normal" moral code, killing out of spite is unjustified whichever way you look at it. Murder doesn't only damage the victim's quality of life, but also damages that of the victim's circle of family, friends and other associates. By acting out of spite, you have simultaneously wronged many others, most of who don't deserve to be caught in this problem.

BTW, "normal" refers to the standard set of moral values the average person in the current time adopts. Moral beliefs evolve over time, and it's possible that moral values considered appropriate/inappropriate now are considered otherwise in the future. (For example, homosexuality.)

Regardless, in essence, if you have a "normal" set of moral values in comparison to other people of the current day and age, you will find it hard to justify murder, regardless of the presence or absence of a legal system that draws a clear line.

Really now? I can ensure you everyone has at least once, in their life, wished someone dead. I am 100% certain on this. Like I stated, this is a personal opinion and should be treated as such. In order for this world to continue growing, people MUST die. This IMO is why there are illnesses, famines, and other harsh wars that go on. It's part of how the world needs to lose some to gain some.

Perhaps you are right, and everyone in the world has wished someone dead before. We will never know, because there are no psychics with proof that they can predict things with 100% accuracy, so your 100% certainty doesn't count for much. Regardless, as I said earlier, under the moral system currently accepted as the norm in this present time, wishing someone dead and physically acting out the murder are two different issues entirely. You cannot consciously murder someone without delving into your inner primal instincts, and resorting to those instincts purely out of spite is difficult to justify, even to yourself.

The last point is a poor reason for murder. Yes, people will die. Just because dying is a part of life doesn't justify the premature ending of one's life. I don't think I need to explain how ridiculous the argument of "You're going to die eventually, so I'm going to kill you now, since it won't make a difference." sounds when the victim doesn't have a terminal disease of sorts impacting his/her quality of life in such a way that prematurely ending his/her life is probably for the best.

12-14-2011, 11:57 AM	#13
exschke Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 546 Senior Member	Assuming there are no repercussions for murder, it comes down to, as I said before, morality. If you are immoral or amoral, you will be willing to commit murder regardless of the existence of laws. If your moral code or set of beliefs are different from the "norm", the question becomes where murder lies in that moral system or yours. Without laws, (I'm assuming this is what you mean by making it legal.) how you are brought up will have a much larger influence on how your moral code is shaped. If you're brought up by parents who kill people, sell drugs and rape people, you'll think those things are ok while young and, without a legal system that says otherwise, there's probably little chance of you changing your views. In that sense, you'll be willing to commit murder at a later stage, simply because murder is not wrong within your set of beliefs. If, on the other hand, you have a "normal" moral code, regardless of how much you hate the person and wish he/she were dead, you will probably come to regret it at a later point in life, sometimes much later. To consciously kill someone, you have to override any rationality you have and basically delve into your primal instincts, much like how predators kill prey in nature. Once you release those primal instincts, they don't go back into subconsciousness, but become a part of you, a burden you will have to carry for the rest of your life. If the victim didn't have an intention to kill you, it becomes further difficult to justify needing to resort to your primal instincts to take a person's life. After all, you definitely don't need to kill to survive when food is available from the supermarket, so your only reason for murder is out of spite. And really, if you have a "normal" moral code, killing out of spite is unjustified whichever way you look at it. Murder doesn't only damage the victim's quality of life, but also damages that of the victim's circle of family, friends and other associates. By acting out of spite, you have simultaneously wronged many others, most of who don't deserve to be caught in this problem. BTW, "normal" refers to the standard set of moral values the average person in the current time adopts. Moral beliefs evolve over time, and it's possible that moral values considered appropriate/inappropriate now are considered otherwise in the future. (For example, homosexuality.) Regardless, in essence, if you have a "normal" set of moral values in comparison to other people of the current day and age, you will find it hard to justify murder, regardless of the presence or absence of a legal system that draws a clear line. Really now? I can ensure you everyone has at least once, in their life, wished someone dead. I am 100% certain on this. Like I stated, this is a personal opinion and should be treated as such. In order for this world to continue growing, people MUST die. This IMO is why there are illnesses, famines, and other harsh wars that go on. It's part of how the world needs to lose some to gain some. Perhaps you are right, and everyone in the world has wished someone dead before. We will never know, because there are no psychics with proof that they can predict things with 100% accuracy, so your 100% certainty doesn't count for much. Regardless, as I said earlier, under the moral system currently accepted as the norm in this present time, wishing someone dead and physically acting out the murder are two different issues entirely. You cannot consciously murder someone without delving into your inner primal instincts, and resorting to those instincts purely out of spite is difficult to justify, even to yourself. The last point is a poor reason for murder. Yes, people will die. Just because dying is a part of life doesn't justify the premature ending of one's life. I don't think I need to explain how ridiculous the argument of "You're going to die eventually, so I'm going to kill you now, since it won't make a difference." sounds when the victim doesn't have a terminal disease of sorts impacting his/her quality of life in such a way that prematurely ending his/her life is probably for the best.
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