If you are right, and morality is among other things, some kind of duty, the question still stands, why should anyone do their duty?Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 7:49 pmSo do I.pilgrim1917 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:34 pm Greetings, I think your question is significant in a discussion of morals. Those promoting a life based on morals can gain strength for their argument when the question is answered well. Those against a moral life can devise "good reasons" to abandon morals. Both sides of the argument have many possible answers. Personally, I believe that life is eternal and that I will be judged on the moral content of all the actions I took or failed to take.
But I would add this: that morality is not simply about the individual. It's about how the individual treats other people. If one were literally the only being in the universe...of if there were others, but none of them counted for moral purposes but the individual himself...there would be no possibility of moral duty at all. You can't "owe yourself" to do anything "yourself" doesn't want to do, in such circumstances, nor even "owe yourself" to do things "yourself" wants to do. There are no moral considerations in anything then.
But the Great Commandment has two parts: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart...," and "love your neighbour." There are two sources of other moral 'counters' outside the individual who is being commanded: God, to whom all duty is ultimately owed, and one's neighbour, who is to be regarded as every bit as important as the individual, precisely for the reason that he/she is of equally of value to God as you, the individual self, is.
But if one believes there is no God, then neither is there any moral duty. Nor is there the possibility of one. Nor can one owe anything to one's neighbour, even if he still exists; for he, like you and like all beings, is nothing special, nothing but an accidental collection of cosmic dust.
And one cannot owe any duties to space dust.
The qeustion is not are there moral principles or duties, to God or one's neighbor, the question is, even if there are, why should anyone choose to do their duty?