I have spent too much time pondering this topic. I was hoping for sleep last night, but found myself wondering about absolute morality-- and that is not as soothing as counting sheep!
So I am asking today--does moral behaviour only exisist beacause of the presence of others? If you were on an island deserted except for you, would it be necessaary to behave in a moral way? All the replies here have indicated an obligation to regard others and their code of conduct as being as important to them as ours may be to ourslves. Even the 10 commandments (the only code I know reasonable well) all stress the importance of getting along with others- excluding the god ones because I do not keep them as you know- :-)
So is there a moral code which would exist if there was no-one else to consider but yourself? I suspect not- so could it be that there are no moral absolutes as a logical deduction when we examine the state of morals in solitude. After all if you are totally on your own and you behave in a certain manner it has to be within the parameters of your own morality-- who is there who can tell you it is not, and really what are you going to get up to all on your own without you agreeing with it first?--- you are now the only one making judgements.
I think morality implies, actually I think it needs, that judgement factor-- both from self and others!
That said, I do not feel that there can ever be moral absolutes. It seems so easy to insist that there are, but there cannot be. Every action takes place in a different environment and for the vast majority of us our view of our moral behaviour is never challenged. We are the lucky ones I think, we can keep our illusions.
