Morality
Morality refers to either (1) any particular system of ethics, or (2) the question of whether given acts are considered innately right or wrong within a given moral system (the morality of a particular act). In order to minimize confusion, we will use the phrase "moral system" when meaning #1 is intended.
Reference
Purpose
Issuepedia is particularly concerned with values which define particular moral systems. These values are not generally subject to rational debate; what is more useful is to attempt to determine:
- meta-rules by which people with different moral systems can get along.
- where the basic differences lie between moral systems (e.g. if two people disagree about some immediate issue, such as "the death penalty", what are the basic irreducible principles upon which each person is basing their point of view?)
Value Dichotomies
Most moral systems weigh in somewhere between the two extremes for each of these, but the differences in opinion between one system and another are significant. The following principles may or may not be truly basic, but they at least are closer to being principles than they are opinions about specific issues.
- Basic nature of human beings: good or evil
- Property rights: personal property is sacrosanct vs. all property should be held in common
The author is trying desperately to find a comment somewhere in Contrary Brin in which several different value dichotomies were named and explained... --Woozle 19:06, 10 Dec 2005 (CST)