The link between morality and human nature has been a common theme since ancient times, and with the rise of modern empirical moral psychology, it remains equally popular today. In my opinion, morality is more likely to be learned than innate. The role of nature in morality drives us to inherit different genes that in turn make out our brain composition and hormonal discharges, thus affecting the types of behaviour. Recently, researchers have begun to look for moral evidences developed in human brains, and this explains the fact that people in every corner of the globe seem to share some sort of similar moral values. However, I think the current state of evidence supporting that morality is innate is unpersuasive. The reason being is that in a male-dominated society where women are exposed to mistreatment on a daily basis, I believe that the abuser will probably feel less morally responsible than an abuser from a gender-neutral country. I think the morality of a person can best be seen from their actions and behaviours, which are adapted throughout their lifetime. Evaluating whether an action has moral values depends mostly on the mind of the individual, although the opinions of others are often a significant factor as well. There is no fixed approbation or disapprobation because ethic codes are seldom defined and choices are usually complex in real life situations. Often times, morality is influenced by parental teaching, society rules, and peer pressure; these factors have great effects on a person’s morality depending on how much of the importance the person weighs these elements.
Parents are the most important and influential figures in a child’s life. The role of parents can provide their child with a strong moral foundation. If parents were able to establish firm moral codes for themselves, their child would likely have similar moral values due to modeling his or her parents’ behaviour and looking for cues on how they would behave. It is up to the parents to establish a moral authority to lead their child to have the same basic values as they do. For instance, being an honest person at all times, helping others in need, knowing consequences if certain rules are broken, and making a decision not based on the judgement of others, but based on what you fundamentally believe to be right are the general moral beliefs that a child might to be taught. If a child is fortunate enough to gain valuable moral rules from their parents, he or she can ensure a strong moral foundation and be able to reject negative influences and base decisions from his or her conscience.
“It is curious - curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare”-Mark Twain
Although parental teachings can have great effects on the morality of a child, he or she can also be highly influenced by society that may alter their moral codes because of peer pressure. Oftentimes, the concepts and beliefs of morality are generalized and codified in a culture or group, and hence serve to regulate the behaviour of its members. Conformity to such codification may be mistaken for morality, and this morality exists only if the group stays attached. Very often, the individual is docile to follow the rules of society and believes that these rules are the principles of morality. For instance, every individual is assumed to obey the law, and for those who break it, they are considered as “criminals” or “violators” of society. Sometimes, the rules of society can have benign effects on the individual’s morality when they are set with positive intentions, and other times, they can be the catalyst for deviating an individual’s moral code. A society can easily assimilate a single into the dominant group’s cultural expectations. Deindividuation can occur as a result when an individual loses his or her sense of identity and gains the social identity of the group instead. This connects greatly to the concept of peer pressure-when an individual becomes motivated or pressured into performing others’ actions because of fearing the consequences of being “excluded” or “targeted” if he or she does not follow the trend. This, in turn, devaluates the person’s morals due to the inability to make a choice based on conscience, but simply carries out an action by imitating other people’s behaviours. The individual’s fundamental characteristic becomes unreal and degraded under the menace of peer pressure or intimidating society rules, because society often moulds moral codes. I believe this is what Mark Twain is addressing when he states that the moral courage is often “so rare”. However, some may argue that society forms the relationship between individuals who share a distinctive culture, and that it establishes the identity and fulfils the integrity of each individual. Therefore, morality arises from social expectations in which an individual feels that gaining the approval from others is the most important element in his or her own belief. I cannot say that I completely object to this belief because I sometimes consider it truthful as well. Yet, I believe a person should base behaviour and action on his or her own moral values: what he or she believes to be correct or incorrect and not feel the necessity to pursue others’ actions for the desire to belong or fit in. For instance, if a person belongs in a gang where every member does drugs, he or she may feel compelled to follow what everyone else in the surrounding is doing because this is what seems to be “right” for the majority. He or she might also fear the rejection of others and lose the sense of belonging if he or she is different from the rest. Social pressure can enlarge to a tremendous scale. For instance, the Nazi Germany who developed a systematic stratagem to massacre all the Jews is a well-known historical event of deindividuation. Many Germans were performing actions not based on their morality but complying orders from the threatening authority and following what society believed to be right. If every person in society is controlled by peer pressure, then we lose a person’s fundamental sense of self. I believe many people will lose their own moral values as well as their identity if they follow whatever the mass believes without contemplating the just of the situation and evaluating the consequences of their actions. As a result, morality, which is defined as a sense of behavioural conduct that differentiates intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (or right) and bad (or wrong), will cease to exist and society will not survive for long.
I think our morality is more likely to be learned than innate because everyone adheres to a moral doctrine to some kind whether by adapting it from their parents, from society, or from peers. Morality affects our everyday decisions, and these choices are directed by our conscience that is influenced as we develop. We should decide for ourselves where the conscience steers. Many people believe that their morals should be identical with the group where they belong, and that their morality is the submission or amalgamation of the majority’s beliefs. On the other hand, some hold to the idea that the concepts of right, wrong, and fairness is learned from and not controlled by others. Along the same line, I think our morality should be derived from our role models and obtained through the positive influences from our environment. We can learn to distinguish what is just by continuing to acquire valuable lessons through gaining knowledge and experience from solving the moral dilemmas that we encounter in our lives.
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