Three Levels of Morality

A fully rational, objective, and integrated system of morality is not possible for human beings. We lead our life at three levels. Each of level has an impact on the system of morality that we accept. The three levels are: the level of the individual, the level of the society, and the level of the traditions. The system of morality that we practice at the level of the individual inspires us to be selfish, and discard every constraint in pursuing our desires. But all individuals, howsoever independent minded they might be, are part of society, and they must pay attention to the system of morality that operates at the social level. The social moralists argue that what is good for the individual is good for the collective—they note that a man’s life revolves around collectives such as family, friend and professional circles, city, state, and nation, and they preach that a man must avoid causing harm to his collectives. The third level of morality, the morality of traditions, is founded on ideological thinking. A religious person will believe in the idea that the body is a vessel for carrying the soul which is godlike or part of god, and he will argue that we have the moral responsibility to not do anything that might pollute and degrade our soul. But an atheist will reject religious sense of morality—he will prefer to find his moral ideas in resources such as marxism, libertarianism, existentialism, and liberalism.