TO BE GOOD

#philosophy #morality #ethics #religion

He sees you when you’re sleeping,

He knows when you’re awake,

He knows if you’ve been bad or good,

So be good for goodness sake.

You must be “good” for He is watching. Not Santa, although he is also watching, but the less capitalistic version, God. And not be “good” because kindness nourishes, or because honesty fortifies – but because God said so, and if you don’t, then it’s naughty step, nine of them, each worst than the last, according to Dante’s travel guide anyway.

The moral compass here is calibrated by authority, reinforced by fear of hell or hope of heaven. On the surface this produces order and conformity, but this kind of morality is fragile, because it rests not on reflection or conviction, but on surveillance. It’s not integrity, but obedience, which is a poor substitute for principles forged within. Remove the authority, and this moral structure collapses like a tent on Shell Island.

“They say God is always watching” he said

“But like a parent at a school play” she said

“Ah, you mean how he can’t interfere?” he asked

“No” she said. “I’m saying the children are acting”

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg called this the lowest stage of moral development: doing right only to avoid punishment or win approval. By contrast, higher stages involve reasoning, empathy, and a sense of justice independent of authority. Similarly, Immanuel Kant argued that true morality arises from autonomy, – the ability to act on principles we choose for ourselves. If morality is merely obedience to divine command, then it is heteronomy, not autonomy. It is borrowed, not earned.

That may explain why so many people raised in religious environments can be deeply immoral. Their ethical system was handed to them, shrink-wrapped and labelled, with obedience rewarded more than questioning.

Contrast this with those who build their morality without appealing to divine authority. When you cannot fall back on “because God says so,” you are forced to forge your own answers. And when the responsibility of your actions falls solely on your shoulders, you build on it. Every time you hurt or disappoint someone, you build on it. For all good is born from bad. Integrity tested, pride propped up with yesterday’s shame, until self-reflection produces a morality anchored in identity rather than external authority.

The difference matters. If your morality is grounded in fear of divine punishment, then when that fear falters, or when authority seems to permit cruelty, you may commit atrocities without feeling you’ve betrayed yourself. But if your morality is grounded in your own self-image, abandoning it would mean losing who you are.

Fear governs obedience, its absence reveals conviction.

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