The word Ethics comes from the Greek Ethikos which means “theory of living”. Morality refers to the ethics (theories of living) which regulate the concept of right and wrong, good and evil, which in turn regulates the code of behaviour and conduct (be it individual, secular, religious, cultural, economic, ecological, etc.).

Personal morality determines how the individual thinks, speaks, acts and reacts within the social whole and it is generally learned from the group he belongs to.

Conscience is our impulse towards morality and towards correct behaviour. This varies from group to group, therefore. Forces/pressure for social conformity play a significant role in the shaping of moral decisions.

Group morality develops out of shared sets of beliefs and concepts. The continued existence of the group therefore depends largely on the widespread conforming to its moral and ethical codes.

These codes are separate from the civil, political and legal codes which are entrenched through the use of political, social and legislatory decrees.

Four types of ethics concern us:

Applied Ethics : refers to the analysis of controversial moral issues and how moral values are determined; if there is a law which forbids murder, how does one reconcile it to laws which regulate capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion, or going to war against another country, etc.

Normative Ethics : refers to which morals people adhere to; what is proper and acceptable or not. (Virtues, duties and consequences: honesty, benevolence and one’s right to privacy).

Descriptive Ethics: refers to what are the fundamental nature of ethics and its objectives, as well as its justifications; what is considered to be right and wrong in other words.

Meta-ethics: (from Greek beyond) refers to how moral capacity develops and its psychological nature. It is a detached view of ethics. One of its schools of thought holds that moral values are objective. They exist in the spirit realm, beyond subjective human conventions. They are absolute and eternal. They never change. They are universal insofar as they apply to everything in the universe throughout all time. Plato, who was inspired by the study of mathematics, explained eternal nature of numbers. He held that numbers were eternal abstract entities that exist in spirit world. 1+1=2, this reality is timeless and never changes and may be applied anywhere in the Universe. Humans did not invent numbers, and humans cannot alter them. Furthermore Plato also noted that moral values are also absolute truths and are therefore also abstract entities. He held that moral values are spiritual objects. (Psychological altruism and psychological hedonism fall under this category.)

In his book Dark Nature, Lyall Watson discusses the ecology of evil and the uncovering of the biological roots of right and wrong. He begins his analysis with the word pathos (Greek for suffering). Pathos is the opposite of ethos, which in turn deals with community, nature, societies, groups and which leads to the formation of character and social ethics. Pathos not only implies pity, sadness and pathic (which is the opposite of empathetic: loss of compassion, loss of character, loss of sense of community, ultimately leading away from the natural cohesion of the group). In other words Pathos produces social pathologies.

The astrophysicist John Gribbin coined the term “The Goldilocks Effect”. This rule is one of the mysteries that govern the Universe, the Cosmos, as a matter of fact, all life. Good and evil comprised. In a very simplistic manner, too much water = bad (flood), too little water = bad (drought), just enough water = “just right” (The Goldilocks Effect).

Harmony/Balance is what is termed good. Too much of anything, becomes detrimental to the Whole and is therefore bad for the collective. What is purposefully orchestrated/manipulated to disturb the inclusive equilibrium which is beneficial to all/the Whole, in order to profit at other’s expense (be it even for a short period of time) can be termed as “evil”. It is willfully architected.

Mother Nature has her dark side as do we all. Some philosophers, biologists and psychologists hold that our morality is but a thin veil under which lies hidden our selfishness, our amoral, anti-social tendencies.

Interestingly though, Dr. Frans de Waal’s 30 years’ studies of primates, has brought to light what could be termed as the precursors of human morality in the behaviour of chimpanzees. Dr. de Waal argues that these primates display empathy, self-awareness, compassion and the drive to end hostilities in the group. This demonstrates to us that there are inherent patterns in Nature which relate to our own moral and ethical decisions.

Socrates held that humans have an innate moral core, which is the Divine Spark. Accordingly, every individual applies his notion of right and wrong to his daily decisions and actions. This morality can be extended to others and also to groups. Those outside the moral core, automatically fall outside the group and do not get to enjoy its priveledges and its protection. Hypocrisy is a way of getting around this, e.g. homicide might be against the moral core, but men of that group will get conscripted to go to war against another group; assault and battery might be regarded as social crimes, but incited violence in rugby, leading to serious injuries, is accepted as an inevitable consequence of that sport.

Moral codes are coercive parts of human politics and are set there through experience and example (e.g. by parents and leaders). It is ever evolving, during the individual’s life, until he reaches maturity and knows how to act responsibly and in accordance to the parameters of the social moral core.

C.S. Lewis described morality as important and useful in ensuring harmony and fairness between individuals, as a process of social control through creating “good” people, and I keeping humanity in a favourable position with the Whole/Higher Power/Divine Creator/Creatrix.

Based on the abovementioned it is clear that our system of belief/spirituality is critical to our morality and that as such we should work towards establishing the ethics which will assist Pagan Morality.

Morgause