Fear of punishment vs. sense of right and wrong

A question

Published on March 1, 2004 By InfoGeek In Philosophy

Situation:
Man A and Man B are at separate tables in a restaurant. Both me notice that the waitress has not charged them for the coffee each ordered. Man A thinks that not letting the waitress know of her mistake is the same as stealing (obtaining w/o paying) and stealing is against my god and I will be punished for the transgression and lets the waitress know. Man B thinks that stealing is wrong and that informing her of her mistake is the right thing to do.

Question: Is it better to act from a “fear of punishment” standpoint or from a “sense of right and wrong” ?

IG

Comments (Page 3)

InfoGeek

on Mar 03, 2004

What I am interested in is the value of actions that are driven by a fear of divine punishment vs. the desire to "do the right thing"

IG

Randy Spire

on Mar 04, 2004

In 'my way' fear of any flavor is a negative energy and actions motivated by it will reflect that. so i believe fear to be an inferior aspect of determining morality.

psychx

on Mar 04, 2004

There are numerous theories on what we base our morals from the wider accepted ones such as Piaget's and Vgotsky's has us placing negative and positive associations with which we base our decisions on. Culture plays a huge role in what our morals are. I like Kant but Universal Morality? Who can say what is universal and what is not. I mean there are the major ones like murder and stealing but once again morality is defined by each individual due to the influences of their environment. No one here is God so no one can possibly define what is the right way to live...

psychx

on Mar 05, 2004

wow I feel kind of responsible for ending a good topic... I might not be the cause but if anyone disagrees with me go ahead it's good hearing opinions

Randy Spire

on Mar 05, 2004

I think the essence of Kant's imperative regarding a universal morality was not to define one, per se, nor to claim that one in fact exists. I think it was intended more as an attitude to be assumed by individuals as a guide for making moral decisions. This isn't in opposition to your comments, just different I think.

psychx

on Mar 05, 2004

I could see atitude being Kant's overall goal yes it seems more feasible to look at it that way like maybe what I am doing is wrong to someone. I try to not hurt other individuals even if my morals don't consider what I am doing as wrong... kind of like empathy I guess..

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