<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.192300571967987551639975398191%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=345bf1ba-12ba-44c5-9f09-351b423c8341" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> Ask yourself: When was the last time you stopped to think about the origins of your morning coffee, or how does the Bluetooth work on your smartphone, or really, when was the last time you stopped to try and understand more about your reality? How often do you really think? The complex problem of thinking is: There are many ways of thinking and too many things to think about. When you try to understand the best route to get to someone&rsquo;s house, are you thinking? You could say so. However, would you say the same thing when you stop to understand the meaning of your life? Yes, you could also say so. However, there&rsquo;s a fundamental element to this problem. At Queen&#39;s University in Kingston, Canada, psychologists did research that showed the average person has about 6,200 thoughts per day. And throughout your day, you make lots of decisions; each of those requires previous thoughts that you may not even be conscious of. So let&rsquo;s draw a line: When Socrates says, &ldquo;The unexamined life is not worth living&rdquo;, he&rsquo;s referring to the conscious process of thinking. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.192300571967987551639975398191%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=4fb27fca-e95c-45d5-84d1-f292c64037a7" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> Along with that, one of the most rebellious phrases of philosophy is: &ldquo;I think, therefore I am.&rdquo; To wonder is to make something out of existence. When you look around and consciously perceive the world, you&rsquo;re a different part of what you would be if you weren&rsquo;t thinking. The sky won&rsquo;t be as beautiful if you don&rsquo;t look at it, even though it is the same sky. The wind will pass almost unnoticed if you don&rsquo;t appreciate it. &ldquo;You will die without living if you don&rsquo;t think about it.&rdquo; So ask yourself: What is life? Get a good answer to this question, and then: throw it away. The point is not to find a pretty little answer but to dive into deep thoughts. And then, ask yourself again and again because everything is constantly changing, and you&rsquo;re part of the changing process. So, embrace the various definitions you can think about. You&rsquo;ll find uncertainty in your search for answers to complex questions such as: &ldquo;What is life?&rdquo; The way to deal with uncertainty is to have faith because nobody knows the truth. Maybe truth, as we conceive it, is not even something we conquer by &ldquo;knowing&rdquo;. And to understand what life is, you&rsquo;ll need more than logical assumptions. If we take as an example the axiom from Rick Sanchez - from the animated show Rick and Morty - &nbsp;&ldquo;What people call Love is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed&rdquo;. Some may agree that indeed this is love. However, we could also agree that something is missing in this assumption. It is too reductionist, lacking the metaphysical aspect of love and its applications in the way we think and perceive the world. So, in the end, one needs the courage to think because along with answers, there&lsquo;ll be suffering and other questions to answer. However, it is necessary to consider to make life worth living: So go on to ask yourself: What is life? -writing one answer in the comment section might help you think things through-

What is Life? - A Guide to Making Life Worth Living

<img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.29411008958638441634458556244%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=3a4a079c-4d62-4984-a52a-06dbcba44806" title=""> War and peace, though opposite in principles, yet emerge from the same human mind. Our mind is one of the strongest forces of nature. History has shown that mankind has created, from time to time, some of the most ruthless rulers, tyrannical dictators, warmongers who wage war for unwarranted reasons. At the same time, it has given birth to saints, monks, religious and spiritual leaders, messengers of God, to counter the ill effects of war and preach about peace. But the biggest contemplating question is, is world peace attainable?&nbsp; <h2 class="c1" id="h.gqjfu0py7tr9">What is Peace?</h2> <h4 class="c4" id="h.y7er6n7pra8s">&ldquo;Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding&rdquo; &ndash; Albert Einstein</h4> &nbsp;Yes, understanding &lsquo;peace&rsquo; is vital if we yearn for world peace, as without understanding, it is difficult to find solutions. Peace in layman&rsquo;s terms is the absence of war. Sounds, simple right? But, we know it is complicated. Even though we have world organisations (such as the UN) and peace treaties in place, we feel that world peace is a distant dream. &nbsp; It is because we know the country that we live in already holds weapons of mass destruction aimed at other countries in the name of defence. The same is the case for those countries as well. As long as we have arms and ammunition, war is inevitable. Now, let us look at some solutions that can nudge us towards much-needed peace. <ol class="c11 lst-kix_c68h1nxiyv8-0 start" start="1"> <li class="c8 c10 li-bullet-0">Control of Arms</li> </ol> As easy as it may sound. It is an impossible solution. Read history books from any country, and it will show the progression of the weapons used by humans. From swords, arrows, horses to assault rifles, bombs, and battle tanks. War has evolved faster than humans. Humans took millions of years to evolve from monkeys, weapons took only a couple of hundred years, and they are still evolving exponentially. Trillions of dollars are spent on arms worldwide. An abrupt control of arms connotes an end to a trillion-dollar market, which is impossible. So, this solution is ruled out. <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.29411008958638441634458556244%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=dc0c18b8-1cbf-4a96-8596-b0a723ca31d8" > &nbsp; <ol class="c11 lst-kix_c68h1nxiyv8-0" start="2"> <li class="c8 c10 li-bullet-0">One World Government</li> </ol> Yes, it is a far-fetched and fictional solution. Let us go beyond our imagination to check if this works. One World Government sounds like a fantasy, but can it bring peace to the world? Imagine all countries choosing one Government and one leader. There will be no competition to develop and sell arms. Peace is guaranteed. &nbsp; I don&rsquo;t think this is possible even if my imagination runs wild. World Wars 1 and 2 have shown that countries ally with other compatible countries who have the same interest in developing arms in the name of defence. Dominating the world has always been the goal of few leaders. These leaders, to this day, will not allow the &lsquo;One World Government&rsquo; to be formed. Let&#39;s strike this off the list. &nbsp; <ol class="c11 lst-kix_c68h1nxiyv8-0" start="3"> <li class="c8 c10 li-bullet-0">Peace Treaties</li> </ol> The word &lsquo;peace&rsquo; does not sell as it is a loss of a trillion-dollar business. Peace is invaluable when war generates revenue. Hence, the treaties of 194 countries in our world are another fiction. Propagandists who make sure that treaties fail are more potent than the diplomats who play by the rules. It is another solution that does not work. <h2 class="c1" id="h.8f7mcdjt1j0d">Then, what is the solution? </h2> <h4 class="c4" id="h.olifscyd5ps5">&ldquo;Peace in the world relies in individuals finding inner peace&rdquo; - Dalai Lama</h4> From ancient preachers to modern-day religious leaders, inner peace has been the core subject of their teaching. Consider any religion, and it preaches love and peace, among other things; however, the keyword is peace in all faiths. The great philosophers and spiritual leaders had realised that inner peace is attainable, not world peace. We have failed to understand them and followed them blindly. <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.29411008958638441634458556244%2Fimage3.webp?alt=media&token=2db024d8-ee9e-4712-84d9-1051c52e3e34" > Therefore the solution lies in us and not in our political leaders who we rely on for peace. In life, we have always been focusing more on war and unknowingly glorified them in our minds. In this instance, it is the war criminals. For example, there are hundreds of documentaries on Hitler. They are often the most-watched, but we seldom learn from the messengers of peace. The overabundance of religious texts and books teaches peace is the way of life, yet the stories of Hitler fascinate us. Next in line is the blame culture. We think that world peace is the responsibility of the world leaders, and when they fail (which they often do) - we blame them. We feel satisfied when we blame as we do not want to take responsibility, and we think that humanity deserves world peace. Such an ignorant attitude is the cause of romanticizing warmongers and leaders with no agenda of peace. As the Dalai Lama quoted on inner peace, we as individuals need to find inner peace first. Just as charity begins at home, world peace starts with us. We need first to change ourselves and find peace inside us. Follow peaceful content and practice methods to find inner peace. When we find inner peace, nothing else matters as we have won ourselves. So tell us, are you going to blame the government or change yourself to find inner peace?

World Peace: A Layman’s Dream or an Attainable Feat?

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.067500485203443981630900523657%2FVirtue%20ethics%2CUtilitarianism%20and%20Deontology_1.webp?alt=media&token=e33a80b9-8b93-47b4-aeab-48fcb9e30288" alt="File preview" width="740" height="493" /> Morality is a term coined to separate the good or bad thoughts, the right and wrong actions. Morality is subjective; many great philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and Kant have given us their approach.&nbsp; To understand the basics of morality, let us take an example, you find a 20 dollar note on the floor, the exact amount required for you to buy that pretty new top you saw yesterday. Here, morality will guide you to ask the people around if they lost a twenty, and if nobody claims it, you give it to the police. Even if it is just a twenty note, it is immoral to keep it with you and spend it. The three main approaches to morality are Virtue ethics, Utilitarianism and Deontology.&nbsp; 1.VIRTUE ETHICS: Virtue ethics theory was given to us by Aristotle. It emphasizes virtues and moral character. It says happiness is our highest goal, and it is achievable by cultivating moral virtues. Once we have developed moral integrity, they can be employed automatically. Let us get a deeper understanding by taking an example: You visit your friend's house for dinner, she has recently learnt how to cook, and wants your opinion. Upon taking the first bite, you feel like the flavour is very off; it is bitter and salty. She is looking at you with excitement, waiting for an opinion. You are in a dilemma; being a good friend, you believe if you are honest, she can work harder and improve, but it might end up hurting her feelings. If you lie, she will be happy, and it might make her day. After contemplating the consequences, you decide to be honest with her. You chose honesty; you took a moral decision. As per virtue ethics, it soon becomes a personality trait if you decide to be honest at times.&nbsp; Virtue ethics can also be summed up as "fake it till you make it." 2.DEONTOLOGY: "An action, to have moral worth, must be done from duty."- Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant is one of the most famous philosophers associated with this approach. In Deontology, one is given a set of duties based on what their intuition believes is right and wrong, and one obeys them. Deontology eradicates subjectivity by focusing only on following the duties and not weighing the consequences of one's action. For example, you are a software engineer, and only you know how to hack into the system to stop the missile launch. Hacking is unethical; even if it might save thousands of lives, Deontology will prevent you from hacking. As previously stated, it does not weigh the consequences of the action and only focuses on following the suitable duties. 3.UTILITARIANISM: In Deontology, we studied that we need to obey the duties irrespective of the consequences; however, in utilitarianism, it is otherwise. It believes in taking the action that has the outcome benefiting the majority. It is a species of consequentialism; It evaluates the activity on the possibility of its consequence. In utilitarianism, happiness or pleasure are the only things that have intrinsic value. Continuing the example from Deontology, if we apply the utilitarian approach to the situation, it would suggest that since the one immoral activity will allow thousands of lives to be happy, the software engineer should go ahead.&nbsp; However, the only limitation here is that we cannot always be accurate on the possible outcome. The engineer might hack into the system successfully but fails to prevent the missile launch.&nbsp;So which school of thought do you think we should live by?&nbsp; Share your thoughts in the comments.

Virtue Ethics, Deontology and Utilitarianism

<img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.106371827230216321636142948157%2Fimage3.webp?alt=media&token=f22dfe36-43eb-49d8-b681-1257a100da82" > A Happy Meal&nbsp;&ndash; A hamburger, a portion of nuggets, regular-sized french fries and a tall glass of an aerated drink. What can be happier than this? One of my friends asked on Instagram after uploading a picture of the happy meal. Her foodstagramming immediately gave me a surge of hunger, and to satisfy my impulsive craving, I felt like I needed to order a happy meal. However, something caught my eye. Her other comment said, &ldquo;A happy tummy makes the mind happy&rdquo;. It made me think. Is your tummy really happy? <h2 class="c2" id="h.9v9nfepbyzst">Effects - Short and Long</h2> A happy meal is a concoction of saturated or trans fats, sugar and salt. Its immediate effects are on your digestive system due to high amounts of fat, sucrose and sodium. Stomach discomfort and lethargy are the short-term effects that some of you might experience after having such a humongous meal. According to Medical News Today, constipation, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases are the long-term effects. They also suggest that a &quot;happy meal&quot; diet may also raise the risk of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease and Parkinson&rsquo;s disease. Obesity seems to top the list of long-term effects. World Health Organisation (WHO) has also stated on their website that 1.9 billion adults were overweight in 2016, and 650 million obese. Another staggering study conducted on 100 adolescents by the European Journal of Molecular &amp; Clinical Medicine showed that 90% of them consume fast food. Furthermore, out of all the effects of fast food consumption, 37% of the participants had trouble sleeping, 24% had worrying nature or fatigue, 17% had undergone depression, 14% had emotional distress, and 8% showed violent behaviour. In conclusion, a study made by European Journal of Molecular &amp; Clinical Medicine concludes that impact of fast food leads to depression. Therefore, in the long run, fast food affects not only your body but also your mind. <h3 class="c1 c10" id="h.1gsg56sjbdd5">Did you know WHO had challenged food industries in a report on diet and health?</h3> As per a journal from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, WHO had called on the food industry to reduce amounts of certain types of fats as well as salt and sugar in snacks and processed foods. They had also criticized the food and drinks industry for &ldquo;heavy marketing practices of energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods.&rdquo; The last statement made me question the marketing tactics used by the food industries and I started digging deeper. <h2 class="c2" id="h.v9l2o3oz42d2">How Food Marketing Works</h2> Take the example of a happy meal. The word &ldquo;happy&rdquo; used in the advertisements is quite misleading as it does not necessarily keep your stomach healthy. Still, your mind looking for temporary joy will make you buy the happy meal without a moment&rsquo;s thought. Furthermore, the fast-food companies&rsquo; advertisements typically show a family eating at their chain and a kid enjoying a burger with a smile on his face. They also offer a bunch of toys with the meal making the kid excited and wanting to visit again soon. Happiness is the key focus in these advertisements. These companies make you believe that families are enjoying their time at the fast-food joints without regard for what harm it can cause you? But we know the truth now. It made me question the ethics of the advertising world. <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.106371827230216321636142948157%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=d0412453-fc06-488a-8d24-a9054e8d5d27" > <h2 class="c2" id="h.l5b9y6jinmwk">Ethical vs Unethical Advertising</h2> <h4 class="c1 c10" id="h.dglgg7npd0ks">&ldquo;What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses the truth to deceive the public.&rdquo; &ndash; Vilhjalmur Stefansson</h4> Yes, it is a confusing quote. I had never thought that truth could be used to deceive, yet this quote made sense. Take the happy meal advertisement as an example again. The truth is that the consumers are happy after having a meal. Families do enjoy their time dining at the fast-food joints, and it cannot be denied. Hence, it is ethical advertising as it shows the truth. But what makes our mind happy is not necessarily the same for our tummy. So, the deceiving here is, not mentioning in the advertisements - the high amount of fats, sucrose and sodium levels that fast food contains and the side effects and long-term effects of the food on our body. <h2 class="c2" id="h.hc31krrseuk8">So, do we just switch to healthy food?</h2> Though you know the ill effects of fast food and how the food industry advertisements are wired to your mind, it is still not easy to stay away from unhealthy food. Your mind wants instant gratification, and so it depends on material things like food to be happy. Marketing professionals are shrewdly aware of this concept, and the advertisements are always there to get you. To deal with this, you need to make a conscious effort to fight the urge to make your mind happy with the food. Ask yourself these questions the next time you want to have a happy meal: <ol class="c15 lst-kix_i3v6b4gmn81l-0 start" start="1"> <li class="c1 c6 li-bullet-0">Will a happy meal make me and my stomach happy?</li> <li class="c1 c6 li-bullet-0">Should I invest in food that is going to make me unhealthy?</li> <li class="c1 c6 li-bullet-0">Is the temporary joy of fast food greater than the long-term illness caused by it?</li> </ol> These questions will make you focus on the larger consequence and help you curb the need for instant gratification through food. Eating healthy is a dire need not only for your body but also for your mind. <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.106371827230216321636142948157%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=01a851e7-7ce2-4fbb-8ffe-dc653d3d38a0" > Don&#39;t forget that what makes you happy does not necessarily make you healthy. So, how do you avoid unhealthy food? Share your experience with us.

What Makes You Happy, Does it Also Make You Healthy

<img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.150594998139294671635529193347%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=f2e57aac-6cb0-4f55-b205-423f95260c5e" > What makes your life different from the others? &lsquo;Circumstance&rsquo;- you might say. Yes, I do agree that circumstances shape lives. Your circumstances based on your life events are different from the others that make your life different. But, if you observe life as a concept, it is the same for everyone. It has a beginning and an end. It is filled with emotions, both joy and sorrow. There is the battle for the state of mind that switches between happiness and sadness. If you observe further, you will realize that your emotions are dependent on external circumstances and these circumstances are the same for everyone. This dependency on the circumstances controls your life, which is due to the lack of understanding of life. <h1 class="c4" id="h.oemslknv886t">Meaning of Life</h1> A plethora of definitions of life can be found in books or on the web if you do not read books. For centuries, many saints, monks, philosophers, poets have defined life in their way. Their divergent views may make sense or may not, yet it gives an insight into their perception of life. Perception matters the most in life as the circumstances are created by perception, not reality. Let&rsquo;s take &#39;the difference between the rich and the poor as an example to prove this. If you ask a rich person, how do they view this world? &ndash; &ldquo;I see opportunities everywhere&rdquo; would be the answer that you will receive. Ask the same question to a poor person - &ldquo;I do not get any opportunities, it is all taken by the rich&rdquo;, is the complaint that you will receive as an answer. Rich people see abundance in the world and work towards their dream, but poor people see scarcity and become indolent; living is a nightmare. Though they have the same eyesight, their perception differs; hence they have a different meaning of life Perception is important in finding the meaning of your life. <h1 class="c4" id="h.whil1l3owdt7">A look into Emerson&rsquo;s perception of life</h1> <h3 class="c0 c5" id="h.v3jv41sqdzj1">&quot;Life is a journey, not a destination&quot; &ndash; Ralph Waldo Emerson</h3> This cliched quote by Emerson has been making rounds on Facebook for the past five years, in the form of memes, posts, and cover photos. This profound quote was posted aimlessly by many netizens without giving credit to Emerson. The other netizens who have liked these posts have responded with awe. Nonetheless, the ones who posted and those who praised it did not give a concise meaning to the quote. Forwarding messages without knowing the inner meaning is a trend on social media. Let us discuss in detail if life is a journey or a destination. <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.150594998139294671635529193347%2Fimage3.webp?alt=media&token=6fc72fb3-59b5-4aa4-b199-227d7ec2f0ae" > How can life be a journey? Humans are result-oriented. Everything you do in your life should have a meaning, and that meaning has to be manifested in the form of what you have achieved in life and what materials you have possessed. The material gain is a trophy of success. Inherently, life is measured by your achievements. Furthermore, to achieve anything, you must set goals that are time-bound and reach the target. Reaching your goal is nothing but a destination and, to some, destiny. Therefore, the destination or the destiny is clearly &lsquo;life&rsquo;, not the journey. But Emerson, the world-famous American philosopher, believed that life is a journey. He perceived life differently. So let us look at life from a different angle. <h3 class="c0 c5" id="h.ptuo6tsqn5xt">&quot;Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live&quot; &ndash; Norman Cousins</h3> <img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.150594998139294671635529193347%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=6d2a81a6-31b9-49f0-8eda-5e4592c8c2b2" > I have taken another quote from an American author Norman Cousins which will give more insights into Emerson&#39;s beliefs. Humans live every day just to die someday. This is an inevitable truth. If you consider death, then the destination is death that makes life a &lsquo;journey&rsquo;. This substantiates Emerson&#39;s percept of life, giving a deep awareness and profound meaning. The word &lsquo;death&rsquo; makes everything else in this world seem trivial. The goals you have set, the people you do not speak to, the unnecessary anger and fear, and any other circumstances that may arise in the future, nothing will matter in the end. What matters is if your journey is filled with joyous moments. Be mindful of the fact that circumstances do not shape your life, but you do. You need to commit to living life to the fullest. After all, it is your life. Have you found the true meaning of your life? Please share your experience and thoughts on life.

What is life? Is it a journey or destination? A look into Emerson’s percept

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.088762256553584831628072882401%2FThe%20Illusion%20of%20Happiness_AyushDubey_1.webp?alt=media&token=6b125df9-b06f-435c-8713-875570e3839e" alt="" width="764" height="509" />Human beings seek happiness, and the majority of the activity we perform is to achieve a certain amount of joy, be it in any form. For some people, the pursuit of happiness summarizes their existence. However, there are times when we think about what exactly we are trying to achieve when we talk about happiness.Everyone has different opinions about happiness. These differences make it challenging to explain happiness in a general, all-inclusive manner. There are times when the pursuit of happiness itself seems mundane, and this realization makes us feel delusional. Delusional because we realize that we have been dreaming of something so abstract and naive.Happiness is never an end in itself because the things that make us happy tell a lot about our nature itself. Therefore, we can use happiness to go within and think about the true nature of human existence. Happiness has its origin in struggle, and accepting this truth will save us from a lot of disappointment. The funny thing is that we desire happiness because we want to escape our sufferings. However, the condition of human beings is that first, we toil and then realize that we have to struggle some more, and from time to time, we are lucky enough to experience a momentary bliss as we go through life.When Camus said the struggle itself towards the height is enough to fill a man&rsquo;s heart, living this life alone is enough to make us feel fulfilled. However, the more we live and go through life, the more we realize that suffering is universal. Thus, our sole purpose must be to create subjective meaning and strive through struggle instead of longing for happiness.Subjective meaning is essential for happiness because having a personal purpose is a constructive illusion. It allows us to attach importance to our endless sufferings. We come to realize that our fate is tragic, and there&rsquo;s no one coming to rescue us. Yet we enjoy our severe hardship, for the fruits of our agony are in the form of happiness. This realization makes us feel fulfilled even for a brief period, and if true happiness does exist, it is in this realization. Because of this reason, all of us occupy ourselves. We do it to fill the eternal void in our life. The more we indulge in meaningful activities, the more we realize that every instance of our life can form meaning in itself if we let it.&nbsp;Thus, going through these petty days makes us realise that happiness was never and will never be a destination in the end. It is instead a path, a journey, and being alive with a crippling sense of absurdity is a task and a reward in itself. The reason being that life justifies itself, and one can only understand this as one lives through the questions and the daily struggle. At the same time, discovering something sustainable will kindle hope for us and others around them, even for a brief time. Happiness follows when we realize that joy and absurdity are inseparable.We indeed use our future to escape our present. We live in those moments where we find peace; it can be in the form of living the memories or dreaming about the future. So one needs a standpoint about where one&rsquo;s existence is heading, and that abstract, hopeful idea can inspire us. So if we continue to strive for meaning that we find sustainable despite the realization that we shall cease to exist in the end, we are no less than gods, for we are truly conscious of our fate and our existence.&nbsp;Thus, happiness is an illusion. We constantly misinterpret the root essence of happiness, and it isn&rsquo;t something to be locked inside a vault or something which will stay with us forever. We cannot pursue happiness, and the more we seek it, the more it feels like sand in our palms. On the other hand, we must commit to a cause that we find meaningful and sustain ourselves and others around us. Use the absurdity of your existence to honor your sufferings and embrace the existential dread which arises in the form of existential agony. We are the modern Sisyphus.&nbsp;

The Illusion of Happiness

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.102809502103431431634384762413%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=252ffbd9-e7e2-4c60-81eb-836f08101c52" alt="File preview" width="700" /> In one perspective, time could be easily seen as a homeless person: ignored, despised by some, where only the wise and the goodhearted pay attention and try to help. The result of a system that is too busy counting money and not caring about death because &ldquo;diamonds last forever&rdquo;. But time (as a homeless person) is on the streets, constantly showing us that there is something wrong with the world and that beyond all distractions, suffering still is the infrastructure of mankind. Time will stop you on your way to work and ask for just a spare change, and you may ignore it, but the uneasiness of being indifferent will stick with you, and you&rsquo;ll be anxious. Or maybe time can also be the soldier in the field, fighting against chaos and ensuring our liberty because time is what secures our present since even against all odds, existence somehow manages to thrive in a universe of uncertainty. It is also possible for time to be an artist on the street, ignoring the before or after, living in between. Because what is real can only be real in the present, what is in the past is merely a memory. And what is the future, if not only speculation?&nbsp;The artist, when playing his art, carries the wisdom of living according to existence. Often underestimated and seen as stupid or unimportant, however, with the flow of events the strokes of paint and the agressive hits at the Canvas that one day was foolish suddenly becomes what is called &ldquo;a masterpiece&rdquo; and finally taken seriously. In the same way, time flows constantly and wipes out entire empires. Time could be seen as the baker who gives us our daily bread, but it can also be seen as the cop that will throw you in a cell at the slightest mistake. (As we can see in people who spent years of their life with something they regret, and they can feel nothing on their deathbed but resentment) <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.102809502103431431634384762413%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=37c8ba1b-df8f-49ce-809e-ab7d06574765" alt="File preview" width="700" /> The truth is that time is what you make of it, your ally, your enemy, bliss or a curse and the only thing known for sure is that it eventually outruns everyone and everything. The choices we make are responsible for building the persona that time will incorporate into our lives. Ten minutes of sleep may be minimal, but ten minutes of excruciating pain is unforgettable. And the reason why we should have that in mind is that, in the end, a desensitized life guided only by what is convenient and emptiness is arguably worth less than a single moment of virtue and authenticity. To make good usage of time is not only to be productive but to make every second count. Of course, in the 24 hours that a day has, we won&rsquo;t be able to make each second worth a lifetime, but unfortunately, the opposite is possible, and it is rather common: 24 hours can be easily wasted. In our last seconds, time serves as a judge and although the sentence is inevitably death&nbsp;the difference will be: The verdict of some will be a shameful one (for those who have completely wasted their life), and others will have glory as because they wisely lived while they could.

What if time was a person?

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0202072586930484021635362946595%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=754af849-7759-4104-ad5a-eb79787e56b8" alt="File preview" width="500" /> In the final article in this 3 part series, we will discuss whether or not society really needs morals in order to function, as well as the principles of justice and equality when making moral considerations. <h3> Do We Really Need a Defined Set of Morals for Society to Function? </h3> No ethical or moral system is likely to be perfect in all cases. There are simply too many different possible scenarios along with their variables that can arise for any single value system to provide perfect solutions all of the time. If a set of moral principles is too vague, then the answers it offers become unclear. But if an ethical system becomes too precisely delineated, everyone becomes weighed down with expansive legalism that is difficult to follow. Human beings are social animals by nature, and there are currently 7.8 billion of us living together. Suppose certain classes of people acted only as ends unto themselves, such as the higher human beings that Nietzsche refers to. How would we collectively begin to achieve any sort of overall harmony of value judgments? How would this affect how we treat each other? For instance, would it be permissible for a &lsquo;higher man&rsquo; to treat other persons from the herd however they pleased - since their moral judgments are far beyond what lesser individuals can comprehend? Any student of 20th-century history quickly realizes how problematic and dangerous such ideas have the potential to become. Or are there universal moral principles that supersede the individual&rsquo;s will? While adhering to an established system of morals might diminish the individual&#39;s autonomous range, perhaps a different sort of freedom might arise. Would it be possible to free the self in service of a greater good instead of being slaves to our impulses or cyclically pursuing our own ends? Additionally, while the idea of great men creating their own values and pushing the envelope of morality sounds good in theory, how would it work relative to history? Since little is truly new under the sun, and everything that exists now has essentially come before in some form or another, how would someone trying to create their own values manage to do anything truly unique? Somewhere, sometime, someone on this planet has likely been confronted with a similar moral choice that mirrors almost any that we could face. And since the energy of life on this earth remains interconnected as it moves through time, it would seem that we are simply playing a temporary role in continuing a much larger cycle of cause and effect. Learning from life often involves making mistakes and trying not to repeat them. This process continues the cycle of growth that leads us away from stagnation or decay. To see clearly and learn from the mistakes of others without suffering the same fate is wisdom. Perhaps the moral insights that will become most valuable to us are those that we discover both from the real pain of our mistakes along with looking to the cumulative wisdom of others. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0202072586930484021635362946595%2Fimage3.webp?alt=media&token=093e5089-0370-4744-b7c9-10e334f29d6f" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> <h3> The Moral Issues of Equality and Justice </h3> Finally, perhaps by considering the relationship of morality to other integral principles, we can better balance personal freedom and social responsibilities. One of the foundational principles of ethics is that of equality in regards to justice. Because while all human beings may not be physically, intellectually, socially, or financially equal, all are endowed with a basic set of rights. All are equally deserving of moral consideration. If you remove this fundamental principle from any ethical equation, it will likely result in some form of inequality and exploitation of a person (or group) by another. And a moral system based on exploitation isn&rsquo;t much of a moral system at all. <ul> <li> Any system that allows certain individuals the absolute freedom to ignore the rights of the larger, collective group or target the rights of other individuals is explicitly not ethical. </li> <li> But the systemic process of allowing groups in power to overreach and interfere with certain innate personal freedoms of individuals (thereby limiting their potential) is also harmful and unethical. </li> </ul> Is there some system that might better balance the rights of various individuals from all groups? &nbsp;No system will be perfect for all members since there are so many diverse situations and characteristics. But using universal principles of some kind to formulate a baseline of ethical standards applicable to all must occur to ensure fundamental rights. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0202072586930484021635362946595%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=645165b3-3f48-4c44-a0ff-d44e6ebf4138" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> <h3>Article Summary:</h3> <ul> <li> If we fail to thoroughly examine the validity of our most deeply held values, to recognize where they come from and why they are important, they become hollow and meaningless over time. When values lose their integrity, it leads to blind obedience, unquestioning conformity, and moral stagnation. </li> <li> However, suppose we set ourselves adrift in a sea of moral relativism or begin to say that there are no universal moral truths that are greater than our own free will. In that case, we risk becoming lost in ourselves and falling prey to our biases and desires. We risk creating a hell on earth while trying to fashion a paradise of our own design. </li> </ul>

Part 3 of 3: The Development of Morality - Nietzsche vs Kohlberg

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/article_images%2FLove%20and%20Let%20go_1.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=f2e91140-46c7-419c-bf2d-3fc16ef99a63" alt="File preview" width="740" height="490" />&nbsp; Someone asks you, what is love? And if you start humming in your mind‼ Oh, baby, don&rsquo;t hurt me, don&rsquo;t hurt me, no more‼; then you are born in the 80s or the 90s. The song &ldquo;What is love?&rdquo; recorded by Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist Haddaway from 1993, was a massive hit in at least 13 countries. The catchy lyrics and the nostalgic music of this song are still discussed when a question arises about love. We look at love in terms of happiness. We do not think that love can be risky. Our intentions and expectations are, &ldquo;To love and to be loved&rdquo; - yet in a relationship, we might not be loved back or receive all the love we want, but the relationship would have turned sour. So, what next? <h4>&ldquo;If you love something so much, let it go. If it comes back it was meant to be; if it, doesn&rsquo;t it never was&rdquo; &ndash; Albert Schweitzer</h4> Letting go is an abrupt answer but is it that easy? Considering the time invested in the relationship and the bond developed over the years, letting a relationship go when it turns sour causes extreme distress. Sometimes, giving it a chance does work. The difficult decision is when to give the relationship another chance and when to let it go. Love is a matter of the heart, not the mind. When a relationship goes south, it is time to use our intelligence instead of relying on emotions. Let us first learn about relationships based on the types of love. There are three: 1.One-Sided Love Love is blind; maybe this is why some fall in love mindlessly with someone who will not reciprocate. You may fall in love with a person and never express your feelings. Or you express but face rejection. In both cases, you continue to love the person. The reason for refusal could be plenty &ndash; another lover, not the right type, commitment issues, etc. nonetheless, the love does not recede once it catches on. We need to understand that this love is real, and so is the suffering of rejection in one-sided love. 2.Mutual Love A dream relationship is one where the love is mutual, an understanding based on the bond you develop, and respect for the other&rsquo;s personal - time and goals. Though it sounds so simple and easy, it is difficult in practice. The word &ldquo;personal&rdquo; does not go well with people who think they own their partners. This type of relationship requires the sacrifice of ego, possessiveness, and expectations. Nevertheless, this is the type of love for a long-living relationship. &nbsp;<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/article_images%2FLove%20and%20Let%20go_2.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=3bcf9885-5e58-4873-911d-1c90afcf4071" alt="File preview" width="400" height="508" /> 3.Toxic Love It takes two people to make a toxic relationship work. One partner will be selfless and will give everything to make the relationship work. The other is selfish to satisfy their insecure needs. In this love, the toxic person feels that only their needs are important. The other partner deeply cares and silently suffers without letting them go. <h2>When to let go?</h2> <h4>&ldquo;Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go&rdquo; &ndash; Hermann Hesse</h4> &nbsp;In one-sided love, there is no such thing as letting go, right? There is nobody to let go of. So, what should you let go of? &nbsp;You expressed your feelings, and they rejected them, dreams shattered, despite that your love remains intact. You enjoy the melancholy of rejection and become an amateur poet; with the hope that someday that person will realise your love. You start seeing life differently - a life of nothingness; that nothingness can be seen in your behaviour &ndash; uninterested, unimpressed. Not healthy. &nbsp;You need to let go of the emotions of love and stubborn feelings. Forgetting is not easy, but the future awaits you. Living in the past does not help. Get over your hangover of rejected love and make an effort to move forward. &nbsp;Letting go in a mutual relationship. Why? Sometimes even a perfect relationship can turn bitter. It could be due to lack of time, misunderstanding, or loss of intimacy (all due to too much time and focus on personal goals). Couples get divorced even after more than ten years of marriage. Look at the recent divorces between the Bezos&rsquo; and the Gates&rsquo;. &nbsp;In this case, letting go is not the only option, but giving another chance will help revive the relationship. It may take years to fix the relationship, but it is an excellent option to give several chances as mutual love existed in the past, and the external factors causing problems can be fixed. Letting go should only be taken as a last resort. <h4>&ldquo;It is better to be healthy alone than sick with someone else&rdquo; &ndash; Phil McGraw.</h4> &nbsp;<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/article_images%2FLove%20and%20Let%20go_3.jpg?alt=media&amp;token=3efe483d-673e-444d-83b4-cb8304af65a7" alt="File preview" width="400" height="599" /> Awareness is foremost. A toxic person carefully chooses a partner who can tolerate the toxic relationship. That person confuses you with a strange behaviour - being toxic at times and then covering it with expressions of love. Their expressions sound so true that you tend to ignore the abuse and dishonesty (signs of toxic relationship) initially. You believe that the toxic person is the victim in this relationship, questioning your integrity.&nbsp; When the toxicity takes a toll on you, you decide to let go, but you cannot. You give several chances for the toxic person to set the relationship right. Nothing changes. It becomes unbearable, and the relationship turns into a nightmare.&nbsp; It is a predator and prey relationship. Giving another chance is not an option. They cannot change. They chose you for a reason, to use you as an emotional punch bag. Toxic people do not know if they are harmful, as they will never feel that their actions are wrong&mdash;no use in waiting for the person to change. If there were love, there would be no toxicity at any point in time.&nbsp;&nbsp; This understanding will help you push yourself to let go of the relationship. Remember, your happiness also matters and is the most important only for you. Relationships are complicated, and it all depends on the love and bond you develop over the years. Knowing when to hold on and when to let go makes all the difference in a successful relationship. Identify what type of relationship that you want and take action accordingly.&nbsp;

Love and Let Go

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.169789187694630471638958360820%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=a1895264-6d7f-4efd-bcb2-ddde75d5f999" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> Throughout this day, you will probably encounter numerous works of art. It may be a photograph on Instagram, poetry on Twitter, or just a piece of music you will listen to while cleaning the dishes. If you stop to think about it, art is all around us, and what&rsquo;s more, art is playing a central role in our lives, in such a way that if you were asked to imagine a world without art, you might not even be capable of doing so. We must be grateful for people who create art. But there isn&rsquo;t such a person because art has never been created. It was only perceived and expressed. We can barely rely on the definition of art because the concept itself is vast and abstract, and what one finds beautiful seems dull to another. Well, since art hasn&rsquo;t been created, when did we start to perceive it? How did we get here, in a world whose infrastructure depends on artistic thinking? The first form of art we know of is rock art, and it took place in the caves of prehistory. The moment where one decided to print its hand on rock using coal and other materials as &ldquo;paint&rdquo;. The first breath of art came with the thought: I exist, I&rsquo;ve been here, &nbsp;and that was an act of rebellion against death itself because to be remembered is to also be alive in other people&rsquo;s minds. Time passed, we as individuals became more sophisticated and judgmental, like a fire that may change its flames but will not fail to keep warm, and most importantly, it won&rsquo;t allow darkness to take complete control of us. We have passed through the greek sculptures, the Mona Lisa, literature, forms of dance, movies, architecture, and even science. &nbsp;All those forms of art, though different, share one thing in common: They give a different meaning to our existence. It&rsquo;s not just because the piece is either amazing, beautiful, or provoking. Still, it resides in the idea that we, as mortal beings, can bring such wonderfulness to existence. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.169789187694630471638958360820%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=493204c0-1879-4344-93f8-771201c1540b" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> However, art should not only be seen but also lived. The graffiti in the next corner looks out for each one of us as a reminder of the ancient artists. Despite being more vulnerable to life&rsquo;s dangers, they knew the importance of art, the appreciation of existence and the importance of authenticity. So a good exercise is to consciously look at art differently. It may be something simple as &ldquo;this landscape would give a good photograph&rdquo; or complex as &ldquo;well, this person looks like it came straight out of a play&rdquo;. The goal is to sharpen our minds so that we don&rsquo;t ignore the details around us and remember that we exist and are here. How has art reminded you of your existence? Share your story with us in the comments.

Art: A Friendly Reminder of Existence

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.048438063517993961630902440187%2FProcrastination_1.webp?alt=media&token=8f9134e8-755b-402a-b71f-653b2809f51f" alt="File preview" width="400" height="601" />There are times when staring at a blank wall is interesting. And mostly, these are times when your desk nearby with its papers, sticky notes, and laptop screams for your attention. As much as you want to sit staring at the wall, which is not even the part with the pictures on it, but just white paint, your desk won&rsquo;t let you grant its opponent all the attention you wish to. You keep denying your desk&rsquo;s call, but you also don&rsquo;t feel so good about your response. It drives you into a battle between the rebel in you not wanting to sit at the desk for work vs the work itself. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s okay. Everybody procrastinates&rdquo;, you would think as you turn your eyes back at the wall.&nbsp;The term procrastination has been so often used for any scenario where critical work is not given enough importance that it has become a metonym for laziness. We closely associate it with one&rsquo;s inability to manage time, lack of willpower, and the like. But is it the paucity of your time management skills that keeps you hanging indefinitely between responsibility and your action? Procrastination indeed looks like a regulation issue. But what if it isn&rsquo;t about the regulation of time but of your emotions instead?Tim Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University, believes that &ldquo;Procrastination is not a time-management problem, it&rsquo;s an emotion-management problem.&rdquo; In his book &lsquo;Solving the Procrastination Puzzle,&rsquo; he defines procrastination as &ldquo;a voluntary delay of an intended act despite the knowledge that this delay may harm us.&rdquo; As much clarity and truth it holds, this very definition is also one of something that is against human nature. We are inclined to seek satisfaction and happiness and perform deeds that bring us closer to these. Why would you sense danger and still choose to delay your tasks if ticking them off your list is what would make you happy? There could be times where even after allotting a specific slot of your day for a task, you do not find yourself doing it very efficiently.Though time management plays a crucial role in meeting deadlines, it is not the only reason someone slacks off. When properly looked into, procrastination doesn&rsquo;t look like a problem with your time management. Instead, it seems like an emotion-focused coping strategy, wherein your inner critic comes into play. Self-judgment naturally follows, but you should channel it tastefully such that you move forward, offering self-compassion rather than questioning your abilities and sinking in guilt.As Pychyl says, &ldquo;to the extent that I can deal with my emotions, I can stay on task,&rdquo; handling your emotions is essential for working, regardless of how petty it sounds.Gathering ideas to overcome procrastination often results in rumination and self-loathing, taking us further away from the solution. But what is &lsquo;the&rsquo; solution? It is unreasonable to expect to find a single solution to such a complex issue as procrastination. The cause and resolution are not the same for everyone. What could be possible reasons behind this issue that becomes a &lsquo;suffering&rsquo; in the long run?<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.048438063517993961630902440187%2FProcrastination_2.webp?alt=media&token=569ee435-64b8-4434-969a-19d1fe29692b" alt="File preview" width="739" height="492" />Another psychologist named Piers Steel from the University of Calgary wrote a paper called &lsquo;The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure&rsquo;, wherein he reported four major possible causes of procrastination:i) Low Self Confidence: Your willingness to do a task is likely to drop if you are not confident enough about the process and outcome. Being afraid of your inability to meet your expectations and those from others is a cue for your procrastination to rise. Reduce negative self-talk, as this will add layers to your anxiety. Forgive yourself if you make mistakes, but more importantly, appreciate yourself for every move you make.ii) Pleasure derived from the task: It's less probable that you&rsquo;ll delay a task if it's exciting or rewarding enough. The boredom associated with the task plays a higher role than its difficulty in foreseeing the level of procrastination. When you don&rsquo;t feel like working on something, try to find what could be holding you back. Face your negative thoughts related to the task at hand, don&rsquo;t try to run away.iii) Distractibility: Sometimes, it could be that you want to finish a task, but your environment hinders your focus and forces you to do otherwise. Putting away things that are likely to distract you and finding a new domain or modifying your present one to suit yourself will help you stay focused on completing the task.iv) Relaxed deadlines: It's pretty natural to want to take more leisure time before starting a task when you know there is enough time to do it. Doing so might be helpful to relax if carefully worked on, but procrastination usually takes over, dominates, and makes you haste in the last moment. To manage a distant deadline, break it down into smaller deadlines and tackle them every day. Train yourself to finish the work first, and enjoy the remaining time as leisurely as you want.Other factors like denial of consequences and rebelliousness do support these causes.Bringing in some math to his theory, Steel has put the above coworking factors in the form of an equation. The product of your self-confidence and the pleasure from the task, divided by the product of your distractibility and time till deadline, gives your chances of not procrastinating on your task. In simpler terms, the first two factors need to be increased, while the latter two need to be decreased to improve your productivity.People procrastinate differently. The key is to identify your vulnerability and work on it. Hence, this equation can only be used as a guide and not as the final solution to solve the issue. Keep tuning these factors and the others that support them until you are satisfied with the level of mental and situational comfort.Do not see procrastination as a personality problem. It is only an inner critic trying to talk to you. So listen, and communicate through actions!

Procrastination - What is it trying to tell you?

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839774038561628072884185%2FLed%20Lighted%20Sun_MattheusBiermann_1.webp?alt=media&token=401251ed-e2fa-4375-84ed-ded865f7880c" alt="" /> Social media has an immense influence on the world. It is a gift, but that doesn&rsquo;t seem to be so self-evident. With the Greek myth of Icarus, it is possible to understand why the advantage of social media is not so clear and how we can use it for our benefit. The myth is one of the most famous ones telling the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus, both trapped in a maze until Daedalus, an ingenious craftsman, has the idea of creating wings out of feathers and wax. He successfully develops the wings. However, knowing the dangers of the same, the craftsman warns his son: &ldquo;Take the middle way because the moisture will weigh down your wings if you fly too low. But if you go too high, the sun will scorch them.&rdquo; Ignoring his father&rsquo;s warnings, blinded by the graciousness of flight, Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell to his death. Although the wings were well built, their poor use led to a tragedy. The same is true for social media. With the creation of a digital space where people from all around the world can interact, humanity should be connected and happier since we are social beings. However, this is not the case. The led lights on our smartphones are almost like the sun, shining bright and capturing our attention, falling in love with the notifications of someone liking our photos; we got addicted to the images and forgot the real purpose of those inventions.&nbsp; This forgetting is dangerous since a tool can become a weapon at the moment the purpose of it is changed. And with social media, the danger is the merchandising of happiness, as if while scrolling down or upon our phones, we may find sparks of joy. We do get those sparks. &nbsp;Harvard University researcher Trevor Haynes wrote an article exploring the relation between pumps of dopamine and several tools on the internet, such as posting a picture on Instagram and the notifications we receive on our smartphones. When an individual receives likes, the same is rewarded with a small dose of dopamine, reinforcing that behavior to be anxious if he doesn&rsquo;t receive the likes and &ldquo;happier&rdquo; if more people like the picture. That&rsquo;s basically how any drug works, with those pumps of dopamine reinforcing a habit, and for that matter, Social Media Addiction is a real and serious problem that requires attention. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839774038561628072884185%2FLed%20Lighted%20Sun_MattheusBiermann_2.webp?alt=media&token=e8be00cb-fa96-4513-adad-59cb2758a50b" alt="" width="763" height="486" /> The solution is not to abandon technology and return to a primitive state because that wouldn&rsquo;t be the middle way. It would be &ldquo;flying low&rdquo;, which can also be a problem. However, the understanding of the social media mechanisms is crucial to developing better use of the platforms. Most importantly, one must be cautious not to fly too high and fall for being blinded by the unreal, superficial, and addictive dangers that lurk in social media.

The Connection Between Social Media and Happiness

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.069722072775078691635260788558%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=1ba4366e-2b0d-4bf4-8b09-4cd52786240a" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> Setting the Scene: Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was an American Psychologist who studied how people solved moral dilemmas. Kohlberg’s work often involved posing various moral questions to his research subjects. A famous example would be the ‘Heinz dilemma.’ It was a hypothetical question regarding a man who had the chance to steal life-saving drugs for his very sick wife and why he might decide to choose a specific course of action over another. To correctly classify these responses, Kohlberg proposed a basic construct for categorizing them that correspond to different moral developmental reasoning stages. Over the years, there has been some criticism of its limitations and legitimate questions about its scope and accuracy. However, it gives us an excellent starting point to begin our discussion on the topic of morality. <table style="width: 468pt; border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 5pt"> <tr style="height: 27.25pt"> <td colspan="3" style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2.25pt; padding-left: 5pt; padding-right: 5pt; padding-top: 5pt; padding-bottom: 3.88pt; vertical-align: bottom; " > The 6 Stages/Levels of Moral Development according to Kohlberg </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 21.25pt"></tr> <tr style="height: 25.75pt"> <td rowspan="2" style=" border-top-color: #000000; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Preconventional Morality </td> <td style=" border-top-color: #000000; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 1 </td> <td style=" border-top-color: #000000; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1pt; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Punishment and Obedience - Follow the rules to avoid punishment </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 27.25pt"> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 2 </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Self Interest - How does complying with the rules benefit me? </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 25.75pt"> <td rowspan="2" style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Conventional Morality </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 3 </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Social Norms - Conforming to others expectations of goodness </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 27.25pt"> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 4 </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Law and Order - Submission to authority because it’s the law </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 25.75pt"> <td rowspan="3" style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; padding-left: 4.5pt; padding-right: 5pt; padding-top: 5pt; padding-bottom: 4.5pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Postconventional Morality </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 5 </td> <td style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Social Contract - Do it for the greater common good </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 25.75pt"> <td rowspan="2" style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-left-color: #000000; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: 2em !important; " > 6 </td> <td rowspan="2" style=" border-bottom-color: #000000; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1pt; border-right-color: #000000; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1pt; padding: 5pt; width: fit-content !important; " > Universal Ethical Principles - moral code based on universal values greater than oneself takes precedence over lesser laws and social mores </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 35.5pt"></tr> </table> <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.069722072775078691635260788558%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=695eccc0-e08e-46c2-ba09-93c68f708d51" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" /> Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German Philosopher and writer who often considered moral and ethical issues related to the concepts of personal identity and freedom. Nietzsche was a writer of great cleverness and wit. His work is still widely read and quoted to this day, and his ideas helped form the basis of many important discussions on cultural issues during the 20th century. Nietzsche’s writings often focused on the restrictive nature of morality used as a form of groupthink by the masses to suppress the creativity and originality of truly great individuals. Here are some of Nietzsche’s quotes regarding morality: “Morality is just a fiction used by the herd of inferior human beings to hold back the few superior men.” “Let us not underestimate this: we ourselves, we free spirits, are nothing less than a “revaluation of all values,” an incarnate declaration of war and triumph over all the ancient conceptions of “true” and “untrue.”” – The Antichrist “One becomes moral – not because one is moral. Submission to morality can be slavish or vain or selfish or resigned or obtusely enthusiastic or thoughtless or an act of desperation, like submission to a prince: in itself it is nothing moral.” – The Dawn “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of the truth than lies.” – Human, All Too Human For believe me! — the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously! – The Gay Science While every noble morality develops from a triumphant affirmation of itself, slave morality from the outset says No to what is "outside," what is "different," what is "not itself"; and this No is its creative deed. – Genealogy of Morals The Presence of Conflicting Values: Moral debates often arise when conflicting values or goods are considered, and when we must make a choice between them. Moral debates can center around specific issues or concrete examples of conflict that exist in real life. Or, they can also center around broader or more abstract forms of reasoning in hypothetical scenarios. People debating a particular issue can come into conflict because one person is arguing about a single case based on its own specific merits. Another person may be extrapolating from the same data to formulate answers relevant to broader hypothetical situations. The debaters need to recognize the scope of their arguments to compare their conclusions effectively. In this article, we will be dealing with general ideas about morality rather than venturing into a discussion of specific cases. Here are two questions to consider before reading further: · How do we balance a sense of personal freedom and autonomy along with social responsibility and the universal principles of moral integrity? · And are there universal principles of morality that are truly greater than the individual? Or is the greatness of man the measure of all things? In Part 2 of this article, we will begin to compare and contrast some of the ideas of Nietzsche and Kohlberg. There will also be a series of questions for the reader to consider regarding this. Finally, in Part 3 of this article, we will consider the role of morality in building a functional society and how it all ties into the principles of equality and justice.

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