Why should anyone do anything that doesn’t directly serve their own needs and wants? In other words, why should anyone be good, ethical, or charitable? This isn’t asked enough, at least out loud. And if it was asked then it would most likely be scoffed at as a strange or an obvious question. Yet I would wager the vast majority of people cannot make a proper argument for it even into adulthood yet deem it essential. And if they attempt to do so they may answer with one of the following ways:
A: You should be moral to fit in.
This is the most common logical argument for the average person: Most people act as expected from their environments to fit in functionally. These behaviours are observed and copied from a young age and conditioned through punishment and reward. These expectations form the superego, a part of the psyche that no other animal has. In psychology, Freud's superego is the moral component of the psyche, representing internalized societal values and standards.
This reveals that much of what passes for morality in society is based on fear or societal pressure rather than genuine moral conviction. Humans are social beings, and being ostracized from a group often has devastating psychological and practical consequences. In most of human history, that would spell death. Nowadays we are more concerned with being perceived as ethical predominantly as a preemptive defense mechanism, since moral scrutiny is thrown around left and right impetuously online. We are nicer but not kinder. We are much more interested in appearing good instead of doing good, or meaningful kindness for others, as it socially reaps the same benefits.
This explains why most people are just as good or as bad as their environments are generally across history and cultures. Having similar values is a social demand in order to function. Why is fitting in crucial? As humans, we require interactivity to survive. Protection, resource sharing, and opportunities for reproduction. To fit in is to benefit from others, and we need others to survive. We cannot survive alone. But that is all this is. That is called being social. Being social requires conformity. We are social animals because we need each other in a very real survival sense. But that is not the same as being ethical. If morality comes only from the outside and not from any strong sense of internal principles based on ethics, then it is not morality. This is a very important note. What is good or bad must be developed internally.
"Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual."
What do you mean by "good"?
Continuing off the common ethical approach, the most common way of thinking about what is “good” or “right” is doing one's duty correctly. Duty is adopting and fulfilling the appropriate responsibilities designated to someone within position. Displaying virtues associated with those certain roles are the means to be righteous. Doing your part well is being responsible in accounting for the collective. This is what traditional societies have cared for throughout history. It is derived from one's identity. Duty comes in the form of: “I am x; therefore, I owe society, my family, and others to do/behave/say/think/act as y.” A few examples: I am a citizen of said country, therefore I must serve in its best interest. I am of a certain sex; therefore, I must act within the norms of its corresponding masculinity and femininity. I am of a certain ethnicity; therefore, I must prioritize socially people of the same ethnicity. I am a follower of a religion; therefore, I must abide by its traditions without question. I am born into a certain cast and a family occupation, hence I must further the family lineage. etc. How you ought to act is derived from your rigid identity in society. This has traditionally worked for past societies... mostly.
Fault of duty from identity.
Duty may seem like a good start as it takes on responsibility, however, this approach no longer meaningfully works for individuals and it has commonly lead to countless pathologies society wide throughout history. Listening only to others or the wider society on what you should do will always be a lazy way to go through life. It allows for normalized evils to continue unchallenged. I have to note here that the most common defense in the Nuremberg Trials was "I was only following orders".
The world has changed too much too fast. Western culture is a shifting landscape of multiculturalism, consumerism, and the internet, all clashing and conjoining with one another on a continuous stream. A mix of cultural perspectives, each valid yet seemingly contradictory, makes differing truth claims about all aspects of life; success, money, relationships, family. It’s confusing. Being born into the label “x” no longer means I must do “y”. Things are much more complicated in todays world and we are lacking the tools to navigate all this information internally.
If I am born into an ethnic group, into a culture, into a sex, what does that mean to me? What can I understand about myself from those facts? Do I fit in this group or that group? What do my likes and dislikes reveal about me? What am I trying to present about myself? Why am I avoiding being seen a certain way? I’ll go the opposite way in how I present myself because I don’t feel right in my skin. A period of extended role confusion, and an endless identity crisis ensues.
But what happens when rigid roles are removed? Most people let life lead them wherever. Not caring about the wider society also makes one forego responsibility and fall into self-obsession. “Nobody can tell me what to do or who to be.” “I do not owe anyone anything. I’ll do whatever I want.” Liberalism, Capitalism and the resulting modern consumer culture has shaped West’s prime directive to no longer hold the benefit of the collective first. The benefit of oneself comes first. The pathology of such a society is a fall into nihilism, hedonism, and meaninglessness, as a belief in something larger than oneself is dissolved. People join religions, ideological movements and other tribes to fill that empty sense of meaning through identity but that is simply a reversion to the previous stage. This is all a mess.
So, what is a valid answer?
You should be good to be happy and fulfilled.
The old study of ethics in ancient times was concerned with how to live a good life by acting virtuously, which means having or showing high moral standards. This was Aristotle’s and many others’ answers. The common philosophical thread across cultures spanning from Europe to Asia was a focus on the cultivation of moral character as an essential component of leading a good and meaningful life. We have an epidemic of depression caused by a lack of meaning in our post-modern era in great part because we have lost this definition and this study along the way.
"In the final analysis, man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a 'secondary rationalization' of instinctual drives. This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning."
- Viktor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning"
Eudaimonia in Greek meaning welfare or flourishing is a concept of happiness that lasts, discussed centrally in the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Eudaimonia is a state that contrasts with fulfilling selfish desires that produce only short-lived pleasures which often trap a person in a destructive spiral called Hedonia. This wisdom is present across the globe. In Asian cultures, it was touted by spiritual leaders and philosophers, such as Laozi, Kong Qiu and Siddhartha Gautama.
"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
-Aristotle
Happiness referred here is not to an emotion but the long-term pattern of action, the sum of which was your moral character. In essence, our sense of meaning comes through caring for things beyond ourselves since we realize we are limited and mortal. This is in part obvious when we think of things we most care about. Our family, real friendships, community, and so on. Social connections. The further we can extend that reach, the greater the fulfilment and satisfaction we will receive. Therefore, we must aspire to be great at something that can give value to others while maintaining and furthering our own standing. Aristotle called this attaining the virtue of excellence. Applying one’s unique potential to do positive change is a big part of fulfilment.
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
Muhammad Ali
If we are truly creative, we will feel the need and urge to do creative things. If we have a good voice perhaps, we should sing. If we have a logical and sharp mind, we should not squander it. We should solve problems. We should all realize the beauty of the human body through exercise. We should take care of ourselves so we can take care of others. We should not abandon it by eating terrible food and disrespect it by never achieving its physical potential. Our innate and unique attributes should never be neglected.
Here are some articles and resources to check out to learn more about yourself in a beneficial way.
Ikigai:
Ikigai is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. It provides a highly practical framework for all.
Big 5 Personality Test:
From a scientific perspective, tools such as the Big Five Inventory (and others based on the five-factor model) and those used by psychological scientists, such as the MMPI, are likely to provide the most reliable and valid results.
https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/IPIP-BFFM/
Work Values and Interest Assessment:
Where are you most likely to be able to work in a flow? A state of flow is the experience of deep immersion, focus, and intrinsic motivation in your activities in psychology. The job needs to be enjoyable, and the environment has to be non-disruptive for flow to occur.
https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/work-values-matcher.aspx
https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/interest-assessment.aspx
Flow:
Flow is a scientifically proven concept that everyone must recognize as crucial in our daily lives. Csikszentmihalyi is the leading psychologist and researcher on the subject.
https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/
Is it possible to remain in a fulfilled and happy state? Absolutely, but it requires work... Lots of literal work, and a habitual lifestyle to do so. You must realise that you cannot be "Good". You can only be good for something. It is by deliberately acting on a personal sense of meaning in the world, which must be followed through by meaningful contributions every day. This must be done while we also find ways to minimize the harm we cause on the planet.
Actively Avoid Participating in Bad Things:
The good news is outside of being fruitful, being ethical is mostly about avoiding or participating in the doing of bad things. The next stage would be calling it out and warning about it. This includes avoiding businesses and people that are harmful to others and the environment. Do not buy from businesses that exploit people. Do not buy things that were made by destroying the environment. Be knowledgeable and avoidant of products that are made through exploitation. Shop fairtrade, local, organic. Don't just go with the price. Go for longevity and quality. Cut out things you don’t need. Be responsible willingly. Not because someone asked.
"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics – Book II