{"id":120097,"date":"2023-12-23T09:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=120097"},"modified":"2023-12-28T10:18:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T14:18:26","slug":"moral-well-being","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/moral-well-being\/","title":{"rendered":"Perspectives on Moral Well-Being: How Do You Measure Virtue?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you believe that you’re essentially a good person? How do you measure your virtue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to authors Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, life is worth living when you have a good philosophy of life. A strong life philosophy promotes moral well-being\u2014the sense that you\u2019re generally a virtuous person\u2014by defining right and wrong behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn about various perspectives on moral well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Moral Well-Being<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Volf, Croasmun, and McAnnally-Linz explain that many people believe they\u2019ll be virtuous if they minimize the harm they do to others. But, this view of moral well-being doesn\u2019t pass muster because, sometimes, you must <\/em>harm others in order to do the right thing. To illustrate, the authors cite the spiritual war depicted in a Hindu text called The Bhagavad Gita<\/em><\/a>. In this scripture, the god Krishna advises a man named Arjuna that he must harm his family to win the war for righteousness and against sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: The Bhagavad Gita<\/em> provides some guidance about when and how it\u2019s OK to hurt people\u2014for example, it describes particular justifications for war and acceptable wartime conduct<\/a>. It\u2019s sometimes necessary to harm others in less dire circumstances, too. In All About Love<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>feminist philosopher bell hooks argues that your capacity to love others begins with self-love, which involves self-assertion<\/a>: your ability to advocate on behalf of your own needs. Sometimes, self-assertion comes at the expense of others\u2019 needs or desires. For example, you might hurt someone\u2019s feelings by breaking up with them when they can\u2019t meet your needs, but that doesn\u2019t mean breaking up with them is immoral\u2014you\u2019re probably still doing the right thing.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you agree that moral well-being could sometimes demand harming others, your life philosophy might require a different behavioral standard than minimizing harm. One alternative is to judge your actions by their outcomes. The authors explain that utilitarians, for example, don\u2019t care what you do so long as your actions promote pleasure and decrease pain. One problem with this approach is that the repercussions of your actions are often unpredictable. For example, if you\u2019re not aware that some coffees are produced by forced laborers<\/a>, you can\u2019t predict that your purchase of that coffee might fuel the modern slave trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: If you decide it\u2019s best to judge your actions by their outcomes, you might adopt what author Jeff Bell calls \u201cthe Greater Good Perspective Shift<\/a>.\u201d When you make decisions, don\u2019t prioritize avoiding negative outcomes; instead, prioritize pursuing positive outcomes that fulfill others\u2019 needs or enhance your sense of meaningfulness. For example, some psychologists believe it\u2019s acceptable to tell a white lie<\/a> to fulfill another person\u2019s need for acceptance<\/a>. To help you predict the repercussions of your actions, Peter Bevelin (Seeking Wisdom<\/em><\/a>) <\/em>recommends that you practice systems thinking<\/a>: With the knowledge that you\u2019re part of a complex web of life, try to understand how your actions will affect others.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors say other thinkers are more concerned with the quality of your actions themselves. For example, the authors say that Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe the only way to act rightly is to obey God (whose will you can determine with the help of your spiritual community<\/a>). Confucianists, on the other hand, believe that to act rightly is to promote a healthy society, which begins with healthy interpersonal relationships. Therefore, they emphasize treating people well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: There\u2019s a lot of overlap between the Abrahamic and Confucianist perspectives represented here. According to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, obeying God necessarily involves treating people well since that is one of God\u2019s commandments<\/a>. And while Confucianists don\u2019t believe in God, they believe in obeying the moral authorities they do <\/em>recognize<\/a>\u2014like your ancestors, elders, and political powers\u2014because following the social order without conflict promotes societal harmony, which is key to societal health. However, it\u2019s important to note that what it means to treat people well is culturally dependent\u2014for example, both Confucian<\/a> and Abrahamic cultures<\/a> have been criticized for treating women as inferior to men.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another facet of moral well-being is whom <\/em>you should act rightly toward. The authors describe four answers to this question: First, the philosopher Charles Taylor says you are your highest priority, since you\u2019re an individual, and you have a duty to fulfill your unique potential. In contrast, the utilitarian Peter Singer argues that since everyone\u2019s pleasure is equally important, you should act rightly toward everyone<\/em>, even perfect strangers. In practice, this could mean donating to poor people in other countries. Somewhat similarly, Christians believe you should act rightly with anyone you encounter, including strangers and people who are different from you. Finally, Confucianists believe that your family comes first but you should treat others well, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In Against Empathy<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>psychologist Paul Bloom explains how empathy <\/em>(your ability to feel what someone else feels) partially determines who<\/em> you feel compelled to act rightly toward. He explains that many people use empathy to guide their moral decision-making<\/a> without realizing empathy\u2019s limits<\/a>. For example, it\u2019s easier to empathize with people you\u2019re close to or similar to\u2014like your family\u2014than people who are different or distant from you. Empathy also takes an emotional toll on you and can make it hard to care for yourself even when that\u2019s necessary. Instead of relying on empathy to make moral choices<\/a>, Bloom advocates reasoned compassion<\/em><\/a>: logically evaluating your concerns about others before you try to help them.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you believe that you’re essentially a good person? How do you measure your virtue? According to authors Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, life is worth living when you have a good philosophy of life. A strong life philosophy promotes moral well-being\u2014the sense that you\u2019re generally a virtuous person\u2014by defining right and wrong behaviors. Continue reading to learn about various perspectives on moral well-being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":120106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,43,6],"tags":[1355],"class_list":["post-120097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-self-improvement","category-spiritual","tag-life-worth-living","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nPerspectives on Moral Well-Being: How Do You Measure Virtue? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Moral well-being is the sense that you\u2019re generally a virtuous person. How you measure it is up for discussion. 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