Ever since I was a kid I’ve always wondered what it is that motivates people to do bad things, and what separates good from bad in the first place. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the disconnect between 2 things we know as morality and desire. Desire arises almost uncontrollably and causes people to commit acts for the sake of pleasure, while morality exists as a school of thought concerned with good and evil. I was tempted to say morality is the desire to do good, but I couldn’t quite say that since someone can acknowledge ‘bad’ things and still want to do them.’Having morals’ doesn’t implywanting to upkeep them.
So what makes a person stray from the desire to upkeep their morals? The answer to that question is the strength of one’s desire. If one desires to do something they know is ‘bad’ more than they care for the external and internal consequences of doing something bad, then to hell with morality!
How about this, can a person be ‘good’ within a moral system even when their thoughts are ‘bad’? If you ask most people that question I’m sure they’d say the thoughts are the most valuable part of being ‘good’ but I question whether anyone can uphold a system where none of their thoughts violate the principles of their moral system.