Should there be moral authorities? Or is this concept outdated

[noname223]

When I was younger a searched for a role model for my personal ethics and principles. One was Immanuel Kant and the other one the chancellor of my country. Later I found out about their stances on assisted suicide now I am very oppossed to both of them. Also because other things I learned about them.
When I think about moral authorities the first peron I think of is the pope. And yeah for me he is pretty much of a hypocrite (I hate both but the German former pope even more)
I am not sure whether this notion of moral authorities is outdated. The history has shown most of them are hypocrites. I was surprised about the private allegations against Ghandi. I am not fully sure if they are true but it has something to do with sex crimes...don't want to spread misinformation.

Some politicians or activists play as if they were moral authorities. I especially don't like when religious ones force their will on others. But it is true that people who are very altruistic and help other human beings can be seen as some sort of role model. The problem with moral authorities is they are also only humans. But instead they get portrayed as saints. Humans tend to glorify those people too much in an unhealthy manner.

Maybe I think of Anne Frank. Her story touched me. Or other people who fought against evil regimes that did genocides. At least I can say I admire their strengh to uphold to their principles. On the other hand adoration is something ambivalent. It should not become something like a cult. ( Though I absolutely don't want to imply with that that there was a cult of her. But with the pope you could say it was a cult in my opinion. There is this papal infallibleness which I find very questionable.)

 

[cyanlove]

(Hey I think this may belong in the Off Topic category)

 

[Pluto]

Morality will always boil down to grey areas and personal biases. There's probably no better example than suicide. Anyone who causes an upset child to CTB is a murderer, yet anyone who forces a severely ill adult to live indefinitely is a torturer. Where to draw the line?

Most authorities will try to sell a simple message rather than engage in such nuanced debate. The Catholic Church's inflexible pro-life stance is an example.

We need to encourage people to think for themselves, to see that groupthink/mob rule tends to be disastrous and to be capable of intelligent, subtle, open-minded and nuanced takes on issues. And yet, some positions (eg. flat Earth theory, tax cuts for the rich...) are appropriate for everyone to dismiss entirely.

 

[demuic]

Some politicians or activists play as if they were moral authorities. I especially don't like when religious ones force their will on others. But it is true that people who are very altruistic and help other human beings can be seen as some sort of role model. The problem with moral authorities is they are also only humans. But instead they get portrayed as saints. Humans tend to glorify those people too much in an unhealthy manner.

This is the heart of the manner. No human being can serve as moral authority because humans are inherently fallible and capable of wrongdoing or dubious actions even if they are exemplary in some other aspect. Idolization of people is so common, especially celebrities, people create a ridiculous, unrealistic and unattainable idea of someone in their head without realizing they are just a person the same as anyone else.

People tend to follow things dogmatically without leaving room for nuance. People always seek guidance from authorities, and even if I think this is not always a wise thing to do, it seems to be human nature. I think people should seek to following some broad guiding principles and form their own beliefs from multiple sources rather than exclusively follow any particular person or school of thought.

It is better to separate someone's work or art from their personal character. I think you can still admire someone's work or what they have accomplished even if they have done reprehensible things in their private life or things that you just disagree with in general.

 

[noname223]

(Hey I think this may belong in the Off Topic category)

You are right. Yesterday I was very busy. It is a mistake of mine. Sorry.