Amoralism: Information from Answers.com

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Moral skepticism. (Discuss)

Amoralism is the complete absence of moral beliefs, and/or the unequivocal belief that the theory of morality is immaterial.^[1]^[2]

Though often associated with immoralism, the two are fundamentally different.^[1] Immoralism is a system that does not accept moral principles and directly opposes morality, while amoralism does not even consider the existence of morality plausible.^[3]

1 History
2 Meta ethics
3 Nonhuman appearances
4 Criticism
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

History

This section requires expansion.

Glover has cited realist views of amoralism held by early Athenians, and in some ethical positions affirmed by Joseph Stalin.^[4]

Meta ethics

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (March 2009)

Amoralism is generally regarded as a manifestation of moral nihilism,^{[weasel words]}^{[citation needed]} an aspect of moral skepticism, and sometimes even a form of moral realism.^[4] Amoralism is unique in the regard that it has basically no active belief. Unlike moral nihilism which has an emphasis on the nature of morality and whether or not it is credible, Amoralism does not make such judgments, rather it leaves these decisions to the human to decide.

Amorality is distinct from immorality, although in common use the terms are often conflated. One who is amoral denies the existence of morality, whereas one who is immoral believes in the existence of morality but chooses not to comply with it. An immoral person who violates a certain moral code may still believe in the underlying truth of that moral code. For example, a thief may not deny that stealing is immoral, but may attempt to deflect the blame or offer excuses in order to justify his or her actions.

Nonhuman appearances

Some corporations are known to exhibit amoralist qualities.^[5] Besides higher primates, the vast majority of life forms have amoral tendencies.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism

Christianity, Judaism and Islam fervently disapprove of amoralism.^{[citation needed]} Some different sects of Judaism and Christianity share perspective with the values of Amoralism.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Johnstone, Megan-Jane (2008). Bioethics: A Nursing Perspective. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 102-103. ISBN 978-0729538732.
^ Superson, Anita (2009). The Moral Skeptic. Oxford University Press. pp. 127-159. ISBN 978-0195376623.
^ Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language
^ ^a ^b Glover, Jonathan (2000). Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century. Yale University Press. pp. 29. ISBN 978-0300087000. "The Athenians presented hard amoralism as mere realism. Echoes of this have been heard many times since, for example in a comment by Stalin on the policies of countries at war: 'Whoever occupies a territory also imposes on it his own social system. Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army has power to do. It cannot be otherwise.'"
^ Donaldson, Thomas (1982). Corporations and morality. Prentice-Hall. pp. 78. ISBN 978-0131770140.
^ Michael Newman, Morals in Theory pg. 123

External links

Definition of amoralism at Dictionary.com

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

	Who is Amorous Archer? Read answer...
	How do you get recon amor? Read answer...
	What is an amoral society? Read answer...

	What is fargli amore?
	What is the word amor?
	What does A stands for amor?

		WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Amoralism". Read more

Amoralism

Contents