I often feel like a bad person.

Not even because of the things I do. There are many things I do that are wrong but I wouldn't call myself a bad person because of these. What worries me more than that are the things I don't do.

I do not support volunteering, I do not try to actively work for the things I support, I am afraid to give money to the homeless, I do not spread information on important topics.l important issues. For peace of mind, I don't do anything about it. This is because it stresses me out a lot, but I don't feel like I'm acting morally. Should I be able to be such a decadent in the times we live in now? Is such inaction even moral?

in Moralityby _MinecraftByZyczu_

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19d

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fullPlaid

19d

from my recollection (ive done my best to internalize the wisdom but dont remember verbatim), according the Buddhist meaning of compassion, it is the witnessing/experience the suffering of others and being compelled to reduce their suffering (with their consent of course).

i would say compassion is among the least questioned morals and is typically used as a hallmark of a "good" person (a person who does all they can to be as good as they can be). im not sure what these bad things are that you do and how bad they are; however you seem open to the idea of being good or being better, but maybe youre also uncertain/lost/depressed?

_MinecraftByZyczu_

19d

I don't think I'm depressed. I am out of depression and feel quite happy every day. To be honest, I think a large part of my perception is related to the fact that I am a Catholic. The philosophy of faith that one can sin in thought, in words, in deeds and neglect, probably makes me feel bad about myself and others.

As for the bad things I do, as I said, they are nothing for which a person could be considered bad. I'm not breaking the law, I'm trying not to hurt anyone. Sometimes I'm rude and it works. hypocritically. However, most of these things stay in my mind.

Although I agree that compassion is a good thing. But what does it help? Even if I think well, what good is it if, despite these thoughts, no action is done? Taking into account Christianity and my own view on the meaning of life (i.e. that we live to do good things and make the world a better place). Are my actions moral? Are we not morally obligated to act?

fullPlaid

19d

i see. i apologize if it came across as promoting Buddhism (im not any religion). although i suppose im not opposed to it - at the very least the secular aspects - i was referring to their definition of the word because i think it captures the concept of compassion best. sometimes people refer to compassion as just meaning that you feel bad for people or something to that effect.

anyway. i would consider that we do have a moral obligation to act for a number of reasons: (1) we live a symbiotic existence; and (2) when i look into peoples eyes i see myself living a different set of circumstances.

1 is a bit obvious. unfortunately not so obvious for some. being good to others and holding the line can break races to the bottom. such as cutting corners on safety to out compete a company can force other companies to do the same.

2 is a bit cosmic and mystical to some i think but i would argue it isnt at all. each consciousness is unique but we all share this remarkable experience of being alive and observing whatever this reality thing is.

id say doing nothing can definitely be immoral. the nazis in Germany were far out numbered, within the country and of course around the world. had people stepped in early, the Holocaust wouldnt have ever happened. climate change is another one. doing nothing is roughly equivalent or indistinguishable from being complicit.

however, if the idea is to act in a way that one believes in moral but violates the consent of others, that is also immoral. examples such as death cults where parents will kill their kids because they believe theyre trying to save their souls before a coming rapture and its the only way to get into heaven.

this is a reason why i argue for the philosophy of consent and compassion being recognized as universal morals because theyre actually able to provide insights into questions that are typically just argued as arbitrary or flexible (ie but its my morality so its the right thing to do regardless of the consequence to others). its not a religious stance. its a logical stance.

at the same time though, it says nothing about the internal morality including struggles with supposed thought crimes (sins of thought). something i most certainly dont subscribe to but honestly probably "sin" less than those concerned with it because its difficult to improve upon yourself if youre constantly beating yourself up. self reflection is good, but it can go too far.

_MinecraftByZyczu_

18d

Don't worry, I didn't take the part about Buddhism negatively. Morality seen from the point of view of different religions is an interesting thing.

I really like your thoughts on consent, I absolutely agree with it and I also think that it should be a moral norm among all people.

Ultimately, I see you agree with me about inaction. That we should act, which makes me a little sad because of my own inaction.