A Question of Morality

“Dad, where does our sense of right and wrong come from? How do you decide what is right or wrong? Or maybe I should ask a different question - why do different people end up with different answers to the same question?”

He glanced sharply at me as he pondered my questions. We were walking through the Drag in Orgrimmar. I waved at Matron Battlewail as we passed the orphanage, then looked back up at him as I waited for his response.

“First, a question of my own. Was there something in particular that prompted this? Has someone asked you recently to do something that you didn't think was right?”

“There have been different things. The one that made me aware of it, I think...” I lowered my voice and pointed with my chin. “Marogg, over there. He has asked Tamashi and me on a couple of occasions to go to the goblin slums and steal supplies from them.”

“It struck both of us as wrong, to steal from our fellow members of the Horde. They need it more than we do. Tamashi said that he has even asked her to steal from the trolls, too. He's never asked me, for what is probably a very obvious reason. Yet, at other times he's also asked us to stop people who were stealing his supplies. It doesn't seem right that you would steal from others but object when they steal – or steal back – from you.”

He chuckled. “This is a deep subject for a lazy Saturday morning. Mostly because there's not a clearly-defined answer. Or at least, not as clearly defined as you probably would like. The core term for what you're asking about is 'morality' – do the concepts of 'right' and 'wrong' even exist, and if so, how do they work out in daily life? In general, this tends to work out in one of two ways: 'might makes right' or 'do unto others'.”

“'Might makes right' basically means that, if you have the ability or power to do something, it is 'right' for you to do so. The danger of this approach is that can lead to despotism. I would imagine that Deathwing probably thought he was right to bring destruction across Azeroth, simply because he could. However, it also can lead to great good. In fact, most governments and many social organizations operate on this principle. It's a tricky proposition, however.”

“I've heard the 'do unto others' concept be called the 'golden rule.' I'm not sure where that comes from, and it's not to be confused with 'he who has the gold makes the rules'. The basic premise is that you should treat other people in the same way you would want them to treat you, were the situation reversed. What's interesting about that concept is that the response of the other person really doesn't come into play. It's not that you treat people in kind, in the same way they treat you. In other words, if you treat people according to this concept, regardless of their response, you have done what is 'right'. I suppose that this concept actually ties in with the concept of absolute truth as well - that the question of right and wrong is bigger than any individual.”

I grinned. “You were right – this is kind of a deep subject.”

He grinned back. “Warned you, didn't I? Now, to apply it. To some extent, different cultures value one approach over the other. I'd say that the Forsaken are staunchly in the 'might makes right' camp, as well as goblins to a lesser extent. Tauren tend toward the 'do unto others' side. The other races fall somewhere in the middle. But class choices can definitely make a difference too.”

“What about the Alliance?”

He frowned in thought. “I'm not sure – I don't really know anyone from some of the Alliance races. Of the ones I do know, I'd say that the Draenei tend to be very close to the Tauren in their philosophies. The others seem to fall closer to the middle – I'm not aware of any that go to the Forsaken extreme. Night elf druids tend toward that viewpoint a little more than we do, but they tend to do so for altruistic reasons - that the good of many outweighs the good of few.”

“The other thing to keep in mind is that it's hard to understand motives and underlying goals. For example, I have seen a number of situations where I helped someone because it seemed right, but the ultimate end turned out to be bad.”

I walked silently for a moment, watching the bustle of the city around us. Then I stopped. “I think I understand what you're saying. So, in the situation I mentioned, Marogg may be doing what he believes to be right in asking us to steal from the goblins – and they would not be particularly opposed to stealing the supplies back either. But if Tamashi and I believe that to be wrong, for us it is wrong to take part.”

He smiled. “I think you've got it.”