What's your moral code?

An articulated code lets us build trust with others

The first known treatise on ethics was written by a pagan. The Nichomidean Ethics [NE] was written by Aristotle to tell his son the best way to live. It frustrates me that Western Civilization's study of philosophy completely strips it of the religion of the people being studied. It’s no wonder the subject always seemed flat to me. Yet, in Western culture, the correct thing to do is always tied to Christian values. I have no beef with Christian values. I was raised with them and you can’t build this level of wealth and prosperity unless people trust each other. Agreed-upon values are what fosters that trust.

Judaism - and thus Christianity - had an advantage in the articulated moral code of the Ten Commandments. In contrast, the NE is a series of virtues, each with opposing poles between which one is advised to stay. I’ve read arguments both for and against the idea that Jewish thought influenced Greek thought, and those arguments often reflect the dynamic tension between monotheism and polytheism. [Not to mention the cultural pride of the Jews and Greeks.] That Judaism still exists as a major religion while polytheism got absorbed into Christianity could be an indicator of the value of an articulated moral code.

I want to delve more deeply into codes of behavior versus virtue ethics in another post. But right now, I want to talk about why we have ethics at all.

Philosophy was the practice of learning about the world as it was. From the thought process of philosophy we get science. Philosophy is about finding truth even when it’s unpalatable - as truth often is. In Neoplatonism, the study of philosophy must be engaged in before one can approach the transcendent. In an ideal world, humans study truth and perform rituals that bring us closer to deity, letting us become more like god/the gods.

We don't live in an ideal world. We’re human. We cannot forget to eat, or sleep, or be in the presence of other humans without consequences. Our ties to the planet are our connection to her, empathy no less than food, water, or shelter. We are bound by cords of blood and bone and flesh. It is our biology that grounds us deeply into the Earth, whether or not we acknowledge that.

Pagans do acknowledge that reality. We celebrate new life, harvests, unions, and work with cyclical time. That is one of our strengths in a world where technology makes it so very easy to disconnect from what is real. However, our very real biology can lead us away from the gods. Away from what is the best of what we are.

Ethics are the path laid out by our ancestors that guides us past the twin hazards of Scylla and Charybdis. If we are capable of creating great structures, beautiful art, compelling music, poetry, and stories, we are also capable of terrible destruction. The 100 million who died horribly due to the ideas of Communism in the 20th Century are a testament to our skill in this area.

It’s natural to think that if an invading army came along and some soldier told us to shoot someone, that we'd say no. But what if we already thought the target was a bad person? How we feel matters to our decision making process, and it should.

In Simon Baron Cohen’s, The Science of Evil, he explores how violence and murder relate to empathy, or more specifically, lack thereof. Empathy comes when certain pathways in the brain are activated, and humans are equipped with mirror neurons that allow us to match other people’s

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emotions in our own bodies. This neurology is the biological basis for empathy, and it is beautiful. Particular disorders can, in their strongest expression, be a zero on the empathy scale: Borderline Personality disorder, Narcissistic Personality disorder, sociopathy, and Asperger’s syndrome. Some of these are closely related to parental nurture. But some aren’t. The last in particular is an expression of nature’s variation.

Our mirror neurons tell us how other people are feeling. In his seminal work, The Gift of Fear, noted security expert Gavin de Becker encourages us to have empathy with those that would hurt us. This will save our lives because, we understand them better than we like to admit. This empathy lets us predict their behavior. We all have the biological impulses that urge us to strike out, to harm, or humiliate. It is accepting this and using it that provides a path to safety.

It can be hard to acknowledge some of our impulses because these are the impulses that can cause other people pain, and rip families apart. There’s a reason why the Ten Commandments stand in opposition to murder, adultery, theft, lying about other people, and lusting after their stuff. Other religions have moral codes which also oppose these things, and add others specific to that culture, although they aren’t so clearly articulated. One has to dig into the literature to have clarity about what the people of that culture believe.

Or have a look at the books I write under pen name Sabrina Rosen [On Amazon] or subscribe to my fiction blog.

Modern Pagans do not have a clear list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts.’ If we have anything, it is closer to the virtue ethics of Greece and the Noble Virtues of Germanic Paganism. “Harm none, but do what thou wilt,’ isn’t an adequate guide for the complexities of modern living. [Yeah, that’s going to annoy plenty of Pagans, and by all means sound off below and I’ll write a proper post on it later.] The truth is that most of us still work from the ethical framework in which we were raised: Judaeo-Christianity, but with some variations. That’s not a terrible thing. After all, we have to get along with the other humans around us who aren't Pagan.

However, an articulated moral code could be to our benefit. We can’t escape into enclaves. We must find a way to live with other humans who have different religious beliefs about the nature of the world and how we should behave in it. [Not to mention how we define ‘human.’ But that’s another post.] Virtue ethics guide us to be better individual humans. Clearly stated ethical codes allow us to build enough trust so that we can get along with each other.

Some time around 2003 I started working on a Masters of Divinity. [Life made me stop in 2018 but I’m going back to finish.] One of my classes was on ethics. The final project was to create a specific code of ethics for ourselves. This was after seven weeks of examining ethical dilemmas and being challenged by classmates on our views.

Ethics cannot be decided in a vacuum.

Let me say it again. Louder.

Ethics cannot be decided in a vacuum.

Ethics have to do with how we deal with other people. That means we can’t just decide what’s acceptable for ourselves and go with that. The ethical code I wrote was focused on my behavior as a future cleric; on how I would serve the community. This was a good thing, but predicated on the the idea that I already agreed to things more basic. That I wouldn't be murdering anyone. That I wouldn’t be trespassing on anyone’s sacred vows. That I would tell the truth.

The latter is particularly troublesome in a world where people are being socially condemned, fired from their jobs, or even thrown in jail if they speak a truth.

Among Pagans, Heathens have the Noble Virtues. The number varies, and there’s discussion about the sources and which ones matter most. It’s a matter for debate as it should be. Speech is the alternative to war. In Athens the word Isegoria - freedom of speech before the assembly - was a concept held sacred. Truth can be slippery. But that’s why we have to talk about it. Not shout people down, as has been the trend of late, but talk about it. If an idea is bad, then those conversations can show that. It feels bad when an idea dies. But that’s better than wasting irreplaceable time on it, or even dying for it.

So here’s my go at an articulated code of ethics.

• I will not murder.

• I will tell the truth, and be willing to discuss other’s truth.

• I will not trespass on anyone’s sacred vows of marriage

• I will not steal

• I will not envy or engage in resentment

• I will not act as an authority unless invited to do so [The language in this last is still in process.]

Obviously, this is specific for dealing with other people. It doesn’t address my relationship to the gods as the Ten Commandments does for the Jews and Christians. This is purely about how I’m dealing with other people in my proximity. I can expand on each of these if someone needs clarification, but they’re reasonably basic and core to who I am.

I feel like I should put them on a button and wear them…

Do you have an articulated code of ethics? If not, why not?

If you’re curious about Paganism/Heathenism/Wicca, please feel free to message me and I’ll be happy to answer questions.

Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been Pagan since she was 14 [which was a long time ago] and been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. She has direct communication with her gods and they’ve always given her answers when she asks. [One does have to ask.] Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. Be warned.