Morality Strives to Precede Society But Fails

Abstract

Morality, without a shadow of doubt, is one of the most controversial topics in the history of social sciences. Although, at its core, it is conceptualized as a set of principles which distinguish right from wrong, through ebb and flow, it has been molded in various frameworks which attempted to account for the nature and essence of it. Yet, no definition has been proposed which could stand up to criticism. Looking over the tumultuous history of morality, the present paper makes an attempt to bring to the fore the major stances on morality within philosophy and social sciences. Adopting a critical standpoint, the writers defy the attempts to provide a comprehensive definition of the concept. In the meantime, a path worth taking is proposed, i.e., a critical investigation of the effects of making actors cognizant of the results of their moral actions on their future conceptualization of morality as well as undertaking of moral actions.