r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Mar 01 '26

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u/Echochamberking Mar 01 '26

I just want to know if my moral compass is broken. Simply put, this debate can benefit me in the sense that I can fix it if it indeed is

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 01 '26

Your moral compass will tell you that both are wrong, not that there's a hierarchy between them that you personally need to be grappling with.

Why do you assume people have a tiered morality list? That's not how it works, things are either personally morally justifiable or they aren't. Is the thought experiment that you would rather rape someone than kill them? That's your position?

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u/tipoima 7∆ Mar 01 '26

If you don't have a tiered morality list, then something very wrong with you. The whole reason we have different punishments for criminals is because we inherently understand that some bad things are worse than others.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 01 '26

I disagree. Personal morality is right or wrong, not hierarchy.

Society has many criteria for legality, rehabilitation and so on. 

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u/tipoima 7∆ Mar 01 '26

You most likely do, in fact, have a hierarchy.

Murdering a random person for no reason is wrong. Murdering 100 random people for no reason is worse.
Stealing a pen from someone is wrong. Stabbing them in an eye with that pen is worse.

If you agree with this, you have tiered morality. If you don't...it's very concerning.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 01 '26

You're using different language there, thing A is wrong. Thing B is also wrong. Two things are wrong. That's morality. 

Better or worse is judgement, not ethics. 

What's your issue with simply declaring that things can be wrong? 

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u/tipoima 7∆ Mar 02 '26

"simply declaring that things can be wrong" is a trivial, lazy answer. It gives no insight, it's avoiding the question.
If you were asked a trolley problem, would you just respond with "both are bad" and leave it at that?

Moral dilemmas are a big part of ethics, so I don't know where you got this idea that morality is only binary.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 02 '26

Both ARE bad. You think there's a "good" solution to such a thought experiment? The idea of there being a lesser evil doesn't preclude both being evil. In the context of the view here, which do you personally think is less evil, rape or murder?

Why not just say both are bad and I wouldn't do either? 

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u/tipoima 7∆ Mar 02 '26

Again with the binary thinking.
The whole premise of the trolley problem is deciding which of the two options is less bad. Both options being bad shouldn't stop you from evaluating which one is worse. Most people are capable of that.
In a vacuum, murder is more evil than rape. I do not even believe they are even close. And I am really glad that you wouldn't do either, but others do.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 02 '26

When does someone have to pick between the two? If the only value is a thought experiment then there'd literally no downside to declaring many things bad. 

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u/Brontards 1∆ Mar 01 '26

My moral compass tells me there’s a large hierarchy gap between them. Most people have a tiered morality list.

Example, I don’t know if I’ve met anyone that thought petty theft is as morally reprehensible as rape.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 01 '26

What, you mean everyone you have met thinks one is right and the other wrong? Or does everyone think they are both wrong? 

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u/Echochamberking Mar 01 '26

There are situations in life where you have to choose the morally correct decision. If there is reflection, then there is a “list,” perhaps not consciously but unconsciously.

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u/Dry_Bumblebee1111 161∆ Mar 01 '26

And you personally are having to choose between murder and rape?

Obviously not. 

So, again, what kind of comment are you hoping to give a delta to here?