# Is there a place for "Sanctity" in a modern society?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-place-for-sanctity-in-a-modern-society/991028>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [October 3, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-place-for-sanctity-in-a-modern-society/991028 "2023-10-03T01:15:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 118

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**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-place-for-sanctity-in-a-modern-society/991028/118 "2023-10-13T03:19:49Z")

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> [@Babale](#):
>
> > [@Max\_S](#):
> >
> > A moral system purports to answer the question, “How should I act?”  
> > To accomplish this goal, it must also be able to judge any decision, past or future. It must also be practical.
> 
> You’ve described _what_ a moral system does, but my question is, what is it’s _purpose_?
> 
> You can’t answer the question “how should I act?” without first answering the question “what am I trying to accomplish?”.

I disagree. I think the purpose of a moral system is to guide human action. People develop and rely on moral systems to try and guide their actions. That _is_ its end, its purpose, it’s _raison d’être_.

I specifically reject the notion that a moral system must serve any other purpose. I consider myself an existentialist, practically speaking. To have a higher goal is fundamentally incompatible with my philosophy.

This also applies to my perception of other people’s moral systems. Your philosophy in life may be to reduce the harm and suffering in the world, yet so far as I am concerned, the purpose of your moral system is to guide your actions.

> [@Babale](#):
>
> How do you determine whether a decision is unconscionable?

I mean it in the literal, subjective sense.

> [@Pitting Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-max-s/959074/605):
>
> unconscionable acts, meaning acts so strongly against my conscience that I could not live with myself if I carried it out, such as turning out a child in inclement weather or shooting an innocent.

~Max

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