npwsol - 4:07 pm on Jun 12, 2008 (gmt 0)

I would not consider it morally okay. But, using your example, if a boy grew up with a father who kidnapped and raped women persistantly, he might grow up to consider it morally okay. He does not know anything else, he was not taught anything else. How could he know it's wrong?

Why do some men beat their wives? Do they think it's evil? Why do some people steal? You don't think they justify it for themselves? There is a big difference between knowing what Society considers evil and knowing what you consider evil.

The reason? It is why there are people out there who do things we consider wrong without blinking an eye. It is why you and I are disagreeing at this moment: It's how you were raised, it's the circumstances you found yourself in, and it is the lessons you learned as you were growing up, and finally it is your own thoughts and deliberations which shape your morality.

[edited by: npwsol at 4:11 pm (utc) on June 12, 2008]