# 47. Manipulation of Morality ## 47.1. Definition The manipulation of morality deals with the imposition or alteration of the moral rules of a victim where this benefits a manipulator. It can be personal, institutional or governmental. It is sometimes referred to as "Morality Warping". The manipulation of moral attitudes is ancient. It has run through all mystical and religious activity since human civilisation began. But it isn't confined to religion. Examples might include deliberate attempts to alter our perspectives on any one of a number of issues with moral criteria such as tolerance, equality, freedom, charity, mercy, self-control, friendship, modesty, honesty, hatred and aggression, pride, vanity, greed, jealousy, avarice etc. Moral manipulation may be either "vertical" or "horizontal" in action. Vertical moral manipulation seeks to weaken or strengthen a particular moral position on a particular subject, for instance, the rectitude of the Iraq war or the use of torture. Horizontal moral manipulation seeks to weaken or strengthen our moral positions on all subjects. Religious groups tend to use broad, "horizontal" moral manipulation to deliver a package of moral positions on everything. Non-religious imperatives may be used to manipulate a victim or group to accept or reject a single moral principle of any kind on any vertical issue or on a wide range of horizontal moral issues. Political pressures constantly make demands on our moral judgement to accept a manipulator's assertions. Moral manipulation is an important lever in controlling our political and social attitudes. The manipulative logic goes as follows: If you can't get someone to morally accept what you have done, then the only alternative is to alter their moral judgement. ## 47.2. Persistence Short to Long. Moral manipulation can last from moments to generations. We might accidentally allow ourselves to agree with some assertion that has some unpleasant embedded prejudice within it, and then quickly reverse that moral position. On the other hand, the use of war by cultures whose moral code is based on one of the Abrahamic religions is a moral aberration that has lasted millennia and has now been boiler-plated into these religions. For instance, the Christian crusades caused centuries of violence and "legally justified" slaughter and persecution by Christianity against Islam, Judaism and any form of non-Christian voice in Europe and the Middle East; in the very name of a religion whose Messiah made the unqualified statement: "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword". This moral contradiction continues 2000 years later.47.1 ## 47.3. Accessibility Medium to High. Moral manipulation is usually managed by a moral authority of some kind like a corporate entity, church or sect, or an agency of government. However, moral manipulation can be manifested by individuals in interpersonal relationships or in dealing with other members of our own group such as a group of colleagues or friends or a political party. ## 47.4. Conditions/Opportunity/Effectiveness The manipulation of our moral beliefs is all-pervasive in modern society. From the moment we can communicate as children, we are awash with attempts to induce and alter our moral and ethical position, starting at our mothers' knees, through education and into a society that worships consumption, demands more consumption, more selfishness and more individualism from us all. The opportunities and support for altering our basic moral attitudes are firmly embedded in modern capitalism. The concept of altruism is now considered "odd" rather than "worthy and charitable". Concepts like "charity" have been nudged out by concepts like "personal success", "satisfaction", "independence", "ambition" etc. Further up the moral hierarchy we are also expected to morally justify the immoral behaviour of our leaders and governments in waging illegal wars, using torture and kidnap, engaging in the pillage of other nations' resources and cultural heritage and in encouraging pogroms against minorities in our own countries. It all gets a bit hard to swallow for most potential victims of moral manipulation and remarkably there has yet to be any form of large-scale moral backlash, though this may yet change. The climate for the blind acceptance of the capitalist ethos has recently changed, as the moral emptiness and depravity of the capitalist system is exposed to more scrutiny and more citizens become victims of its dysfunctionality. ## 47.5 Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species *See Child Pages:* - [[Divine Fallacy]] - [[Just World Fallacy]] - [[Moral Relativism]] - [[Religious Moral Manipulation]] - [[Anecdote]] - [[Blind Faith]] - [[Fear]] - [[Secular Moral Manipulation]] - [[A Call to Duty]] - [[A Call to Fear]] - [[A Call to Outrage]] - [[A Call to Pragmatism]] - [[A Call to Progress]] - [[A Call to Revenge]] - [[A Call to Supremacy]] ## 47.6. Avoidance and Counteraction Manipulation of morality can only be really be avoided by having a dynamic, honest and open moral approach to human attitudes and behaviour, centred on the concept that most human beings are basically good but that many of them often make moral mistakes. A humanistic view of morality is straightforward, practical and reasonable. It also defends against external attempts to manipulate our moral attitudes. Understanding the games that manipulators play to get us to alter or erode our moral positions provides the main defence against moral manipulation.