Silver Trumpets

This article was written over the course of the events of the Slaughter of the Seventh (10/7/2023) wherein hundreds of Israelis (including children) were tortured, raped, kidnapped, and murdered by Hamas terrorists. This article is written in loving memory of the victims. A reminder that morality, including the sanctity of life, must remain absolute. Their suffering is yet another example of the evil that results from the failure to believe in absolute morality.

What can Reason establish as objective moral laws for all of humanity? That is an open question. I can merely offer the following seven universal laws of my own thought as a well-reasoned answer to these needs.

Reason and Morality

What can we establish as objective truths with regard to human life and conduct by means of Reason itself and how can that be melded with religious moral discipline? Baruch Spinoza argued that Reason is a coequal form of revelation to the scriptures. If Reason is the pursuit of objective knowledge, in line the the philosophical precepts of AL-Qirqisai and the Rambam, then what can it offer us in terms of moral discipline? In other words, what precisely is revealed to us from Hashem by means of Reason with regard to morality? While I believe moral laws can be best drawn from the Torah and scriptures, it is a fascinating exercise to contemplate what moral laws are given through Reason. While I would expect all such laws to be already present in Torah, objective moral laws can also be applied outside of Judaism. The mental exercise of seeking out objective morality thus has some value as feedback for Judaism and as guidance for all mankind.

If there is a universal truth to be gleaned from the human experience, from the daily progression of sapient life, it is that what harms one person harms all others. It might not be surprising to Jews that this moral principal has already been expressed in Judaism: “What bothers you don’t do to others;” a saying attributed to the Sage Hillel the Elder in the First Century CE. He is purported to have made this statement in an effort to condense Jewish thought and learning into a brief statement. The would be student asked if Hillel could explain Judaism in the time that the questioner could stand upon one foot. Hillel responded: “What bothers you don’t do to others, and the rest is commentary.” Judaism has held this wisdom for several millennia.

Many cultures have a similar expression of this value. “Do unto others…” is an example from Christian thought, likely borrowed from Hillel the Eldar. Nevertheless, throughout the various human civilizations and societies there is this general concept. It is fair, then, to assert this as the greatest guiding light that Reason offers us toward a moral rule. A fundamental truth that we should not harm another person. When we harm others, we also harm ourselves. From this fundamental truth of the human condition flows everything else that Reason and logic can offer us on the subject of morality.

How do we establish this “Golden Rule” as a universally understood objective truth accessible to all humans irrespective of their own point of view, culture, and experiences? Certainly, this must be founded upon some moral and intellectual firmament greater than just words. The concept that this is to be the central guiding principle for human conduct requires a stronger foundation. What institution, what authority, what group could establish such a rule universally? Efforts to implement such an approach globally have not met with much success. Too many people are more eager to promote their own selfish interests and their own agendas rather than live in peace with others. From terrorists who seek to annihilate Israel to wealthy oligarchs in many countries who seek government intervention in the economy to suppress their competition. Everywhere, people are willing to harm others to serve what they believe to be their own interests.

Reason, Morality, and Religion

I assert that it is only through metaphysics can this issue be approached. After all, humans and human institutions are corruptible: “do unto others as you would have done unto yourself, except for this or that group.” Humans have too great a penchant for rationalizing evil acts. If any human being or human institution issued such a ruling or established such a principle, that person or institution would be immediately inadequate to the task of its propagation and enforcement; and would struggle to assert moral authority. Who better than a truly objective, impartial judge? An incorruptible authority greater than any human institution. An authority that can chastise kings and priests, presidents and justices alike. I speak of the super-human, of the divine.

If we understand that the universe is a divine consciousness, that creation has purpose and meaning, and that sentient beings are an important and critical component in such creation, smaller pieces of a greater universal consciousness, then we can establish an authority that can promulgate this law universally such that it must apply to all equally and incorruptibly. Most humans believe in something greater than themselves. It is almost universal to believe in some divine creator. If most people can share in that, why can we not expand on the universality of that concept to set forth certain principals acceptable to all and beneficial to all in that it will preserve life and offer greater prosperity?

Thus, while Reason can offer us objective guidance on the matter of morality, it cannot offer us much more than the principal. Humans need more than just a guiding principal to live by. Without a belief in a creator, there is no means of implementing this principal in the human world. We can all point to it and say that is right, but we cannot live by it. Humans need to believe in something bigger than themselves in order to curtail their misbehavior. Sadly, too often this is not enough either. Human institutions have to be established in order to enforce moral discipline. Nevertheless, we have our answer to the question posed at the start: Reason teaches us that we should do no harm to others when we can avoid it. It goes from there that the opposite is also true: we should do what we can to be helpful to others and to raise them up. To be kind, encouraging, and patient with others. This is what Reason offers us on the question of morality.

Universal Moral Laws

Several attempts have been made to universalize morality. From the Noahide Laws of the Rabbinical Tradition to efforts in recent years by those in the field of philosophy. I will venture into this realm myself now that we are on the subject. If the principal of doing no harm to others is to be established as part of universal moral laws then I would argue it must be established with the most generalized metaphysical authority. Humans need more than just autonomy to make their own moral decisions or human institutions to rely upon, we need a higher authority.

A moral discipline must be maintained providing proper boundaries to prevent humans from harming others. It likewise follows that human institutions must render punishment to those who fail to maintain those moral standards in proper proportion to the harm caused. Further, that we should avoid distractions that might warp our understanding of the moral discipline or lead us down a path of chauvinism or narcissism. This well Reasoned and logical schema for existence and human conduct must also be able to offer answers to some of the larger questions about existence, for example, what is the nature of life? What is our place and role in the universe? Finally, what is our purpose? How do we best serve the divine consciousness and each other? Reason can offer some answers but not so completely as the laws and moral code already set forth in the Hebrew Bible. Thus, I would argue that Judaism is the best path to moral discipline when combined with enlightenment. Outside of Judaism, the following principals could serve as a basis for moral guidance.

The Seven Truths

1. All that exists is one. All things are made up of one substance. The substance is part of the conscious and sentient universe. The divine contains the substance and causes all things to exist.

2. All that lives is sacred. The life of the sentient is sacrosanct, for the sentient is made in the image of the divine; it is the divine consciousness made manifest and self-aware. The perpetuation of life is the immortality of the sentient. 

3. The “ocean” of the substance becomes the “drop” of the living individual sentient; when the sentient dies the “drop” becomes the “ocean.” The sentient individual returns to the source.

4. All sentients are one. The other is a mirror image of the self. To harm the other is to harm the self. All sentient individuals should seek to achieve their greatest potential and help others to do the same. 

5. Moral discipline is essential for the self to achieve its full potential and to prevent harm to the other. To this end, there must be a legal codex that all can generally agree is just. Those who harm the other should be punished in order to protect the other and where possible, to correct the one. 

6. Avoid distraction from the self. Do not worship the self, the image of the self or the other, do not revere any but the one divine substance that is to be found everywhere and in everything. 

7. The pursuit of knowledge through objective and subjective means is, along with maintenance of moral discipline, the primary means of showing reverence to the Divine and enhancing the conditions of the sentient.