Moral Compass

A compass always points north, but it's useless if you never check it.

Let's talk about what it takes to build a reliable moral compass – and, more importantly, to use it.

Civil, and Religious, Disobedience

"Look, nothing I did was illegal!" is not a refrain we typically associate with moral behavior, and for good reason: it's often used as an excuse to justify questionable actions.

Of course, you and I are law-abiding citizens, but historically there were abhorrent behaviors supported by law: slavery, segregation, the Holocaust, and colonialism were all, at one point, legal.

And the law isn't our only moral guide: much of our morality is influenced, or dictated, by religion. In fact, a religious friend of mine once said to me "I'll follow my religion first, and the law second." – and he happens to be a lawyer!

Civil disobedience is the term Thoreau popularized for standing up to immoral laws. When law and one's own morality disagree, some have chosen to follow their moral code.

Religious disobedience, in turn, happens when the religious order is being questioned, such as parents who defy the church to support the relationships of their gay sons and daughters, for example.

The first step to having a moral compass is, well, getting one – which means not using anybody else's. It's totally fine to follow your laws to the letter, or your religion's teachings, but it's also your responsibility not to follow them if you find them to be morally objectionable.

None of the laws or religions have proved moral truth or even achieved a worldly consensus. So moral behavior is not something you can delegate or abstain from while claiming to be ethical.

To build our moral compass, we must rely on the guidance of our laws and religion, as well as on our own ethical study and reflection.

Moral Study Responsibility

For 2,500 years, 10+ billion humans have lived and thought about what it means to do the right thing. Yet morality is still an open problem.

So it'd be enormous overconfidence (or naïveté) to presume that you can reasonably distinguish right from wrong without studying what the best thinkers said about the topic.

There are no shortcuts – or at least, none that I know of. I know of no way to be reasonably informed about morality without studying ethics, religion, and law. Not just your own, but all of them.

As Mill writes in On Liberty, "He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that" – and he's written 30+ volumes!

But studying ethics, religion, and law isn't even enough. Mathematics, economics, psychology, and technology all play a huge part in understanding and controlling our impact on others and the world at large.

When it comes to morality, there's no free lunch. Doing the right thing is hard work – and we haven't even gotten to the "doing" part yet!

But before we jump to action, let's talk about reflection.

Moral Reflection Responsibility

"What have you done!?" is typically a rhetorical question. Rarely do we stop and ask ourselves "Indeed, what have I done?"

Yet, we must.

When Socrates said "An unexamined life is not worth living" in Plato's Apology, just days before his death, he wasn't being dramatic – he was dead serious.

If study is the input, reflection is the processing. Your studies will take you in many different directions, and that breadth of information is necessary to make good moral decisions.

But you can only build a solid moral compass by reflecting on what you've learned through your study and experiences.

In a way, morality is like a suit. You can pick one off the shelf, but it won't fit.

Reflection is the work we do to ensure morality fits us. The philosopher from the 4th century BCE, the religious thinker from the 5th century, and the legislator from the 18th century aren't you. Nobody else is.

Reflecting is hard work. It requires writing. It requires talking about hard things with others. Hardest of all, it requires changing your mind – again and again.

But a compass is only helpful if you actually pay attention to it.

So let's talk about following our moral compass.

Moral Action Responsibility

A friend of mine is a car salesman. His employer has asked him to trick customers into taking loans and services they don't need, without disclosing to them – because the dealership gets a kickback on every sale.

My friend also lives paycheck to paycheck and has two small kids. Losing his job would put his family in real jeopardy.

Every other salesperson nodded, took the instructions, and ran with it. But my friend said "I'll sell the new services, but I'll disclose everything to the customer – I'm not tricking them." And that was that. He still doesn't know if that will get him fired.

That, friends, is hard.

Stoic philosopher Epictetus, as transcribed by Arrian, discusses a similar adherence to principles in his Discourses:

In his actions Helvidius Priscus showed his awareness of this principle. When Emperor Vespasian sent him word barring him from the Senate, his response was, ‘You can disqualify me as a senator. But as long as I do remain a member I must join the assembly.’ ‘Well join, then, but don’t say anything.’ ‘Don’t call on me for my vote and I won’t say anything.’ ‘But I must call on you for your vote.’ ‘And I have to give whatever answer I think is right.’ ‘Answer, and I will kill you.’ ‘Did I ever say I was immortal? You do your part, and I will do mine. It is your part to kill me, mine to die without flinching; your part to exile me, mine to leave without protest.’

Epictetus. Discourses and Selected Writings (Penguin Classics) (p. 29). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Remember: I'm not saying you should act like a Stoic. Your moral compass is yours, and yours alone. But what I am saying is that you MUST follow it – whatever it is.

How to start? With small acts of moral navigation.

If your moral compass points somewhere, it's through small acts of moral navigation that you'll learn to check it regularly – to know where you're going, morally speaking.

Many moral failings happen the same way we become obese: one pound at a time. Likewise, moral navigation is built the same way we build a deadlift – one pound at a time.

But to continue the metaphor, most people start deadlifting before learning proper form – and end up hurting themselves. Unless you've studied philosophy, religion, and law, you probably need to be less certain, not more, of your moral convictions!

Small acts of moral navigation must go hand in hand with moral study and reflection. Moral righteousness has no place where there's no moral learning.

So don't rush it. This is hard work. Moral study, reflection, and action should happen in parallel – because consistent progress matters more than the illusion of speed.

Craft Your Moral Compass

Your moral compass isn't something you are given – it's something you craft. And like any tool, it only works if you learn to use it well.

Start small. Practice moral navigation in everyday choices. Question your assumptions. Reflect on your actions. And above all, keep learning – with an open mind.

Because true morality isn't about reaching certainty – it's about staying committed to the pursuit of what's right.