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The Weakness of Public Morality

This research is centered on finding out the weaknesses of public morality. Public

morality and religion are directly intertwined. Nathaniel Hawthorne raises various issues that

affect individuals in contemporary society and issues that have been there for years. For instance,

in the story "Young Goodman Brown," he focused on problems such as inevitable loss of

innocence, fear of the wilderness, and the weakness of public morality. Analyzing what happens

in contemporary society, such as public morality's weakness, reflects a loss of innocence. For

instance, public morality has diminished in the current world due to technology, specifically with

the rise of social media. Social media has posed an issue for individuals since it often urges them

to question morality, religion, and other beliefs. Thus, this paper will focus on public morality's

weakness as portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown." This will be

analyzed based on how public morality has affected people's beliefs.

There has been a lot of debate about the impact of religion on morality. Societal values

are built based on these two factors even though they are highly misunderstood. This paper is

aimed at addressing the conceptual gaps, confusions from the debate, consequences, and

highlight possible solutions to these problems (Stich 292). Morality and religion can be treated as

large entities at certain extremes. Their correlation can be characterized by potentially studying

the effect of a specific theoretical principle on some particular moral upshot (Iwuagwu 42).

However, the doctrine could face a challenge where religion sometimes fails to bring out a

regular structure. Consequently, religion could end up displaying a collection of dissimilar

features. According to cognitive researchers and academicians, psychiatric syndromes are

“culturally and historically contingent constellations of symptoms, and argue that a unit of

investigation should be the symptom rather than the syndrome” (McKay and Whitehouse 449).
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Furthermore, to progressively fathom the correlation between religion and morality, one

needs to break down these out-of-focus concepts into simplified primary units. It is better to

understand the basic fundamental components of religions. For example, many authors who

attempted to write on this topic suggested that a comprehensive psychological model belonging

to the “Big Four religious dimensions” could offer clear clarifications of major elements of

religiosity (Saroglou 1). These components incorporate various creations in the field of sociology

and psychology of religion. The elements in consideration are, believing, behaving, belonging,

and bonding. Important to note is that sometimes being religious does not make a person nice

(Churchland 33). Different cultures dispute the fact that being nice does not justify being right.

It could be a vice in other cultures, for instance, the Nazi people in Germany (McKay and

Whitehouse, 450).

Nathaniel reveals how few individuals can corrupt public morality in society; sometimes,

Brown decided to go into the forest to meet with the devil. Goodman states, "He had taken a

dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest..." (Hawthorne 869). To his

surprise, he realizes that people close to him were in league with the devil, including his father,

the Minister, Deacon Gookin, and Faith. When he decides to go into the forest, he still hides

when he sees people like Goody Cloyse. "What God doth the wizard pray to?" (Hawthorne 876).

This indicates his fear of public opinion about his morality. He held onto the fact that most

people in the society were religious and did believe in religious faith in which they were

considered puritans.

Goodman Brown was weak in his morality, which affirms the concept of "morality and

religion as a dependent of God" (McKay and Whitehouse 447). That is why he found it difficult

to believe others; for instance, his religious faith was based on society's notion of puritanism.
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The problem was that he did not realize that people closest to him were in league with the devil.

Faith was living with belief in the devil. His problem is that he was concerned about how the

faith in the people around him appears, forgetting that deciding to meet the devil was a sign of

weakness. He believed that people around him were religious because of his religious

convictions; thus, his faith depended on other people's views. This conveys that such beliefs can

easily be weakened.

In most cases, individuals tend to be people-pleasers; hence their faith is rooted in the

idea of what other people think of them. This is a problem, as it leads to individuals believing

other people's views and disregarding one's own. This is an issue that individuals should address

for self-development and how they relate with others. When such beliefs about others turn out to

not be what one expected, one tends to lose trust, faith, and others' loyalty. Corruption creates

drifts among people in society. For instance, Goodman Brown did not trust Faith after realizing

that she was in league with the devil. He asserted that because Faith has turned to evil. "There is

no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come, devil! For to thee is this world given"

(Hawthorne 873). He sees everyone as evil; he snatches the girl from Goody Cloyse because he

believed he was evil.

These actions show how his trust in the people around him has diminished. The current

world is based on information sharing, the primary purpose of social media. Thus if everyone

believed in society's corruptibility or individuals, then their relationships will be impelled

towards individualism. Goodman Brown's experience changed him. He did not know great Faith

after seeing her in his house; this indicates a rift between them. The experience changed him and

hence caused him not to trust anyone in society. In the story, readers learn that he lived his life in
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gloom and fear because he did not trust the authority, the church minister, and realized that he

does not fully love his wife.

Sometimes it is imperative to live a private life and see the good in people instead of

judging them based on a particular set of convictions. For instance, if individuals judge people

based on their religious conflict, then everyone who does not go to church will be a sinner. This

will lead to people not trusting their leaders and adversely impact their family relationships.

Public morality is vital in restricting individuals' human rights concepts since people have

the right to freedom and even religion (McKay and Whitehouse 446). This is one of the building

blocks of having good relationships with others; accepting that people are different and have the

right to choose their religion or beliefs helps people interact with them and build relationships

acknowledging their side of a conversation or belief.

Vijeh and Pouya (12) present conflicts between individual rights and public morality.

Individual rights exist in various dimensions in society, ranging from religious beliefs to sexual

cases. For instance, the article attributes that the European court considers issues that can restrict

individual rights and impose ethical constraints. The court has ensured that some conflicts are

avoided; hence it has adopted various sexual morality and personal conflicts. In this case, public

morality outweighs individual rights, while in some others, individual rights prevail. Socrates

states in the Euthyphro, "In the Euthyphro, Socrates famously asked whether the gods love

goodness because it is good" (Plato 11). From these two works, readers understand that public

morality's weaknesses can occur at any time. However, the way individuals interpret them

depends on their effects on people. If Goodman Brown had understood this, he would have had a

good relationship with his and other religious leaders in his village. In his study, he seeks to find
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out how people lose the faith they are affiliated with due to the urge to copy what fellow

neighbors believe in.

The issue of the weakness of public morality affects everyone in society. Nathaniel

Hawthorne argues that basing society on moral principles and religious faith is dangerous to

society since people do not arrive at their own ethical decisions. Therefore, having a particular

set of rules or approaches that allows individuals to exercise their rights can play a significant

role in society (Vijeh and Pouya 12). This can help society not just copy beliefs of a particular

group, say, Christianity, and define or expect people to behave in the same manner. Such faith of

belief is considered weak and rooted. Therefore it is easy to cause chaos in society.

In the book, Nathaniel focuses on religious freedom and morals. Goodman Brown does

not have religious freedom, and neither do the people in the village. He did not know that Faith

and other people were in league with the devil. And when he realized this, he became a captive

of himself and his beliefs about religion. In this context, he regarded everyone who did not have

the same faith as evil. His moral freedom compass was based on religion. (Domingo 226) argues

that the same legal paradigm cannot protect religious "freedom as moral freedom." Thus, they

are different, and using the two to justify or categorize people's beliefs, and behaviors are

dangerous to society, as portrayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Religion should be separated from

moral freedom since religious freedom does not entail or incorporate general freedom but is

based only on freedom of conscience (Domingo 226). "Religious freedom and moral freedom are

different ontological realities and therefore require different treatments under the law" (Domingo

228). This leads to ethical issues among individuals and society at large. Ethical issues such as

selective truth-telling seem to prevail.

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Other ethical issues include intentional lying and deceptive practices. Most people,

including church ministers and leaders, intentionally lied about their religious beliefs in the story.

For instance, Deacon Gookin, Goody Cloyse, and Faith deliberately lied to Goodman about their

religious beliefs (Hawthorne 876). Discrimination was also an ethical issue that can occur due to

public morality in society. When people have different views or beliefs, segregation occurs, and

this drift may be considered discrimination. Sometimes it can be self-discrimination or

segregation from others. Goodman segregated himself from community members because he

believed they could not be trusted and was not loyal to his religious beliefs. Thus he ended up

living his life in gloom and fear.

Goodman Brown did not know that Faith was in league with the devil, probably because

of selective truth-telling. Perhaps she understood Goodman's Faith, beliefs, and moral principles

and therefore chose not to let him know that she collaborated with the devil. Faith probably

discriminated against him because she could not tell him about her dealing with the devil.

Public morality is one of the main aspects that define human rights and freedoms. It

builds on how people interact with others and present the dangers based on one-sided belief.

According to Cuomo and Mario, religion has been used in many countries to "set moral and

ethical values." The separation between church and state" implies a separation between religion

and politics. However, on the extreme side, it has affected individuals due to differences in

beliefs (McKay and Whitehouse 447). A section of conservatives believed that a decline in

morals resulted from an increase in secular-related activities.

Solving the challenge of public morality weakness is a strategic process that entails a

number of interventions. The first intervention is creating the social-functionalist construct

pitching all aspects of religious practice such as rituals, stringent beliefs and doctrine
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responsibility. The construct should be built in the mutual consent and understanding of moral

propagations team (Graham & Haidt, 144). The entire social-functionalist construct should be

designed to answer the mysteries surrounding regiosity for a binding foundation of respect and

sanctity that breeds the fruits of public morality. This construct prepares a common ground for

bridging the gaps between believers and non-believers.

Another possible solution to public morality weakness is establishment of authentic

systems of moral judgment. John Rawls was the brain behind the idealized process where both

individual and ethics commission should be structured to execute and support moral

deliberations. The considered domain in moral judgment adds the value of open and fair

attributes of other positions and distractions in decision making. The idealized process ensures

that insufficiency of responding to decision making with emotionally overwrought parties is

eliminated. The confidence into empirical matters grows and eventually the pejorative sense of

problem solving is actualized.

To expand the outcomes of a moral judgment, the domain of critical screening process is

vital. Alternative positions are created and this accommodates multiple voices on a matter that is

having public morality issues. Through critical thinking and evaluation, an intrapersonal

perspective of the solution process is created and the comprehensive moral vision is expanded

with reasoning that accommodate other people’s opinions in a discussion. Alternative and

conflicting arguments in a discussion should not be left hanging. A reflective equilibrium is an

intervention that justify all relatively ideal solutions and conditions for judgment. Due

consideration protocols are imposed to create and support a maximally broadly extensive critical

screening intervention
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Therefore, it is prudent that people understand and acknowledge these differences to

avoid conflict between individual rights and public morality. Morality can be defined on a public

scale. However, it should be more of a freedom of consciousness where individuals can engage

in practices based on their conscience, provided these practices are not hurting others.

Understanding individual differences can lead to a peaceful, coexistence, and good relationship

among society. This also minimizes unethical issues in the community, such as deceptive

practices and selective truth-telling. Public morality enhancement is achieved through law

enforcement and taking personal responsibility for thinking critically before doing something.
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Work Cited

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Vijeh, Mohammad Reza, and Rezvan Pouya. "Conflicts between Individual Rights and Public

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