What is Abstract Morality?

Say that the law states: You must not murder

That is a final law! And abstract moral law.

But the circumstances are that there is this serial killer who so far has killed 8 people and one of them was this man's daughter. So he gets a gun and goes after him and shoots him. So now he to is guilty of murder. That is abstract morality. He broke a moral law and should be punished, but why did he do it? Should we consider the reasons behind the action?

Say this women is beaten everyday by her husband, fears for her life. One day in desperation she gets a gun and shoots him. Should she go to jail for murder? Should the circumstances be considered? She broke the law.

What about war, that is a prime example of abstract morality.

Say that this country sends a kutusa missile into your town and kills a large number of people. So you join a group of military men and go into their country and try to find the ones who did this terrible thing. However, you do not kill the perpetrators of this event, just the local people who probably didn't know anything about it. But this is not murder under abstract morality this is under the law as war, which makes killing permissible.

But if you did the same thing and there was no war. You would be charged as a murderer.

So you have to define the event under its own moral code.

then decide is this murder permissible?

Never heard this quote before but i agree with this Andrew guy. There is no such thing as abstract morality.

Abstract morality would imply that there is no basis of morality and we just make it up, so to say. Therefore everyone would be morally correct which is not the case.

Therefore morality is not abstract because it has a basis. In my view the ultimate basis is religion. Because it states what is right and wrong. Society also can be a basis for morality but the problem with this is the dynamic nature of society where one thing is wrong today and right tomorrow.

Think iv said enough. This sounds like an assignment question of some sort. Hope you do well.

i think there is a lot of abstract morality around us. ppl define morality different ways. so that's what makes it abstract.