Morality is the system of norms through which we judge right and wrong, good and evil, what should be done and what should be avoided. It asks not only what we can do, but what we ought to do.
Morality matters because human life always involves others. Lying, harming, helping, promising, and sacrificing all require moral judgment. Philosophy asks where moral standards come from: divine command, rational principles, social contract, sympathy, or the needs of human coexistence. Modern society makes morality more complex because technology expands the consequences of action. A data design, an algorithmic ranking, or a consumer choice can affect distant people. Morality reminds us that the greater our power, the more we must ask whether our actions can be justified.
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