On Morality

[Catwoman]

I disagree very strongly with the premise of 'evil'. It is absolute and uncompromising, and assumes a fantastical interpretation of the world that aligns with the most destructive myth of all: religion.

I do not believe a person can be inherently 'good' or 'bad'. We do not live in a movie reality of heroes and villains, clear-cut morality and happy endings. The pursuit of ultimates is perhaps the most significant human flaw - a life based on achievement (top marks), possession, and the constant (unreachable) goal of 'ultimate happiness'. Ultimates make it easier to make sense of the world - it is philosophical semantics - symbols/ideologies we adopt to break complex problems down into patterns/behaviour we understand.

On this basis, 'moral lapses' occur when there has been a difficulty forming an ultimate. Ideological confusion occurs whereby there is no or little cohesion between a situation and a pre-existing schema or belief system. A malfunction, if you like. It is necessary then to either alter an existing moral set or embark on a role within the situation that does not align. This is when 'good' people do 'bad' things - when there is a 'glitch' in their matrix.