Morality - by Aunty Nonymous 2/26/08

I am still (and will be for a while) reading War and Peace. This weekend I was reading a section where a girl (not so young, almost an old maid based on the thoughts of that time) was thinking about her older brother, and wondering how events in his life were affecting his "moral" being. I pondered this, trying to figure out just how the word "moral" applied. (I just checked in my electronic version of the book, and different words are used in that translation.) The syntax seemed to reflect more on his mental state and well being, rather than to his behavior.

I checked with wictionary, and they have the usual definitions

of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially for teaching right behavior--moral judgments, a moral poem

conforming to a standard of right behaviour; sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment--a moral obligation

capable of right and wrong action--moral agent

Synonyms (conforming to a standard or right behavior): ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble

But then they continue:

probable but not proved--a moral certainty

positively affecting the mind, confidence or will--a moral victory, moral support

Synonyms (provable but not proved): virtual, incorruptible

These latter definitions are definitely still valid; we still use those phrases, but we don't normally think of them as morality. They actually are more closely related to the word "morale." Morale is defined in my Merriam Webster dictionary as:

the mental and emotional condition (enthusiasms, confidence) of an individual with regard to the function or task at hand

a sense of common purpose with respect to a group

the level of individual psychological well-being based on such factors as a sense of purpose and confidence in the future

In many ways, these latter definitions seem as closely aligned to the principles of Freemasonry as those related to ethics.

Since I am somewhat of a skeptic, and always willing to look at things differently, the following question jumped into my mind. Which morality was intended when first Preston and then Webb wrote their "Illustrations of Freemasonry"? Were they the same? What is meant when we say that Freemasonry is a system or a science of "morality"? Of course, today we interpret the word as we currently believe its meaning to be. It must obviously be related to right and wrong behavior, and is synonymous with ethics and virtuous behavior. But remember, Tolstoy was writing in the middle 19th century, not that long after Preston. (Of course he was writing in Russian and French, not English.) And he was writing about the very early 19th century, which was almost contemporary with Preston. How was the word used back then? Could it be that the Fraternity of Freemasons was actually designed to be a system to expand the mind and increase the confidence of its members, not to improve their ethics and behavior? That would certainly be compatible with the extensive study of science promoted in the Fellowcraft Degree.

Preston says that the FC Degree provides a complete "system of science, based on a solid foundation". He says that the EA Degree provides a "system of morality" which MUST be the solid foundation for the FC Degree. Having a system of science based on certainty, confidence, and a positive mind could make more sense than one based on ethics and virtue, especially at a time when science, the study of "what is", was replacing the religion based philosophies of "what must be". The early days of the fraternity were exemplified by socializing, drinking, and the development of self-serving networks--FRATERNITY. So when did the conversion to ethics and virtue get involved. It was definitely there in some form during Tolstoy's time. Tolstoy's Freemasons, at least some of them, were serious about improving themselves, living uprightly, and contributing to the betterment of society. Perhaps there was a "mystical" fringe element of the group who suborned the mission of the fraternity to their own ends, converting its purposes, changing its ritual, completely redefining its function. Ahah, so there really was a conspiracy!
We've been taken over by a bunch of do gooders. I wonder what they did with the treasure.