The concept of morality appears to be deeply integrated into the fabric of human society. Morality establishes unwritten guidelines of what is right and wrong within society. Since morality is not directly pinpointed, numerous philosophers developed large range of theories that will either justify certain actions or condemn them, as well as provide advice for an action the most rightful. However, the absence of clear definition of what morality is has raised the question: Why be moral? The inability to answer this question has created the alternative to morality – the amoralism.
Unlike immoralist that acknowledges the existence of morality and purposely chooses to do the morally wrong thing, the amoralist is not committed to morality. Different from the nihilist who truly believes there is no such thing as morality, the amoralist is aware that others in society are following so moral principles but he is simply unmotivated by these principles. But what is the amoralist motivated by? He is not the stereotype of an individual that always violates the ideas of keeping the promise, being truthful etc. If he is not then we might think that amoralist is actually somewhat related to morality. However, he might be honest(most certainly the moral quality) only when he feels it suits him. This evokes an idea that he is self-regarding – an egoist. But the egoist is partial to his welfare and does so as a matter of principle while the amoralist is able to think outside the self. As the example provided by Williams in "The Amoralist," the amoralist can be compared to a gangster who cares for his closest ones, yet being a gangster he has no consideration for others and if he do it solely depends from his mood. Somebody else's need for help motivates the amoralist.
The amoralist has no thought about whether his actions if copied by others and done to him would have a negative effect on him.
Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince was one of the first, and most influential humanist works of the Renaissance. In the novel, Machiavelli outlines several aggressive methods and tactics which he believed would produce a perfect ruler. A ruler, who was more concerned about securing a sta...
