The Basis of Morality

"The Basis of Morality" by Annie Besant is a philosophical exploration into the roots of right and wrong, written in the early 1900s. This book is all about figuring out where our ideas of morality come from, whether it's through divine messages, gut feelings, usefulness, growing as people, or spiritual beliefs. The author looks closely at how these ideas shape what we think is good or bad and gives advice on dealing with tricky moral problems that people and groups face. She takes a hard look at different ideas about morality, questioning whether relying only on revelation is enough because it doesn't change over time and is based on set-in-stone rules. The book talks about how intuition can be unreliable since everyone's conscience is different. Then, she brings up the idea of utility, which basically means doing what makes the most people happy, but she also notes the difficulties that come with this approach. In the end, she supports the idea that morality changes as we grow and learn, stating that our moral rules should change as we understand more about people and how we communicate with each other.