I'd love to join the moral/immoral discussion. However I have found this is an area where there needs to be a common definition acceptable to all in the discussion of what that which is moral is. So what is THE definition of moral you have in common and agree with as your template?
That's a very interesting question. The two main definitions of morality are first, the
descriptive, when the word is used in the sense that describes a particular code of conduct promoted by a group, society, religion or individual, and second, when morality is used in the
normative sense to describe a code of conduct that is generally accepted as universal by all rational people, provided that the particular situation meets normal conditions that would qualify it as standard, viz, not an exception to the situation as it is most commonly understood. One of those conditions that must be met to qualify as meeting the criteria set forth by
normative morality is almost always that the person involved in the situation is rational. A person who meets this condition is defined as a moral agent.
Philosophers disagree about which
sense of morality to accept because the acceptance of a
normative morality and its specific conditions bind a person to acceptance of actions considered immoral by that code of conduct, so many do not wish to be subject to moral judgments of actions they may commit or be tempted to commit. On the other hand, when one accepts morality in the
descriptive sense, then someone who is not a member of the group that particular moral code describes, is not expected to be held subject to that group’s morality.
This is why accepting either descriptive morality or normative morality is a difficult proposition for many philosophers. When etiquette is included in morality, it is almost always used in the descriptive sense. It is believed that the descriptive sense of morality was accepted in the middle 20th century based on the work of 20th century theorists who distinguished psychological morality from social morality and social morality from individual morality. Most moral guidelines accepted as morality by a group or individual include avoiding and preventing harm, though there are almost always other guidelines included. Some groups such as some religions, may prioritize other guidelines ahead of avoiding and preventing harm. Some religions condemn consensual sex as immoral while others
view that very condemnation in itself immoral not deeming the acts to cause harm.