The Definition of Amorality

Amoral is a word in the English language. It is an adjective produced by adding the prefix A- onto the root word "moral." Amoral designates a state of having or belonging to no moral system, and thus being beyond the sphere of moral characterization of good or evil, just or unjust, right or wrong. In other words, one who is amoral lacks all moral knowledge and ethical reasoning ability, while something that is amoral falls beyond the scope of moral judgments.

Root word

The root word of amoral is the adjective "moral," which is the character of being or behaving either good or evil, right or wrong. Usually, "moral" is applied to mean good, right or just, whereas the permutation "immoral" means bad, evil or unjust.

History

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known usage of the word in English is by Robert Lewis Stevenson in 1882, who wrote "There is much in life and letters both, which is not immoral, but a-moral."

Etymology

Amoral's root word, moral, is derived from the Old French phrase "vertu morale," which means "moral virtue," which in turn has its roots in the Latin word "moralis."

Permutations

When used as a noun, amoral becomes "amoralism," which denotes the belief or code of thought that rejects all morality, or "amorality," which denotes a state of being without morality. As an adverb, it becomes "amorally."

Common Misconception

Many mistake the term amoral for meaning something close to immoral. However, something that is immoral still exists within the boundaries of morality; whereas something that is amoral is completely outside those bounds. In other words, immorality depends upon a sense of morality; amoral is being without such a sense completely. For instance, someone who is immoral knows what is morally right or wrong and simply chooses to reject or act against their knowledge of what is right, while someone who is amoral is not evil or bad; on the contrary, they have no sense or code of morality at all.

Moral Nihilism and Moral Skepticism

Moral nihilism and moral skepticism are two branches of ethical philosophy that have been labeled as being amoral. Particular versions of these two lines of thought differ, but both tend toward the stance that nothing is more or less moral than anything else, because we have no way of grounding moral actions in pure rationality. However, some think that these schools of thought are in fact still moral, in that they must have some conception of morality to exist at all. Two famous figures considered central to these traditions who are oftentimes accused of holding amoral views are Niccolo Machiavelli and Friedrich Nietzsche.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary: Amoral