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'''Coerced morality''' is the idea that [[ethics]] can spring from some force, either physical or mental.  [[Law]] seeks to create a form of coerced morality, in that a citizen will decide to obey the law, not because of their inherent rightness and the value of morality, but for fear of the consequences.  Similarly, religious laws are a form of coerced morality if obeyed only for fear of consequences, such as [[Heaven]] or [[Hell]].   
 
'''Coerced morality''' is the idea that [[ethics]] can spring from some force, either physical or mental.  [[Law]] seeks to create a form of coerced morality, in that a citizen will decide to obey the law, not because of their inherent rightness and the value of morality, but for fear of the consequences.  Similarly, religious laws are a form of coerced morality if obeyed only for fear of consequences, such as [[Heaven]] or [[Hell]].   
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Since coerced morality secures adhesion merely out of fear or hope, rather than inherent belief in the normative qualities of morality, coerced morality is a secondary tier of ethics, and someone who is good only out of coercion cannot be said to have resolved personal ethical issues.
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Since coerced morality secures adhesion merely out of fear or hope, rather than inherent belief in the normative qualities of morality, coerced morality is a secondary tier of ethics, and someone who is good only out of coercion cannot be said to have resolved personal ethical issues.  Nonetheless a form of coercive morality is almost always necessary to a [[steady state]] society.
    
==References==
 
==References==
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