Changes

{{cquote|If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.<ref>Albert Einsten</ref>}}

{{cquote|If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.<ref>Albert Einsten</ref>}}

'''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]], and not out of personal love for [[God].   

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.

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.