One of the fallacies demoralizing mankind is the theory that moral standards are just a formulation of the human mind. Sociological research has encouraged this view. Different cultures have produced differing concepts of morality. For these reasons many have concluded that moral standards are simply a codification of human customs, traditions, and group beliefs.
In the atmosphere of contemporary thought, this sort of reasoning has tended to encourage the abandonment of established standards of what is moral and what is not. Some argue that if a moral code only represents a group consensus, it is subject to change as opinions change. A new generation may be justified in repudiating it. Some go further and take the philosophical position that one should set his own standard of what is right and wrong by what is personally satisfying. Such reasoning has led to the "new morality," which is notable mainly for its permissiveness.
Yet there is a valid question in today's moral crisis. If tradition, custom, and psychology offer no enduring basis for a moral system, is there any solid foundation for morality?
