What Differences Did You Notice Between Your Logical Reasoning Process And Your Moral Reasoning Process?

When I was a teenager and was walking home from school, I found a 20 dollar bill sitting by a car that someone had just gotten out of. Logically, I knew that if I said nothing and let them leave, the money was mine and I sure could use it. Morally, I knew I should let the person know they just dropped the money so they could pick it up.

I debated this for a few seconds and knew what was right. I stopped the person and handed them the money (yes, I already had it in hand and the person didn't even notice), telling them it had fallen out of the car. As it turned out, the person had a larger bundle of money that was about to fall out of their pocket as they were on the way to the bank to make a deposit. They thanked me as I saved them from loosing several hundred dollars, handed me 5 dollars and everything was good.

I felt much better about having 5 dollars given to me than taking 20 dollars that didn't belong to me.

I could give a really small example if it's any help - just a time when I was approached privately by a customer of a firm I worked for, but I wouldn't work for them because the firm trusted me not to poach clients...You could say that logic and morals were in conflict there, but in a way it's all the same thing, isn't it? I mean that in the end, acting honestly and being trustworthy is in our long-term interests, because that's how you get a functioning society. I think most people are fundamentally quite honest and willing to help; and that this is actually quite logical. I don't know if this helps.

I found a set of wedding rings in the girls restroom. I knew who was last in there, washing their hands. They were beautiful, expensive rings, but I returned them. Not to say it wasn't tempting to keep them, but if the shoe was on the other foot, I'd want someone to return mine. So I went with my morals and returned them even though I could have easily sold them and kept the money. That would have really blew.

During the troubles in northern Ireland I was frequently assaulted by members of her majesty's forces. On one occasion I was lifted by the army and taken to a barracks where I was badly treated(I wont go into details).  At this time I was working as a operating theater technician in a local hospital. A few days later a wounded soldier was brought in and I was asked to run down to the blood bank as he needed immediate surgery.  As I was on my way out of theater I recognised him as the soldier who had taken great pleasure in beating me.    I felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing him on the receiving end. I thought I would not hurry myself as it was not in my job description to run.  Then the guilt kicked in. I felt an overwhelming sense of shame and I ran as quickly as I could to get the blood.  I felt a great sense of satisfaction at having been able to put my personal feelings in check. This represented a turning point in my life.