morality

Nowadays it seems a bit old-fashioned to say that someone is evil. If someone commits mass murder, we say that they have a "personality disorder," or some other form of mental illness. However, it occurs to me that, if we eliminate the concept of good and evil entirely, would that undercut the...

[Please delete; duplicate thread due to sketchy internet connection.]

Leaving aside the issue, of god's existance, if I have a belief that god is good, but in the bible, he commanded immoral things, is it rational to conclude that these acts are actually moral, (because of my belief that he is good), or that even though they are immoral, they should be done...

To criticize organized religion in general(note this is not religious belief but the social organization of religion) does someone need to be an atheist? Why do people so readily assume atheism when people make comments against organized religion? I have just noticed that attacks on religion...

This lecture is very insightful, it really summed it up for me . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejlsvn6vMXU There are those who would want to equate Evolution with moral decay, in a way they may be right but yet for the wrong reasons. The Fact of Evolution shows a history of beings fighting...

One of the important implications of atheism is that we don’t have to turn to any authority such as a cleric or book which claims to speak on behalf of The Creator for moral guidance. We are free to make up our own morality, just as we are free to choose what kind of music we like to listen to...

My experience with theists and their buss stop sermons have kept me thinking for some time. It turned just recently to "needing God to be moral" and also a story that was told during a recent episode of Skeptics Guide to the Universe. I can't remember it completely, but it told about Starbucks...

Is the idea of treating others the way they treat you (as opposed to treating them as you would like to be treated) a moral way to conduct relationships?

I rarely come in here, much less post, but I thought this article, and the dilemma it presents to my profession, was worth a thread, for comments on how others feel... http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/31/jama.guantanamo.ap/index.html Here is the quote of relavence for me, and what I'd like...

A charge often heard in debates over atheism, and there have been a bunch lately: “evolution is amoral!” Without God, we’re reduced to the scientific world-view, justice based on Darwinism, survival of the strongest [sic], no mercy, law of the jungle, techno-fascism, etc… The fallacious...

I haven't been around here long but I started a thread a little while ago( "The Bible Disproves God?") simply asking how a guy could become an atheist by reading the Bible ( something a new poster had claimed ).It soon grew into a longish discussion about various matters. It ended up somehow as...

According to Steven Pinker and his book, "The Blank Slate - The Modern Denial of Human Nature", morals (specifically sexual morals) come from the, "Darwinian economics of childbirth". What does this mean? Basically, when a male and a female are considering getting together, the male is either...

I go to court today for visitation of my 9 month old daughter where I am fighting for it. My ex-girlfriend wants to deny me visitation mainly because I am atheist and when I go on the stand today her lawyer will most likely ask me where I get my morals from since I am atheist. I know there is...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/teen-killers-just-felt-right/2007/04/24/1177180615743.html I was brought up a Xian, (OK, a Catholic). It was easy to have a concept of morality, (as flawed as it turned out to be). Such acts as the one described were wrong. Without religion, (as...

If people didn't believe in a God what would they believe in instead? There are billions of people living their lives according to a moral code apparently bestowed on them by a benevolent omnipotent entity. This belief brings comfort to these people and makes them happy. Supposedly. I just...

Imagine a man with two jobs, one is a Master Philosopher of Morality and another is the owner of a Prison. This man is so good at Philosophical debate that he can convince anyone to respect others and live a life of peace almost instantly, and yet he choses not to. By not doing so several...

I am trying to find real life instances of a particular type of moral dilemma. My google fu is currently failing me. I want examples of killing to save, and the killing is of people on your own side. I want to exclude cases where you only kill the enemy. The two I am thinking of are: 1-bombing...

Q: "Christians get their morals from the Bible, where do atheists get their morals from?" A: "No, Christians don't get their morals from the Bible. If they did, you'd follow what the Bible says exactly. But in reality, you pick and choose what you follow and what you don't. The STANDARD by which...

In the thread on "animal lives versus human lives" a couple of posters assumed the necessity of consistency in any morality. Btw I'm going to use the term Moral Philosophy to denote a formal philosophy based on axioms and reason rather than an informal philosophy (small p) such as "be excellent...

I don't recall seeing this article from the New York Times anywhere here, so if this is a repeat, forgive me. Interesting stuff. The rest of the article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/science/20moral.html

I recently had a debate with a friend of mine about whether or not prostitution ought to be legalized. In the course of that discussion, I made that statement 'We should not legislate morality." With which he disagreed. He felt that we can and ought to legislate morality, based on the morals...

One of the greatest real arguments for certain religions (and against all others, from their perspective) is that of morality. Namely, 98% of us agree that we want to live in a mutually just and pleasant society. One in which people treat each other well. Prescriptive morality is still the...

Recently, some have been accusing people such as Dr. Richard Dawkins, among others, of being militant athiests. I say, "So what?" I personally believe it is about time athiests started being vocal and loud about their beliefs - especially in the United States of America. It is about time for...

I'm making this thread as a response to some of the ideas presented in the "The problem with atheists" thread. I'll quote what I said there. I thought this should have its own thread as it's sort of its own topic. Any thoughts on this odd need to gather one's morality from the nature of...

Read this article this morning, while waiting for a load. Your thoughts? I thought this part was illuminating... Interesting facts, and an equally interesting view. I accepted years ago a General Discharge from the Army, mainly because I subscribed to the notion that my ill considered and...

With respect to today’s subject, I am in the minority even among atheists. Few non-believers—no matter how strongly they reject traditional Christian morality—are willing to call moral issues strictly matters of opinion. However, I remain a steadfast moral relativist despite the rarity of my...

Globalism and morality From the American view the positive side of Globalism is that many workers worldwide in very poor countries will experience a significant increase in their standard of living because the manufacturing of certain products that were manufactured in America are manufactured...

A year or so I posted a great moral dillema and thought experiment in a debate with Kevin and Mumblethrax. That dillema was featured on Radiolab recenly and I thought some might like to listen. It is very good and truly challenges some of our assumptions about the basis of morality. Listen to...

i guess this could go in R and P but i'm more interested in the scientific rather than philosophical side of the debate..... the question is simple, "What is morality?" Do individuals have an inbuilt morality? If so, is that inbuilt "morality" just a way of maximizing gene propagation...

Morality must be safeguarded by the citizens I was listening to the radio the other day and the speaker said something to the effect ‘let the market decide the value of our higher education system…and the market appears to think that our higher education system is doing a good job’. Is it wise...