If one embraces the concept that their morality is somehow a part of our basic being (which implies some outside force putting it there) it puts them at odds with the cold hard fact that morality seems to have different definitions within different cultures. I would assume that it is well within your morals to crush a bug beneath your feet and yet within a Buddhist culture that could be considered an immoral act.
Morality certainly has many different definitions in many different cultures. But then claiming that Thor creates the lightning may be a popular opinion in certain cultures too. Doesn't make it a fact.
As you might guess, I tend towards Ayn Rand's theories on the origins and theories of morality and the need for a moral code, although I disagree with a few of her points, and I think she missed some important insights that she could have developed with a more than rudimentary knowledge of biology and evolution.
The idea (oversimplified) is that a proper code of moral human behavior can be derived from objective facts like any other principle of science. It does not have to be subjective, or divorced from reality, and it is not imposed by supernatural forces outside reality. Needless to say, this viewpoint is unpopular with both "no absolutes" liberals and religious conservatives.
I'm not going into it any further than this, since distilling it down does the ideas no service, I wouldn't be that good at it anyway, and philosophy can easily get boring. Since moral behavior is volitional, it goes without saying that the existence of an idealized morality is absolutely no guarantee that anyone will follow it. So it goes.
A lot of things are part of our basic being. Not sure why that implies an "outside force" putting it there. I don't crush any bug without a reason. Ants in the kitchen are my major victims.
I do feed mantises in the garden to encourage them hanging around. Good for the mantis, bad for the cricket.
Flame » in reply to re: The idea that morality is subjective is the core of the entire problem.
re: morality
The whole thread (62 posts)
- If we're winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.....
- ??
- Screw you Art we never liked you much anyway
- re:Revealing
- Who's the "we'? (n/t)
- The owners of the board (n/t)
- I had no real problems with him.
- You DA MAN, FrankC. DA MAN!
- You DA MAN, FrankC. DA MAN!
- For a change, a pretty good thread resurrected...
- What the CIA, Mao and some others say about this. And they all agree.
- Almost all of our target information comes from Iraqis.
- Where Do You Think We Keep Getting Target Info From?
- and what percentage of that target info has proven false?
- Too bad it's not good data, isn't it?
- Perhaps you are really responding to agenda driven enws reporting?