I have this one little faith belief that I would like to get rid of?

Question

I have this faith that there is some kind of intrinsic right and wrong, but i can't justify this faith on the basis of the physical world.

The best i can come up with is rational emotivism
where moral judgements are only emotional judgements, but that people's emotions matter!

Is there a better reason than this to be ``good´´?

No faith based answers please.

Fear of reprisal is a weak and cowardly reason to be good. What if you know that you will get away with an evil yet profitable plan? You have not accomplished a 'good will' by fear, although you might behave well for a while.

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Answer 1

How about a math based answer. 1+1=2, 2 is greater than 1.

In this example to be good is right, to be bad is wrong. Right and wrong are also logical arguments, as in the right way to do things and the wrong way to do things. If you are assembling a machine and you do it wrong, it will not function properly or at all, if you do it right it will function properly.

When you are good, relationship connections grow stronger(you are assembling a mechanism giving you greater support), giving you access to more, more strength, more resilience, more intelligence, more viewpoints, etc.

To kill or sever the connections leaves you less resources to work with(Either putting it together wrong or damaging a working mechanism).

2-1=1. 1 is less than 2.

Being bad separates you from others and other resources, it can make you feel bad and you can even be separated from your own life if you are wrong enough.

To be good means you achieve more, as well as help others more, and communicate more, and that grows what you are into a larger amount.

Answer 2

Why get rid of it sounds pretty good though hard to sustain with out that other stuff we can't mention. *No faith based answers please* Yes there is a better reason, not that yours isn't a noble one too....but no comment.....ok a comment O_-
Fear works for some I guess who can't be good any other way. Like when I was a little kid I ran across the road and got clipped by a passing car. I got my butt whacked because the car was not enough for me because I didn't get hurt. So if the car didn't scare me I could have done it again and been dead now. But the butt recalled what happened after and I made it through it alive. A little fear can be a good thing. Fear of getting burned will prevent us from grabbing that hamburger straight off the grill, from driving like a maniac in the car pool lane,from drinking and driving, getting really angry and killing THE neighbor. Might even prevent a gang fight from happening on school property. Any good things I have done were done because it feels better caring,being kind,sharing. As a child I was a bit of a Dennis the menace,mischief was my middle name. Hope that helps Take care ~A~

Answer 3

Right and wrong come from some moral base. That moral base, for me, comes from the Bible. Without this moral base, there is "no" morality or "right or wrong"! All would be chaos! Look at what's happening in the world now, with everyone proclaiming their own moralities and religions and claims as to what is right! As a nation leaves God behind and pursues man's own judgments and rules, look at what happens! It doesn't take a genius to see where the world's going today! Simply put... there's pretty much two opposites in everything that makes up life here on earth such as good and evil, God and devil, night and day, hot and cold, black and white, up and down, positive and negative, etc. So why should it be so hard to believe and understand that there is a God as well as a devil. And that God put these rules in place for man's benefit, not His!
No faith-based answers? What else is there that precisely explains your dilemma? Everyone's always searching for another answer besides God! What imbeciles!

Answer 4

This is a really good question. Faith(belief) is based on certitude, whereas science/rationality is based on certainty. The religionists hold that they have the final answers to everything and their position will finally be validated by science in its quest for answers.
The law does not require you to be a nice guy, but only requires you not to break it. Democracy is the tyranny of the majority, not based on the authority of a religion, not upon the nobility of a race, not based on merits or talents and is purely a numbers game, only responsible for "providing living under the rule of law". Being "good" is a personal choice.
Religiously, you are required to be a nice guy as a matter of duty and also bear in mind that the best religious position is where you accept that your duty comes before your rights. Then and only then, can you lay claim to "peoples emotions matter".

Answer 5

My best approach is the question of Morality, take Neitchze's Beyond good and evil. Pretty much, personal morality lets you determine good and bad. Faith, and underlying social structures answer most questionable morality questions for you. faith is one of the biggest things that separate us from the physical world and that's why there's no real justification.

Of course people's emotions matter, but their actions stemmed from their emotions is what determines good or bad.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
But suddenly "crimes of passion" are acceptable? But then again it's okay to eat meat and kill animals, just not humans. Is theft okay? Then why does socialite robin hood get away from theft?

Morality and Emotions are quite different. It's mostly that Morality is a product of emotions. Emotions need to be separated from Morals, and then there is no excuse/justification for "misdeeds".

Probably the best answer/reason to be "good" is because by following the social structure you currently are in keeps you not being fined, jailed, prisoned, subjugated, shot at, ridiculed, etc.

My best (personal) answer is #2. from Tao Te Ching, but that seems rather defensive mechanistic to justify any wrongs doings (because none exist) Arguably, that's a faith-based answer.

Answer 6

The only thing i can think of to answer the Q. is that personal emotions will get in your way of good or bad judgments. Normally a non ca-lase person will find good in someone or something. Also, most people feel that to an extent being good will come back on them with good. I'm not a religious person but have noticed the coincidence of helping someone then finding something out of the blue happening to me. I'm not sure if this is the kind of answer you are looking for.

Answer 7

The only way to live your life is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." That is not really faith based, emotional or anything else. It is the only rule anyone needs to figure out if something they are contemplating doing is right or wrong (such as getting away with an evil deed). If you wouldn't like it done to you, then it is wrong.

Answer 8

No. given a natural (without God/faith) explanation of life, there is no reason to be moral or give a toss about anyone else. Survival of the fittest and kill the lot of them, genocide bastardisation sorta thing... So yeah, piss off whoever you like. Have fun.
(Just don't expect anyone else to show you anything good).

In fact, reproducing and having fun is about all you have to do in life... unless there is a God, in which case you are screwed.

Answer 9

What you feel is your instincts as a social creature. We evolved as pack animals and our emotions evolved to promote the survival of the pack.

The reason for being "good" is our instinct to want humans to survive as a species, nothing more.

Does this mean there is no reason to be "good"? Well, it provides some emotional reward, which is nice. Our societies tend to punish "badness" (our instincts exhibiting themselves at a macroscopic level) so being "bad" could get you into trouble. Beyond that, it's personal philosophy.

Answer 10

People's emotions DO matter. I'm glad you see that. As for your question : Be "good" just for the sake of being good. You'll make the world a little better place and you'll sleep better with a clear conscience. Besides, nobody likes an a**hole. : )