Which is worse, pretentions to intellectual superiority or pretentions to moral superiority?

Answer 1

Moral superiority is just an expression of those too weak minded to be intellectual. They use it to save face at their obvious purposeless existence. Usually these people tend to be theists. Many of them tend to have led a life without direction, accomplishment or otherwise of social reward, so they focus on how moral they are and better than others in this aspect to create purpose. What else can give someone with a wasted lifetime purpose than to think they are a soldier of god and practicing guardian of an objective morality?

Answer 2

The premise behind your question is that there is no such thing as moral objectives. You assumming that there is no ultimate moral standard. If that's true and all morality is just relative and we all just make up our own moral code then there is no such thing as moral superiority. Our christian culture says you're supposed to love your neighbor. Some of the cultures down in the amazon say you're supposed to eat your neighbor. Our culture is in no way superior to there's if moral relativity is true. If there's no God, then there's no moral standards. But the evidence is that there is a God. Everywhere you look in the universe you see design. Where there is design there must be a designer. There's information in the universe(DNA is known to be a language). Information always comes from intelligence, never from dead chemicals). So now you need an intelligent designer. Even if you believe in moral relativity, each person still has his own moral code. Where did he get that. Surely not by evolution. The animal kingdom doesn't have a moral code. When the lion gets hungry he kills and eats the antelope and doesn't feel guilty about it. We are the effect and we have a moral code. Whatever the effect has the cause must also have. You can't give what you ain't got. So the intelligent designer of this universe must also have a moral code. This tells me there is an ultimate moral code out there. People who live their life according to the ultimate moral code are not pretending to be morally superior. They are morally superior.

Answer 3

A pretention to intellectual superiority can at least be true; pretentions to moral superiority are always a moral shortcoming.

Answer 4

Pretentions of moral superiority are far worse, usually becasue those are the people that are the least moral by their own definition of what it is to be moral. Besides, morality is NOT a universal concept and what is immoral to one person is completely moral to another.

Answer 5

Interesting question and one that I've never heard on here before.

I think it depends upon the askee. Some people would consider moral pretentions worse than intellectual ones. Others would go the other way round. Totally depends on a persons value system.

Kudos and a star!

Answer 6

How about both less the pretentions : the plain truth !
Shouldn't that be the goal? The superior view does exist.

Answer 7

Good question. I would say that pretentions to moral superiority are worse....far worse and damaging. Moral superiority cannot be measured, while intellectual superiority can be.

Answer 8

Pretentions to moral superiority. If you pretend to be smart but you aren't, then you only look foolish. If you pretend to have morals but you don't then you are a liar and a hypocrite.

Answer 9

Intellectually superior is worse because people can be refuted. Everyone from C.S. Lewis to Thomas Paine is capable of being refuted. And each are capable of making absolutely foolish comments...........

Most people share moral sentiments.

Answer 10

Pretentions to either. That's the key word there.