Is there any substantiation of ethics outside religion?

Question

According to materialistic philosophy we are just bubbles in liquid manure, burst one day and disappear forever. If so, one can do whatever one wants, the main thing not to be caught by the Police. Ref: http://www.freewebs.com/ruspat1/ethics.htm

Answer 1

Hi!

I believe that human moral foundation was built upon religion. The religion itself doesn't matter, it can be any one.

Throughout history, parents who wanted to teach their children to do what is right even when no one else is around has turned to religion to accomplish this. "I may not see you do it, but God (or other supreme being or beings) is always watching."

Fear of punishment from a supreme being has prompted many to do what is right even if they didn't really want to. "What goes around, comes around."

Especially for those who believe in some form of life after death... hell or heaven, reincarnation to a higher level or lower level, etc.

Best Wishes...
T.

Answer 2

Personally I am Pro-Life which is an philosophy that deals with ethics whether you agree with it or not. I know from my studies that there are even atheists that are Pro-Life. Nate Hentoff is one of the most famous of them. Here is a link to some of his articles on the subject.

http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/~rauch/nvp/hentoff.html

I'm sure if you read them you will see how one can be outside of religion and still substantiate ethics.

Answer 3

There is no doubt that there is any ethics outside religion. We the Africans since time immemorial had our own code of conduct. While the bible which is being used by the Christians forbid killing of human creature and stealing also it do not allow adultery. The above practices were and are still not tolerated in ethnically setups. Probably the ethical practices in the religion were modelled on the ethnics.